#domestication

#domestication

A gene that is important for human hearing could determine whether a dog's ears are pendulous like a basset hound's or stubby like a rottweiler's, according to a genetic analysis of more than 3,000 dogs, wolves and coyotes. The study, presented on 11 January at the Plant and Animal Genome Conference in San Diego, California, found that DNA variants near a gene called MSRB3 are linked to ear length in dogs. The results were also published in December in Scientific Reports.

Is there something I would figuratively die on a hill for? Yes, there is and as it happens, I'm sitting on a literal hill right now, feeding them. Pigeons. Why pigeons? Because it's about time they get the respect they deserve. I like pigeons. Because they're like me, working class. You can tell pigeons are working class because every pigeon looks knackered. It's about this point in the conversation that people politely make their excuses and slowly back away (literally) while avoiding eye contact.

In the English language, the turkey gets kind of a tough break. Talking turkey requires serious honesty and speaking harsh truths. Going cold turkey is, often, an onerous way of quitting something completely and suddenly. Being a turkey is a rude zinger thrown at movie and theatrical flops, as well as unpleasant, failure-prone people. Yet, in the culinary world, the turkey looms large, particularly during November.

Over many generations - through deliberate selection, crossing and interbreeding - humans 'created' the domesticated creatures we have and use today.