-------- Original Message -------- Subject: [evol-psych] The worms' turn Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2001 09:23:25 -0000 From: "Ian Pitchford" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: "Ian Pitchford" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Organization: http://www.human-nature.com/darwin/index.html To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> THE GUARDIAN The worms' turn The good news: we have more genes than nematodes. The bad news: most of them are junk John O'Farrell Guardian Saturday February 17, 2001 This week a team of international scientists shared the incredible revelation that homo sapiens has about 30,000 genes. There was then a pause while everyone tried to gauge whether they should be amazed that this number was so high or so low. It transpires that they'd been expecting the American citizens from whom they took their samples to have many more genes than the nematode worm, but I suppose that's what happens when you base your research on the president. Worms were used in the genome project because it was presumed that their genetic code would be so simple to decipher that everyone could knock off early on Friday afternoon. But now the papers have had to report the uncomfortable truth that there's not that much difference between ourselves and the worm; the simple, primitive, stupid worm. Frankly worms have been patronised terribly in the media this week, and ought to take their case to the press complaints commission, except they won't of course, because they're so stupid. Full text: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4137669,00.html News in Brain and Behavioural Sciences http://human-nature.com/nibbs/ To subscribe/unsubscribe/select DIGEST go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evolutionary-psychology Join the Human Behaviour and Evolution Society http://www.des.ucdavis.edu/hbesrenew/ _______________________________________________ CrashList website: http://website.lineone.net/~resource_base
