that's a lot of limbs

Sometimes I wonder what goes on in the heads of animals used for research. Because sometimes Science does really cool stuff!

Have you ever heard of the coelacanth? It's a pretty famous fish. They THOUGHT it died with the dinosaurs, but it totally didn't! It was just relaxing in the Comoros Islands in the Indian Ocean!

And who can blame them?! I mean, if everybody I knew was going to go and extinct themselves, I would probably go and relax on some island somewhere and not be bothered by an extincting.

Once scientists found these fish, experiments HAD to happen! They found that some DNA in the fish "doesn't code for proteins, but somehow turns genes on and off."

I have no idea what that means, but when you put that DNA into mice, it can turn ON the genes that make limbs!

The article is strangely silent on whether the limbs were actually needed or not. I don't know if these were mice that lost a limb and had it grown back OR if there are now mice with 7 legs and 4 tails.

Possibly a bread tail. (That is funny if you read what I wrote earlier this week. Well, maybe not FUNNY funny, but kinda funny.)

As exciting as this is, it's also VERY scary. This is how Dr. Curt Connors became the Lizard. Well, with lizard DNA, not coelacanth.

Maybe if he did that, he'd become the Coelacanth. Not as easy to say. And maybe not as scary. Since he would be a fish and have to live underwater. I suppose he could attack people on the beach, but I think he would probably go relax at the Comoros Islands.

It's too bad his research was so lizardy.

I'm off to grow some limbs.

Enjoy Everything.

-dj

can plants eat people?

Russian scientists have found plant seeds from 30,000 years ago. That's right ICE AGE FLOWERS!

At first, you might think that's cool. You know, maybe as a gift for a loved one or something. You can't find extinct flowers everywhere. Because...you know...they're extinct.

These were frozen, then thawed, then planted, and the flowers are growing!

But what do we really know about the extinct Silene stenophylla? It grows in Siberia. Usually blooms in the summer. And that's it.

THAT'S IT!

No research has been done on the eating habits of this plant! What if it has a taste for meat? Did you think of that? And this Ice Age version of the plant might be HUGE! It could grow over 25 cm tall! At that size, it could eat a panda or something!

Is that what you want?! Panda-eating flowers?!

I've seen Jurassic Park. I've read a small portion of the book. I know what happens when you mess with frozen life. Theme parks shut down!

Is that what you want?! Disney World to shut down?!

It sounds like you do, Russian florists. If you loved Disney and panda bears, you would stop with this crazy floristian madness.

I have Masters Degree in Floristation and I'm pretty sure Russia doesn't. So I should know.

I'm off to Disney World with a panda.

Enjoy Everything.

-dj