The domestic cat has been the subject of much study, recently involving its genetic structure, genomic DNA sequence, and comparisons with other felines. The first such study was published in 2014, when an international...more
The advent of technology making feasible elucidation of whole genomic sequencing over the past 30 years has led to reports of many if not most important or interesting animal genomes (including the most celebrated results of...more
The giraffe is the tallest extant terrestrial animal, and its iconic long neck (6 feet) provides advantages for foraging for food and detecting predators on the veldt over long distances. As a consequence, however, the...more
As the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted life throughout the world this spring, bats have been a prominent feature in news stories and recriminations about how the pandemic started (and being blamed even more than happenings in...more
The avocado, having gained popularity (at least in the U.S.) as a convenient (and delicious) vehicle for consuming otherwise not particularly healthful corn chips, has more recently been hailed as a "superfood" when consumed...more
A major conceit of the "genomics" revolution, involving the various species-specific genome projects epitomized by the one for Homo sapiens was the idea that decoding a genome would tell us everything there was to know about...more
Invertebrate zoology is in many ways the most comprehensive survey course on biology, encompassing most multicellular life on the planet. (Indeed, the study of the Order Coleoptera alone, comprising the beetles, would...more
In a paper published in March in the journal Genome Medicine, Dr. Jeffrey Rosenfeld of the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey and Dr. Christopher Mason of Cornell University contended that due to the...more