**Where is the head on a starfish? ** For centuries, naturalists have puzzled over what might cons
 adult sea stars—and related echinoderms, such as sea urchins and sea cucumbers—have a five-fold axis of symmetry without a clear head or tail ⬆️
In [a new study,](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06669-2) researchers used a variety of high-tech molecular and genomic techniques to understand where different genes were expressed during the development and growth of sea stars ⬆️
The “head” of a starfish, the researchers found, is not in any one place. Instead, the headlike regions are distributed with some in the center of the sea star as well as in the center of each limb of its body. No part of the sea star ectoderm expresses a “trunk” genetic patterning program, suggesting that **sea stars are mostly headlike**.
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**Where is the head on a starfish? ** For centuries, naturalists have puzzled over what might constitute the head of a sea star, commonly called a "starfish." Sea stars begin life as larvae with a bilateral body plan, but instead of displaying [bilateral symmetry,](https://t.me/askmenow/3627) adult sea stars—and related echinoderms, such as sea urchins and sea cucumbers—have a five-fold axis of symmetry without a clear head or tail ⬆️ In [a new study,](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06669-2) researchers used a variety of high-tech molecular and genomic techniques to understand where different genes were expressed during the development and growth of sea stars ⬆️ The “head” of a starfish, the researchers found, is not in any one place. Instead, the headlike regions are distributed with some in the center of the sea star as well as in the center of each limb of its body. No part of the sea star ectoderm expresses a “trunk” genetic patterning program, suggesting that **sea stars are mostly headlike**. Subscribe- t.me/askmenow