Using sturgeon as a material analogue, a new model has made it possible to estimate how the backbones of some of the first animals on land could and could not move. The results disprove a long-standing hypothesis that changes in early tetrapod anatomy as they moved onto land gave them improved neck mobility.
This study, led by Dr. Korneisel at Uppsala University, formerly a PhD student in the group of Dr. Maddin, has just been published in the journal Nature.
For the official press release, see here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1147352
The original Nature paper can be found here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-11158-3
A Nature News & Views article is here https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-03061-8
Posted on: Monday, October 19, 2026