Blink Once If You Can Hear Me

[drhoz]

In responce to tetrabinary's post about the mutant piggy,and the quote from the article "and local vets are nonplussed as to the origin of the genetic mutation."

THey must have been pretty ignorant vets then, because that sort of defect is caused by overexpression of the Sonic Hedgehog genes. Shh is one of three proteins in the mammalian hedgehog

Comments

[growing_rose]

I love polydactyl cats. >3 My little girl has extra toes on three of her paws (front paws, the dew claws swung down and formed farther. Hind paws, one actually has a fully formed dew claw). I think it's the cutest thing in the world when she comes to investigate me in the bathtub and her paws look all splayed out 'cause they're huge.

[drhoz]

*grins*

[thatjamiegirl]

[sclerotic_rings]

I know the feeling about the lack of sense of humor, because I see it in palaeontology as well. Myself, not only do I not have any problems with pachycephalosaurs being named after Harry Potter and fabrosaurs named after Edward Drinker Cope, but I think that a world without trilobites named after three of the four Beatles and all five Sex Pistols isn't worth living in.

[rime_r]

Please tell me that trilobites are, in fact, named after 3 beetles and 5 sex pistols.

Sort of on that note, why the fuck is it called the sonic hedgehog gene?

[drhoz]

because the original discovery made fruit-fly pupae spiky. Thus, 'hedgehog'

then, when they discovered similar genes in vertebrates, they wanted a related name to indicate that similarity

[crumpetsfortea]

Do you work in paleo? If so, we should talk, and be nerds together. :)

And the problem with Dracorex, as far as I see it, is that it was basically named as a publicity stunt and the science that went into it wasn't at all good.

Anyway, it's been shown to be a juvenile Stygimoloch, anyway, so it doesn't really mater. And Stygimoloch is probably Pachycephalosaurus.

[ginnski]

My kitty has extra toes. She also uses her extra toes to grip (like a thumb) sometimes!

[moochies18]

your kitten looks like it's wearing mittens.

[nyokirrr04]

Maybe it has advantages, so the genetic flaw keeps quite common.

[kitchenwitch]

That is one cat that NEEDS to be named "Mittens."

[sugarbugevans]

I love evolution cats!