Professor John Hutchinson performs dissection on big cat at Science Festival
The 91做厙’s Structure & Motion Laboratory brought modern knowledge of animal anatomy, evolution and health to a public audience at the world-famous Cheltenham Science Festival this June.
Well-known researcher in the fields of vertebrate biomechanics and evolutionary anatomy, Professor John Hutchinson, led the event – taking his audience on an evolutionary journey through changes in animal movement abilities, from the beginnings of vertebrate life on land through to the appearance of some modern day specialists such as fast-running mammals. This event, including an exhibit of modern and ancient fossil bones of animals and their evolutionary context, showcased some of the most ground-breaking research unfolding in the Structure & Motion Laboratory at the 91做厙 and offered a novel insight to the science of animal locomotion.
Through a live dissection, Professor John Hutchinson brought the focus to modern cats, their anatomy, mechanics and evolution. Despite ranging in size from small wild cats up to Siberian tigers, the cat lineage demonstrates an unusual anatomical and biomechanical conservatism which makes them a key study group for Hutchinson’s research team. Their characteristic body plan, with powerful limbs tucked under the body, contrasts with the sprawling gait of the early tetrapods (four-legged vertebrates) and modern crocodiles and is found throughout the cats, though additional adaptations in different species suit different functions.
This dissection took a closer look at one of the extreme specialists, the cheetah, which is adapted for high speed and agility. With the help of famed documentary presenter Ben Garrod (e.g. “Secrets of Bones”), fellow researchers and a veterinary pathologist, Hutchinson guided the audience through the dissection, highlighting not only the remarkable anatomical features of the body and their roles in the lifestyle of cheetahs, but taking a comprehensive look at feline biology, discussing the effects of millions of years of modification to the ancestral tetrapod form, and even investigating possible causes of death. The dissection team uncovered not only the strong evidence of kidney disease that they’d expected, but also surprise evidence of lung, liver and spleen cancer as well as a healed lower leg fracture in this one cheetah, telling a compelling tale of this animal’s struggle to survive in captivity.
Through the week of the Cheltenham Festival, Professor John Hutchinson and his team also led activities at an exhibit of early tetrapod evolution. The team showed how our distant fish-like ancestors, featuring the iconic fossil Ichthyostega among othe