Locomotory behaviour of early tetrapods from Blue Beach, Nova Scotia, revealed by novel microanatomical analysis.

Evidence for terrestriality in early tetrapods is fundamentally contradictory. Fossil trackways attributed to early terrestrial tetrapods long predate the first body fossils from the Late Devonian. However, the Devonian body fossils demonstrate an obligatorily aquatic lifestyle.

Effects of high-fat diets on fetal growth in rodents: a systematic review.

Background: Maternal nutrition during pregnancy has life-long consequences for offspring. However, the effects of maternal overnutrition and/ or obesity on fetal growth remain poorly understood, e.g.

PAPP-A2 deficiency does not exacerbate the phenotype of a mouse model of intrauterine growth restriction.

Background: Pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A2 (PAPP-A2) is consistently upregulated in the placentae of pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction. The causes and significance of this upregulation remain unknown, but it has been hypothesized that it is a compensatory response to improve placental growth and development. We predicted that, if the upregulation of PAPP-A2 in pregnancy complications reflects a compensatory response, then deletion of Pappa2 in mice would exacerbate the effects of a gene deletion previously reported to impair placental development: deficiency of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9).