The genes that brought about scales to end up feathers in the early ancestors of birds have been found with the aid of US scientists.
By expressing these genes in embryo alligator skin, the researchers brought on the reptiles' scales to trade in a way that may also be similar to how the earliest feathers evolved.
Feathers are notably complicated natural constructions and they're key to the success of birds.
But they at first developed in dinosaurs, birds' extinct ancestors.
Leading the study, Professor Cheng-Ming Choung advised the BBC that this discovery links important current palaeontological finds with contemporary biology, in appreciation feather evolution.
