The surprising origin of human ears

The human ear consists of three parts: the outer, middle, and inner ear. The outer ear, which is visible from the outside, exists only on mammals. For many years, scientists have wondered where it came from. A new study found that it evolved (changed very slowly over time) from fish gills. Scientists have known for many years that the middle ear, which is not visible from the outside, evolved from the jawbones of prehistoric fish. A team of scientists from the University of Southern California wondered if the outer ear also came from fish. They found that the human outer ear and the gills of some fish are made up of the same rare type of cartilage (strong, flexible tissue in the body), called elastic cartilage. It is uncommon outside…

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The Week Junior US (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 255

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