Could You Explain Why/if We Can't Just Copy The Genes Of One Animal And Splice Them Into Another Animal,

could you explain why/if we can't just copy the genes of one animal and splice them into another animal, for example why we couldn't give humans cat ears?

There's no one easy way to answer this, but the basic answer is that it's not that simple. There's no one gene, or even easily reducible set of genes, that just is "make cat ears". Not only is there a network of genes activated within a cell, there are a myriad of signals from nearby cells (the "microenvironment") as well as cues from the rest of the body and environment.

So each one of the cells making your ear isn't just encoded to be a cell that makes your ear. In fact, most of them don't have any "ear" genetic characteristics or activation. They're generic cartilage or skin cells that were told to grow more or less by neighboring cells or distant cells during carefully coordinated times during growth and development. Each cell interprets this signal in different ways, and also receives multiple signals at a time, the combination of which can produce unique results.

The easiest to interpret example of this is finger development. During development, when your hand is still a fingerless paddle, a single cell on the pinky side of your hand (or thumb side, it could be reversed) releases a signalling molecules to nearby cells. A cell receiving the highest dose will start to become a pinky, and send a signal for the cells immediately around it to aide in that. The next cell that isn't aiding that, but still receives the initial signal, receives a lower concentration of that signal since it's further away. That lower concentration signals a ring finger, and it repeats until you get thumbs at the lowest concentrations.

That's the most visible example, but it's similar to what happens all over the body- signals that are dependent on the structure and genetics of the microenvironment, not just the genetics of the developing cells alone.

This careful network of timing, signals, gene activations, and spatial placement of cells is the core of the field of Developmental Biology (which, technically, my PhD is in as well bc it's often wrapped in with molecular bio lol).

So making cat ears on a human genetically would essentially require not only genetic manipulation, but also babysitting the fetus the entire time and adding in localized signals to the microenvironment of the developing ear cells, which is essentially impossible. There's too much "human" flying around to realistically get that result, and an attempt at doing so would essentially be akin to molecular sculpting. That's why *my* preferred approach would be epithelial stem cell manipulation/printing and subsequent grafting, but that's an entirely different thing.

If you're interested in this kind of thing, the most approachable and engaging summary of developmental biology is the book "Your Inner Fish", by Neil Shubin, the discoverer of Tiktaalik. He summarizes a lot of dev biology through the lens of evolutionary biology, which is a great way to see how differences in structures have arisen and differentiate across the tree of life.

If you want a shorter introduction, and like cute but kinda "cringey in the way you love" science parodies: the song evo-devo by a capella science is really fun and gets stuck in my head a lot:

But yeah, hope that answered your question!

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genetics

Pause and ponder the periodic parapodia paddling from this pterrifically ptiny pteropod!

Sea angels (Clione sp.) recently returned to Into the Deep/En lo Profundo. Be shore to stay tuned for animal updates as you never know who you’ll meet in this ever-evolving exhibit!

Want to learn more about sea angels? Check out our video collab with SciShow!

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mikrobiotch

1 year ago

FOTD #074 : slimy green waxcap! (gliophorus/hygrocybe graminicolor)

the slimy green waxcap is an agaric fungus from the family hygrophoraceae. it is found in australia & aotearoa :-) not much else is known about this mushroom.

the big question : can i bite it?? the edibility is unknown.

a photograph of two g. graminicolor mushrooms growing in damp forest debris, surrounded by dead leaves, twigs & two small leafy twigs.

a closeup photograph of a young specimen of gliophorus graminicolor, growing in decaying mulch.

g./h. graminicolor description :

"the light green cap & stem of this small agaric are covered with a thick, slimy, glutinous coating. a waxy, grey-green, glutinous thread runs along the edges of white waxy gills. the convex cap becomes centrally depressed & ages to brown."

[images : source & source] [fungus description : source]

"GREEN BABY !! i couldn't find an exact measurement, but she's *small*. i love this mushroom so so so much<3"

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mikrobiotch

7 months ago

Bacterial Morphology Chart. Poster of full color micrographs depicting basic bacterial shapes and arrangements. x

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bacteria mikrob

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mikrobiotch

2 years ago

Me: here's a fun bacteria fact!

My mom: wow! Horrifying! Please never tell me anything like that ever again!

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mikrobiotch

1 year ago

plants that never ever bloom

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myco

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mikrobiotch

1 year ago

i got to work with some HeLa cells today!

as cool of an experience as this was and as interesting as these things are, it’s always important to acknowledge the bad along with the good. Henrietta Lacks’ cells revolutionized so many areas of research, but she deserved so much better.

working with these cells today just really reminded me of the duality of many scientific developments. many things have come with great cost and harm and i think that’s something important to keep in mind.

if you aren’t familiar with the story of Henrietta Lacks, i highly recommend looking her up. there’s a book about her live (the immortal life of henrietta lacks) that’s very illuminating.

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mikrob

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mikrobiotch

1 year ago

DNA from a strawberry!!! This was super cool (the little white strands in the clear is actual dna from a strawberry!) strawberries are octoploids which means they have 8 copies of each chromosome! It makes it easier to see and extract it’s DNA. That’s wild!

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mikrobiotch

1 year ago

FOTD #126 : entoloma haastii!

entoloma haastii (no common name) is a mushroom in the family entolomataceae :-) it is only known to grow in aotearoa, where it often sprouts in leaf litter from southern beech plants.

the big question : can i bite it?? the edibility is unknown, but it is said to be sharp-tasting & sour / bitter.

a side view photograph of a group of entoloma haastii fungi growing from woody debris below a tree.

an aerial view photograph of the tops of a few entoloma haastii fungi in leaf litter & woody debris.

e. haastii description :

"the cap is initially conical later developing an umbo & becoming rounded or bell-shaped, reaching diameter of 1.5–5.5 cm (0.6–2.2 in) in diameter. older fruit bodies have margins that are turned upward. the cap colour is dark brown or soot-brown but always has a bluish tinge. the surface is dry, covered by radially arranged wrinkles or veins, neither striate nor hygrophanous. the gills are adnexed to almost free from attachment to the stem. they are somewhat distantly spaced, with between 16 & 22 gills extending fully from the stem to the edge of the cap, in addition to one to three tiers of interspersed lamelluae (short gills that do not extend fully from the stem to the cap edge). the gill colour is grey-bluish later becoming pink, & the gill edges are straight or somewhat saw-toothed, & the same colour as the gill face. the stem is 4–10 cm (1.6–3.9 in) by 0.3–1 cm (0.12–0.39 in), bulbous-rooting or club-shaped. the top portion of the stem is deep blue, the colour fading towards the whitish or ochraceous base, strongly fibrillose, dry, hollow, fragile, often twisted. the flesh is blue in the cap & the upper parts of the stem, but whitish or yellowish at the base."

[images : source & source] [fungus description : source]

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mikrobiotch

1 year ago

When I was in the hospital, they gave me a big bracelet that said ALLERGY, but like. I'm allergic to bees. Were they going to prescribe me bees in there.

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mikrobiotch

2 years ago