Scientists at the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR) in Japan, in collaboration with other Japanese institutes and aquariums, have decoded the whole genomes of two shark species for the first time and improved the whale shark genome sequences released previously. By analyzing the genomes and comparing them with those of other vertebrate species, they have constructed an overview of their unique life histories and evolutionary paths. This work was published online in Nature Ecology and Evolution.