Injuries activate the oral identity-specifying canonical Wnt signaling pathway in Hydra, which can trigger head regeneration in permissive tissue contexts created by the absence of pre-existing organizers.

Orthologous proteins display different mutational robustness that can be leveraged to improve prediction of functional sequences.

Exceptionally preserved small shelly fossils (SSFs) from the early Cambrian Kuanchuanpu Formation (535 million years ago) reveal the muscular system of ancient cnidarians.

The identification of 31 neuropeptide GPCRs in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis provides a rich resource to study peptidergic signaling in cnidarians and suggests that cnidarian and bilaterian peptidergic systems diversified independent from each other from a few ancestral systems.

Sea anemones use adapted ion channels to control stinging behavior.

An opsin receptor has a central role in the production and release of eggs by female jellyfish.

Gamete release in the jellyfish Clytia is mediated by an opsin photopigment expressed in neurosecretory cells of the gonad ectoderm, which release an oocyte maturation hormone in response to light.

Clytia jellyfish regenerate body shape and organs through a mechanically driven process that coordinates tissue remodeling, localized proliferation, and precursor migration and promotes Wnt signaling at a muscle-based landmark.