(Well, almost without comment. I just got home from work and after dumping
spam I read the rest of my mail, including this nugget that Diane found last
night.)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051103/ap_on_sc/india_frolicking_fossils;_ylt=Avk
y_pSWhmr2dip6H.MiMFOs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3ODdxdHBhBHNlYwM5NjQ-
Scientists Find Fossils in Sexual Union
Thu Nov 3,11:03 AM ET
LUCKNOW, India - This was no one-night stand. Scientists in India say they
have discovered two fossils fused together in sexual union for 65 million
years.
The findings were published in the October edition of the Indian journal
"Current Science," which said it was the first time that sexual copulation
had been discovered in a fossil state, according to the Press Trust of India
news agency.
But voyeurs will need a microscope to view the eternal lovers.
The fossils are tiny swarm cells, a stage in the development of the fungus
myxomycetes, also known as slime molds.
The cells reproduce by "fusing," Ranjeet Kar of the Birbal Sahni Institute of
Palaeobotany in Lucknow reportedly told PTI. Once the cells fuse, long,
threadlike appendages known as flagella, are lost, he said.
Finding the fossils in a fused position and with their flagella shed, is
evidence that the two cells were having sex, Kar said.
"The sexual organs being delicate and the time of conjugation short lived, it
is indeed rare to get this stage in the fossil state," the study said.
The cells were discovered in a 30-foot deep dry well in the state of Madhya
Pradesh.
--
Harry F. Leopold
aa #2076
AA/Vet #4
The Prints of Darkness
(remove gene to email)
The perfect food
No fat, no calories, no salt, no carbs.
Eat your god(s)
USDA approved
.
|
