Almost a year ago, I briefly wrote up the results of the cephalopod genome sequence— a sequence, which thanks to a few off-the-cuff, silly remarks by one of the authors, had turned into an assertion by irresponsible journalists that science had proven that octopuses were aliens. They haven’t. Researchers actually found many commonalities — cephalopods are a branch of the animal family tree, and share genes with all other organisms on the planet.
But hey, what do you know, deja vu all over again. Inanity re-emerges, with a recent article titled SCIENTISTS CONCLUDE OCTUPUS DNA IS NOT FROM THIS WORLD.
Thanks to the first-ever full genome sequence, researchers have found that octopuses (NOT Octopi) are in fact entirely different from any other animals on our planet. Their genome shows a never-before-seen level of complexity with a staggering 33,000 protein-coding genes identified, more than in a human being.
US researcher Dr. Clifton Ragsdale, from the University of Chicago, said: The octopus appears to be utterly different from all other animals, even other molluscs, with its eight prehensile arms, its large brain, and its clever problem-solving abilities.
“The late British zoologist Martin Wells said the octopus is an alien. In this sense, then, our paper describes the first sequenced genome from an alien.”
What Wells said is what is known on planet Earth as a “joke”. An exaggeration for humorous effect.
Apparently, scientists have just proven that journalists are aliens, lacking normal human feeling and appearing incapable of comprehending the behavior of bipedal mammals.
They are also prone to lying.
Octopuses have an alien genetic baggage. The scientific report mainly concluded that Octopuses share ‘Alien’ genes.This has been a ground shaking claim in the scientific community which caused an upheaval among marine biologists who seemed to be shocked and intrigued at the same time.
None of this is true at all.
Casey Coates Danson, you are an incompetent, dishonest hack. Resign from your job. Never ever even attempt any science reporting ever again.
Should be “Danson”, with an n instead of a w.
They’re thinking of Kang and Kodos.
kind of resulting from obsession with all life on this planet resulting from repeated variations descending from a single prototype. Seems plausible that life arose several times independently, why not?
It looks like Casey Coates Danson just lifts articles from other sources wholesale and sticks his/her name on them. Check out the article on “design for the 1%”, which is from Jacobin. Several others look to be the same. So I doubt this article was written by this person.
Doesn’t invalidate the charges of being a dishonest, incompetent hack, though.
While nobody can prove that life on earth didn’t arise more than once, only one lineage survived. All terrestrial life shares the same DNA-RNA-peptide system which pretty conclusively points to a single common ancestor.
“Call of Cthulhu.” That’s all I’m saying. Or maybe “The Shadow over Innsmouth”. ;)
I, for one, welcome our cephalopod overlords.
that whole entire site is full of lies, misinformation, and horrendous psuedoscience.
ugh.
why single this one writer out, when the entire site is crap?
She (Casey Coates Danson) is also a Wakefield supporter: “I’ve decided to write this follow-up in the interest of justice to Andrew Wakefield, whom I’ve personally met and whose moral courage going up against the pharma lobby against all normal odds we owe a debt to.”
In short, she is a scientific illiterate loon.
http://www.globalpossibilities.org/what-media-hid-in-the-de-niro-autism-film-affair/