Pandas famously love bamboo but the fluffy mammals’ actually have digestive systems typical of animals that eat a meat-based diet - and Chinese scientists now think they know why.

Giant pandas have digestive systems that are typical for carnivores. Yet, bamboo is their main source of food. They have evolved several features; for example, pseudo thumbs to grasp bamboo and flat teeth that are well suited for crushing it,

Tiny scraps of genetic material from bamboo might influence the genes of pandas, helping them adapt to a mostly bamboo diet.

Learn more about how miRNA may have regulated the gene expression in pandas, helping them adapt to eating more plants.