Beachcombers know that seashells appear in an endless array of colors and shapes, and researchers have just discovered that this variation extends to the molecular level. In fact, each shell is as ...

Scientists have begun to peel back the complex gene networks that control the secretions from the outer layer of cells on the mantle. In the largest study ever performed, the authors generated a ...

Mollusks, from land snails and slugs to oysters and mussels in the sea, have a few things in common. They have a head. They have a soft middle part that holds their organs. Then, some have a muscle ...

Mollusks are fabulous architects. They build houses that protect their soft bodies from predators and the elements—shells of uncommon strength, durability and beauty. Many of these shells have ...

A tiny, hat-like shell that adorns a 478-million-year-old spiky slug is helping scientists figure out how mollusks evolved over the ages, according to a new study. The newly identified species solves ...