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Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 15, 781–783 (1 August 2008) | doi:10.1038/nsmb0808-781

The chloride channel's appendix

Joseph A Mindell

The human appendix seems to do nothing but cause misery. This organ, which has been suggested to exist solely to generate income for surgeons, is an evolutionary vestige from a time when our ancestors chewed their cud and needed to digest grass.