The image above shows the skeleton of a normal chick (top left) and a chicken with a severe mutation (top right).
The mutation is in a gene called TALPID3 which is important for development. Chickens which have lost the function of TALPID3 have brain deformities, small lungs, liver fibrosis and extra fingers.
Scientists at the Roslin Institute have now found that humans with a rare genetic disorder that affects brain development, called Joubert syndrome, also have mutations in TALPID3.
By investigating the impact of the gene at the cellular level in chickens, the researchers have provided further insight into the specifics of Joubert syndrome in people.
A study published Thursday shows how a bird flu virus that’s sickening and killing people in China could mutate to potentially become more contagious.
Just three changes could be enough to do the trick, scientists report in the journal PLOS Pathogens.
And the news comes just as federal officials are getting ready to lift a moratorium on controversial lab experiments that would deliberately create flu viruses with mutations like these.
Public health officials have been worried about this bird flu virus, called H7N9, because it’s known to have infected more than 1,500 people — and killed 40 percent of them. So far, unlike other strains that more commonly infect humans, this deadly virus does not spread easily between people.
The fear is that if it mutates in a way that lets it spread more easily, the virus will sweep around the globe and take a heavy toll, because people’s immune systems haven’t ever been exposed to this type of flu before. Past pandemics caused by novel flu viruses jumping from animals or birds into people have killed millions.
There is a systemless supplement called The Metamorphica (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/115703/The-Metamorphica-Classic-Edition). It is great. I love it. Full of random tables for mutations such mental, physical, psionic, supernatural, etc. mutations as well as descriptions of them. There are sections on using mutations for different genres and there are even a collection of different mutated NPCs and monsters.
In the Planescape 5e campaign I DM we have a character who recently got trapped in Limbo and now he has a very short temper (Behavioral Mutation) and the ability to duplicate (like Multiple Man but limited to one copy). It gives him a boost in power but it is thematic and a lot of fun. There is also risk involved. Does he sacrifice his duplicate so his party can escape, or does he save it for later and risk his party’s safety and survival.
I have an idea to run an X-Men Campaign where everyone randomly generates their Mutant using the random tables to create their characters. The idea being the Mutants in X-Men didn’t get to choose their Mutations, unless you count Mister Sinister ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, so neither will the players. I think it could be fun.
But you could use The Metamorphica to create (and even play) Post Apocalyptic Irradiated Wastelanders, Chaos Warped Demonic Abominations, Body Horror Experimentation Victims, Super Soldiers, Superheroes, Bizarre Alien Lifeforms, Formless Dream Entities, Eldritch Monstrosities, or beings trapped in Limbo.
Mutations range from Anthropomorphic Animal to Hunchback, from Double Jointed to Diabetic, from Genetic Memory to Dyslexia, from Magnetic Control to Cause Insanity, from Animated Tattoos to Cannot Cross Running Water, and so many more.
There is so much you can do with this product. I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it. This review is not sponsored, I did not receive money from them or anyone else to review this. I simply gotta spread the love of an awesome product. 5 out of 5 stars.
Today’s obsession: ‘Fasciation‘ in plants, which is the elaborate ‘warping’ or banding in the apical meristem (growing tip) of vascular plants occasionally caused by hormonal, genetic, bacterial, fungal, viral and environmental factors..
Celebrating the arrival of spring with Fasciation: fantasy vegetation right in your backyard.
Here we see a very special green frog [Lithobates clamitans, formerly Rana clamitans] displaying unusual blue coloration instead of the typical green. This mutation is apparently relatively common in the area of Michigan where this specimen was found. Image by James Harding.
Here we see a captive-raised green frog[Lithobates clamitans; formerly Rana clamitans] displaying partial leucism. Often mistaken for albinism, leucistic frogs are only lacking pigment in certain areas, and still retain pigment in their eyes. This individual was found as a tadpole in a pond in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Images by Daniel F. Hughes.
I’m not saying Barack Hussein Obama is responsible for this, and I’m not even necessarily saying it’s Hillary Clinton’s fault, but I do think this is something Congress needs to look into, because it’s obviously not a coincidence.
The next boye! This is another character for our homebrew campaign! The other ones are still being build, but sooon I shall get to draw the whole squad. >:)
this surprisingly white yellow-throated toucan was spotted in costa rica within its native habitat. the bird’s odd appearance is due to leucism, a genetic condition that leads to an absence of pigmentation. birds with plumage in abnormal colors are prone to increased predation and weak feathers due to lack of melanin.
Deon Isaac and Zea Charls . . This is my ocs on my story that I made for my storytelling class. My lecture wanted us to make a short story based on existed story on TV/cinema. So I choose tmnt as my references (obviously) . . I want to make this story in comic form but it’s kinda hard for me since I don’t have a lot of time and energy to make it happen. Because I want to make it with a really nice art style. So I’m not sure if I’ll do a comic for it in future. . . . . This is my first time using Photoshop (PS) to colour it. Actually I was ‘forced’ to colour it on PS because after I transferred the sai file into psd, the colour ruined. So I had to fix it. And it takes hours for me since I’m not comfortable with PS yet. . . . . Btw, goodnight and good morning to my friends around the world!
The pink coloration of this grasshopper is thought to come from a mutation called erythrism. Easily picked off by predators, pink grasshoppers rarely make it to adulthood.
A beautiful crested Echeveria at the Berkshire Botanical Garden. I learned about crested succulents at one of my first meetings of the New York Cactus & Succulent Society and have enjoyed identifying them ever since. In a nutshell, cristate growth occurs when the apical meristem (upper growth tissue) of the plant undergoes a mutation which makes it grow irregularly. Instead of new tissue growing as a point, it grows in a line and causes the plant to fan out (and look pretty cool!).
![Here we see a very special green frog [Lithobates clamitans, formerly Rana clamitans] displaying unu](https://64.media.tumblr.com/1b096cc8797f6d3cb78474af7bb6aeee/23a17e5b2d1154c6-75/s1280x1920/26294c2c0994b75dca1d246181134b5ab7209523.jpg "Here we see a very special green frog [Lithobates clamitans, formerly Rana clamitans] displaying unu")
![Here we see a captive-raised green frog [Lithobates clamitans; formerly Rana clamitans] displaying p](https://64.media.tumblr.com/ce7d4606f9de9f102e7273a585c18800/eac32dfb3980ab05-d2/s1280x1920/07ac910f5ddb6eb537a60906ae07eb45b03098d8.png "Here we see a captive-raised green frog [Lithobates clamitans; formerly Rana clamitans] displaying p")
