Sea anemones may hold the key to the ancient origins of body symmetry. A study from the University of Vienna shows they use a molecular mechanism known as BMP shuttling, once thought unique to bilaterally symmetrical animals like humans, insects, and worms. This surprising discovery implies that the blueprint for forming a back-to-belly body axis could date back over 600 million years, to a common ancestor of cnidarians and bilaterians.

600-million-year-old body blueprint found in sea anemones