国际进化杂志

Vette to Volt: Evolution of Cardiac System

Hiroshi Shimizu

Vette to Volt: Evolution of Cardiac System

Automobiles of these days are under constant pressure to become more environment friendly and fuel efficient. Conventional cars are constantly replaced by hybrid vehicles. Chevy Volt, a solution presented by General Motors Cooperation, has a gasoline engine which works mostly as a generator to charge battery that supplies energy for electric motors. Therefore, the engine provides motive power only indirectly by means of electric energy instead of directly through transmission as with Chevy Corvette (nicknamed Vette). Overviewing the process of evolution of cardiac system in multicellular organisms based on both published sources and preliminary information, we find that the evolution of cardiac system shares common features with the evolution of automobiles.