Have you ever wondered whether starfish have heads?
They have to be somewhere - but it's not that easy to identify them.
A new study shows that the answer might be quite more complicated.
How it was researched
Scientists at Stanford used special tools to study starfish and figure out where their "head" is.
It's a bit tricky because starfish are different from us, but the researchers created a 3D map using genes to help solve this puzzle.
They found out that starfish don't have just one head; it's kind of spread out.
Some "headlike" areas are in the middle of the starfish and also in the middle of each arm.
This discovery is important because it's like solving a mystery about how starfish grow and what makes their bodies shaped like a five-point star.
Starfish and humans are related, but their life cycle and bodies are quite different.
Starfish start as eggs, then turn into a floating larva before settling on the ocean floor.
They transform from a body plan with two sides into an adult with a star shape.
How scientists usually research it
Scientists usually compare different animals to understand how things evolve.
The challenge with starfish is that they don't have much in common with us on the outside.
So, researchers used genetic tools to see what's happening inside the starfish.
They discovered that certain genes play a role in shaping the starfish's body plan.
This study helps us learn more about the amazing diversity of life on Earth.
