inbreeding
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New Research Casts Doubt on What Killed the Last Living Mammoth
The last mammoths to walk the Earth did not succumb to inbreeding after hundreds of generations, despite being stuck on a remote island off the coast of Siberia. That’s the finding of research published today in Cell which interrogated 21 woolly mammoth genomes to understand how the population’s genetic diversity may have played a role…
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India’s ‘Black Tigers’ Have Unusually Thick Stripes Thanks to a Genetic Mutation
At a wildlife park in eastern India, tigers feature a variety of coat fashions. Most notably, some of the cats have very thick black stripes. Now, a team of geneticists in India and the United States have identified a genetic mutation in the tiger troupe that explains why some of them are so dark.
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Inbred Cougars in Southern California Are Sprouting Crooked Tails
Researchers have spotted physical abnormalities associated with a lack of genetic diversity in cougars living in the Santa Monica Mountains of southern California, including kinked tails and, in one male, only one descended testicle.
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The Sad Truth About Floppy-Eared Bunnies
Floppy-eared rabbits, also known as lop rabbits, are more susceptible to serious ear and tooth disorders than upright-eared domesticated rabbits, according to new research. The findings are raising important concerns about the appropriateness of breeding lop rabbits, adorable as they are.