At first glance, feathers may seem like simple parts of a bird’s body. But if you look closer—under a microscope or through a scientific lens—they reveal an intricate story of evolution, biology, and ...

Alteration of the expression of the co-called 'Sonic Hedgehog' gene can transform feet scale and wing feathers. While a transient over-expression of the gene can permanently turn feet scales into ...

A paper published last year in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface described a feather as a masterpiece of engineering, one comprising nine orders of magnitude, from the nanoscale to the meter ...

Growth modeling in avian species has emerged as a critical research area, integrating mathematical functions to characterise and predict the complex growth trajectories of birds from hatching to ...

One of the remarkable abilities that birds possess is their ability to regenerate the feathers that they shed. Unlike human hair and nails, feathers consist of keratin and do not heal once damaged.