After urging you all to do something to save the Tasmanian devil, I discover now that Tara wrote about DFTD last month. I guess I have to work harder to keep up with all these science bloggers.
« Crazy
Tara beat me to the Taz story
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Well, to give credit where it’s due, afarensis also covered it awhile back as did Grrl (both citing news stories), and Carl had an excellent post on the similar phenomenon in dogs, Stickler’s sarcoma (canine transmissible venereal tumor [CTVT]), starting his post off with what I think is the most interesting part of all this: “Can a tumor become a new form of life?” Fascinating stuff, though too bad it hadn’t emerged in rats or something instead of an endangered species…
On other threads, I maintained that the TDFT is a speciation event. In which case, we are witnessing the creation of a new species in real time. An event that the creos consistently claim doesn’t happen. I can’t see any holes in my logic and a few other posters agreed. Anyone see any holes here?
raven: “Anyone see any holes here?”
Nope. In fact, even before Zimmer published his 8/9/07 post on DFTD and CTVT I wrote (in private correspondence) that this is a speciation event, a change in level of selection (somatic to individual), and phyletic change from vertebrate organization to pseudo-protist.
I mean Zimmer’s 8/9/06 post.
Colugo–you also made the comment over at Sciencegrrl’s blog back in February–see the link in Tara’s comment above.
Thanks Sven.
The same thing must have happened in the origin of viruses and prions: replicating ultraselfish entities became transmissible, thus escaping the fate of the host’s disposable soma.
The reverse phenomenon is a parasitic entity (ERVs, Wolbachia, mitochondria, lichen fungi) incorporating itself into the germline of an unrelated host.
Under most species concepts I can’t. Maybe under all. I don’t know all 25-upwards of them…
Indeed, someone gave a genus and species name to the HeLa cells.
Under most species concepts I can’t. Maybe under all. I don’t know all 25-upwards of them…
Indeed, someone gave a genus and species name to the HeLa cells.
Not to worry. It’s part of God’s Plan, after all.
Constantine (2005):
Angela: “I guess God has a plan for all of us.”
Constantine: “God’s a kid with an ant farm, lady. He’s not planning anything.”
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Anyone remember The Thing and The Blob’s marshmallowy cousin, The Stuff?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stuff