The evolutionary puzzle of fraternal twins, until now
https://theconversation.com/not-all-twin...now-138209
INTRO: When a mother gives birth to twins, the offspring are not always identical or even the same gender. Known as fraternal twins, they represent a longstanding evolutionary puzzle. Identical twins arise from a single fertilised egg that accidentally splits in two, but fraternal twins arise when two eggs are released and fertilised. Why this would happen was the puzzle. In research published in Nature Ecology & Evolution we used computer simulations and modelling to try to explain why natural selection favours releasing two eggs, despite the low survival of twins and the risks of twin births for mothers... (MORE)
How do you like it? How do you like it? More, more, more!
https://www.livescience.com/rat-hepatiti...-kong.html
INTRO: A new strain of the hepatitis E virus that usually only infects rats is now sickening people in Hong Kong, with nearly a dozen human cases reported so far, according to news reports. But exactly how the virus jumps from rats to people is a mystery.
The first case of a human contracting rat hepatitis E virus, or rat HEV, was reported in Hong Kong in 2018. Since then, 10 more people in the area have tested positive for rat HEV, according to CNN. The most recent case was reported on April 30, in a 61-year-old man who was hospitalized with abnormal liver function, CNN reported.
Scientists still don't know how people are getting infected. The latest case is particularly baffling because no rats or rat feces were seen in the 61-year-old man's home, and he had not recently traveled anywhere. It's possible people are getting infected through ingestion of food or water contaminated with rodent feces, or through the handling of contaminated objects; but these theories haven't been proven, CNN reported. There could also be an intermediate animal involved in passing the virus from rats to people... (MORE)
https://theconversation.com/not-all-twin...now-138209
INTRO: When a mother gives birth to twins, the offspring are not always identical or even the same gender. Known as fraternal twins, they represent a longstanding evolutionary puzzle. Identical twins arise from a single fertilised egg that accidentally splits in two, but fraternal twins arise when two eggs are released and fertilised. Why this would happen was the puzzle. In research published in Nature Ecology & Evolution we used computer simulations and modelling to try to explain why natural selection favours releasing two eggs, despite the low survival of twins and the risks of twin births for mothers... (MORE)
How do you like it? How do you like it? More, more, more!
https://www.livescience.com/rat-hepatiti...-kong.html
INTRO: A new strain of the hepatitis E virus that usually only infects rats is now sickening people in Hong Kong, with nearly a dozen human cases reported so far, according to news reports. But exactly how the virus jumps from rats to people is a mystery.
The first case of a human contracting rat hepatitis E virus, or rat HEV, was reported in Hong Kong in 2018. Since then, 10 more people in the area have tested positive for rat HEV, according to CNN. The most recent case was reported on April 30, in a 61-year-old man who was hospitalized with abnormal liver function, CNN reported.
Scientists still don't know how people are getting infected. The latest case is particularly baffling because no rats or rat feces were seen in the 61-year-old man's home, and he had not recently traveled anywhere. It's possible people are getting infected through ingestion of food or water contaminated with rodent feces, or through the handling of contaminated objects; but these theories haven't been proven, CNN reported. There could also be an intermediate animal involved in passing the virus from rats to people... (MORE)