Shoulder ligament a linchpin in the evolution of flight

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Using computer modeling treadmills and the fossil record researchers have shown that the acrocoracohumeral ligament (AHL) a short band of tissue that connects the humerus to the shoulder joint in birds was a critical element in the evolution of fligh ...
Using computer modeling, treadmills and the fossil record, researchers have shown that the acrocoracohumeral ligament (AHL), a short band of tissue that connects the humerus to the shoulder joint in birds, was a critical element in the evolution of flight. Credit: David Baier/Brown University

Brown and Harvard scientists have learned that a single ligament at the shoulder joint stabilizes the wings of birds during flight. In an advanced online publication of Nature, they explain how this tough bit of tissue evolved to become a linchpin for today's fliers.


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