I love the idea of restoring quaggas, but McCauley's right: It's a less-stripey zebra. If they're going to all that trouble, why not make the real thing? Rau quaggas look cool, but genetically they're zebras. Wouldn't the same collateral conservation benefits apply if they made actual quaggas?
Scientists (taxonomists) can’t decide if the extinct version of quagga was real or just a zebra. The first tiny fragment of ancient DNA that was ever recovered was from a museum preserved quagga skin. It was a fragment of mitochondrial DNA and showed that were closely related to horses. https://www.nature.com/articles/312282a0
Interesting. Like if bonobos were extinct and they tried to recreate them from chimpanzee DNA. There'd probably be a lot of wrangling over whether bonobos were even a separate species. They diverged from the last common ancestor around 2 million years ago, so even more recently than quaggas from zebras.
I love the idea of restoring quaggas, but McCauley's right: It's a less-stripey zebra. If they're going to all that trouble, why not make the real thing? Rau quaggas look cool, but genetically they're zebras. Wouldn't the same collateral conservation benefits apply if they made actual quaggas?
Scientists (taxonomists) can’t decide if the extinct version of quagga was real or just a zebra. The first tiny fragment of ancient DNA that was ever recovered was from a museum preserved quagga skin. It was a fragment of mitochondrial DNA and showed that were closely related to horses. https://www.nature.com/articles/312282a0
Interesting. Like if bonobos were extinct and they tried to recreate them from chimpanzee DNA. There'd probably be a lot of wrangling over whether bonobos were even a separate species. They diverged from the last common ancestor around 2 million years ago, so even more recently than quaggas from zebras.
"as well as a potentially altered stance on vaccines."
Hrgggh. This is what worries me about RFK.
Anyway, politics aside, thanks for another newsletter, David. The UV work was interesting to see.
You're certainly not alone in that concern. I hope there can be some positive outcomes on the food regulatory side.
I’m glad you enjoyed on the UV - I can’t help but wonder if additional sunlight helps those with chronic autoimmune disorders.
Bump