How do you know when something has been engineered? One way to tell is to study the words used to describe its characteristic features. The Mt. Rushmore rock faces have different characteristics from the surrounding uncarved rock that don’t resemble portraits of American Presidents.

Echinoderms, “spiny-skinned” invertebrates, are first found in the Cambrian sedimentary rock layers as 100% echinoderms. The first brittle stars (Echinoderm, class Ophiuroidea) were found in the Early Ordovician sediments and don’t show any evolution. One of the more interesting of the Ophiuroidea is the brittle star (Ophiocoma wendtii).

It’s exciting when research with medical implications also provides insight into the mechanisms of biological adaptation. Two new studies contribute to a large body of research that not only contradicts the textbook account for the evolution of life on Earth, but also supports the explanation of engineered adaptability.