Gatorland Park in Florida announced the birth of the world's rarest alligator, a white one with crystal blue eyes.
Gatorland said the event was "extraordinary" We witnessed the birth of a rare breed of leucistic crocodile, which has defects in pigment-producing cells rather than a lack of pigmentation, and is characterized by occasional scales similar to those of a typical crocodile.
This is the culmination of 15 years of work and research to produce a baby alligator at Gatorland, said Mark McHugh, president and CEO of Gatorland.
He continued: “This has only happened a few times in the wild and has never happened under human care. “We are happy about this birth because it opens the door for us to continue this rare genetic line so that people can see and learn about it and develop a desire to preserve American alligators.”
The leucistic crocodile does not differ from the regular crocodile in eating habits and temperament, but it can burn when it comes into contact with direct sunlight.
Its light color also means that it cannot blend into its surroundings, making it easy prey for predators.
“It's just a normal baby crocodile except for its white color and its dark eyes, which will gradually turn light blue as it gets older,” McHugh said.
The park bred two normal-colored crocodiles carrying the leucistic gene, and one of them mated with a normal adult male, resulting in the production of the only white offspring from the rare genetic line.
"Neanderthal genes" It may explain why some people prefer to wake up early
Scientists say that those who go to bed early and wake up early may owe this behavior to their ancient ancestors.
Scientists have found that DNA inherited from our bushy-browed cousins may contribute to some people's tendency to be more early risers than others.
While most of the genes that modern humans acquired through ancient interbreeding have been eliminated by evolution, a small portion remains, likely because they helped early modern humans adapt to the new environment when they left Africa for Eurasia.
Between 60 and 70 thousand years ago, the ancestors of modern humans were migrating, leaving Africa to Europe and meeting Neanderthals and Denisovans, with whom we share 93% of our DNA.
New research suggests that the three groups interbred and passed on genes that helped subsequent generations adapt to the northern climate and sunlight.
Among these genetic variants are those known to be associated with “early rising,” including those shown specifically to regulate circadian rhythms, our wake-sleep cycles. So, if you tend to wake up early in the morning, this might be the reason.
To find out the impact of ancient genes on modern times, a team of scientists at Vanderbilt University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of California, San Francisco, examined genetic data from a catalog of hundreds of thousands of people in the United Kingdom.
Specifically, they conducted a whole genome association study (GWAS) to look for traits associated with early waking.
A whole genome association study looks at genetic variants that are statistically associated with a person's traits.
In the past, whole genome association studies were responsible for identifying genes that increased people's risk of developing diseases such as kidney disease or insomnia.
They compared these associations with genomes derived from three ancient hominins: a 120,000-year-old Neanderthal, a 72,000-year-old Denisovan found in the mountains of Mongolia, and a 52,000-year-old Pliocene Neanderthal found in Croatia.
16 different types of genes associated with higher levels of “early awakening” were identified. Modern humans have the DNA of ancient hominins in their DNA.
Among these genes are “clock genes.” Which specifically helps regulate our circadian rhythm.
It has long been suspected that mixing of DNA between the ancestors of modern humans and hominins passed certain tendencies to their descendants.
Scientists believe that these adaptations may have helped them adapt to moving to northern latitudes.
Compared with Africa, Europe and Asia had greater seasonal differences in weather and sunlight.
The genes identified in the new study may have helped them survive the relatively shorter days.
The study indicates that a shorter biological period helps people adapt to changing conditions more quickly.
The study was published in the journal Genome Biology and Evolution.
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