Category Archives: Zoology

Inbreeding in Panda Population?: Extremely Rare Brown and White Panda Spotted

By jyaron | Published: January 20, 2010
An extremely rare brown and white panda was recently spotted in the Qinling region of China. Only 7 such examples of this pigmentation have been seen in the past 25 years, suggesting that the low numbers of giant pandas have lead to inbreeding. This suggestion stems from the nature of this particular sort of pigmentation, [...]
Also posted in Genetics, Genomics | Tagged , , , | 4315 Comments

Transgenic, Green Monkeys Provide Possibility of Primate Model Organisms

By jyaron | Published: January 2, 2010
This story is a few months old, but I was reading through the Nature homepage and came across their selected Images of the Year slideshow. Many of these images have to do with various space-related or physics themes, but of particular interest to me when browsing through the images was a gorgeous image of fluorescent [...]
Also posted in Biology, Genetics, Health & Medicine | Tagged , , , , | 7599 Comments

Colo, Oldest Captive Gorilla, Celebrates 53rd Birthday

By jyaron | Published: December 24, 2009
The oldest living gorilla in captivity, Colo (from Columbus, Ohio), celebrated her 53rd birthday with what looks like a giant, great ape-size cake (see video, click image or here). Interestingly, Colo is also the first gorilla every born in captivity. A Western Gorilla, her species is Critically Endangered. Colo is quite the matriarch, with one [...]
Posted in Zoology | Tagged , , | 5613 Comments

New Insight About Why Chimpanzees Can’t Speak, But We Can

By jyaron | Published: November 13, 2009
Why is it that humans can speak, but chimpanzees, with their >98% genetic identity to humans, can’t? For almost a decade scientists have known that the FOXP2 gene is responsible for the mendelian development of language in humans. Theories abound about how a mere 2 amino acid change may have been all that was needed [...]
Also posted in Biology, Evolutionary Biology | Tagged , , , , , , | 5570 Comments

Monkeys Enjoy Music.. Their OWN Music.

By jyaron | Published: September 5, 2009
While monkeys prefer silence in the presence of human music, they apparently enjoy the music produced by themselves and their own vocal chords. This could provide significant improvements in the lives of captive animals and offers a unique look at the dynamics of animal physiology and psychology. Read More Read the original publication
Also posted in Biology | Tagged , , , | 2487 Comments

Molecular Decay Of Enamel-specific Gene In Toothless Mammals Supports Theory Of Evolution

By jyaron | Published: September 4, 2009
Biologists report new evidence for evolutionary change recorded in both the fossil record and the genomes (or genetic blueprints) of living organisms, providing fresh support for Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. The researchers were able to correlate the progressive loss of enamel in the fossil record with a simultaneous molecular decay of a gene, called [...]
Also posted in Evolutionary Biology, Genomics | Tagged , , , , , | 3346 Comments