Snakes Born in Right-Handed Spirals

An international research team has made a significant discovery about the development of snake embryos, finding that they twist into right-handed spirals due to a difference in growth rates between their bodies and guts. This unique coiling behavior is a distinctive feature of snake development, and the study's findings provide a long-sought explanation for this phenomenon.

The study, published in the journal Current Biology, analyzed over 900 embryos from 39 species of snakes and other limbless squamates. The research team, led by Dr. Tetsuto Miyashita, an evolutionary biologist at the Canadian Museum of Nature, found that the embryos' bodies grow faster than their guts, creating a tether that forces the lengthening embryo to buckle and twist inside the egg.

The project was initiated during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, when Dr. Miyashita was looking for a research project that his students could work on remotely. The study's lead author, Alexandra Weber, a graduate student in zoology at the University of British Columbia, played a key role in the research. The team used CT scans to reveal the hidden anatomy behind the coils and found that the embryos coil only dextrally, or right-handed, from head to tail for the first few weeks after eggs are laid.

## Why it matters The discovery of why snake embryos coil into right-handed spirals is not only interesting from a biological perspective, but it also adds to our understanding of the development of unique body shapes in animals. The study's findings have implications for our understanding of how spiral structures form in nature, from the looping intestine to snail shells. The research also highlights the importance of continued scientific inquiry into the mysteries of animal development, and how these discoveries can inspire new ideas and innovations.

The study's results provide a fascinating example of how the growth and development of an organism can be influenced by physical constraints, such as the tethering effect of the gut on the growing body. This knowledge can be applied to a wide range of fields, from biology and medicine to engineering and design. As Dr. Miyashita notes, spiral forms in nature have inspired human creations ranging from rotini pasta to a barber's pole, and continued research into these phenomena can lead to new and innovative solutions.

## What happens next The discovery of the reason behind the right-handed coiling of snake embryos is a significant step forward in our understanding of animal development. Further research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms behind this phenomenon and to explore its implications for our understanding of the development of unique body shapes in animals. The study's findings also highlight the importance of continued scientific inquiry into the mysteries of animal development, and how these discoveries can inspire new ideas and innovations.