Darwinist ignorance: vestigial organs? (Introduction)

by David Turell , Wednesday, February 21, 2024, 18:21 (275 days ago) @ David Turell

It is the rete ovarii:

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2417878-useless-appendage-of-the-ovaries-may-play-...

"A key component of the female reproductive system may have been overlooked. Research into the rete ovarii, an appendage of the ovaries that has previously been dismissed as useless, suggests it has an important role after all.

“'We think it is regulating the timing or rate of ovulation,” says Blanche Capel at Duke University in North Carolina. “It may control how many [ovarian] follicles are activated in one’s cycle or when they are activated.”

"Her team plans to do further studies to try to confirm this. “We haven’t proved all of this, but there are several smoking guns here,” she says.

***

"Part of the problem is that even in large animals, the rete ovarii is extremely difficult to see with the naked eye, says Anbarci. It is only because the team was creating 3D images with PAX8 that it could be seen in mice, she says. “It was just the luck of using the right antibody.”

"While continuing to study the development, structure and function of the rete ovarii, mostly in mice, the researchers found nerves connecting to the appendage. Anbarci is now trying to establish whether these are sending information or receiving it.

***

“'So it can actively transport fluid into the ovary,” says Capel. “That suggests that it really does function. It’s also surrounded by macrophages, which are really interesting cells that communicate a lot around the body.”

***

"It is assumed that the ovaries respond directly to chemical signals in the blood, but it could be the rete ovarii that is relaying signals, says Capel. “It may be a sensory mechanism for the ovary to keep tabs on what’s going on in the rest of the body,” she says. “Kind of like an antenna.'”

Comment: everything in the body is there for a reason. We just need to find all the reasons.