birth defect
dr. dolittle | July 22, 2013 Image from: Noa Safra, UC Davis
Weimaraner dogs are helping researchers to understand neural tube birth defects, like anencephaly (where the brain or skull do not fully develop) and spina bifida (where the spinal column is not fully enclosed). In new research published this week in PLOS One, Dr. Noa Safra (UC Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine) and colleagues mapped the genomes of Weimaraner dogs that had spinal dysraphism, a neural tube defect, along with samples from humans with spina bifida. They discovered mutations in a gene called NKX2-8 that is known to be involved in embryonic…
bleimanb | March 4, 2008This six-legged octopus- the first ever known to science -was hauled in from a catch off of the coast of Wales. His lack of two limbs appear to be the result of a birth defect not an insurgent IED.
The hexapus has been named "Henry" and now resides at the Blackpool Sea Life Centre in Northwest England.
grrlscientist | November 23, 2007tags: housecat, pets, birth defect, Lil'Bit
Do you notice anything strange about the cat in the photo? At first, I didn't believe this .. er, cat .. was alive, instead of being the product of a zit-faced basement-dwelling photoshop prankster with too much time on his hairy-palmed hands. But after poking around on the internet for a few hours, it appears that this is the real thing.
This cat, named Lil'Bit, was born to a cat named Lil'Pine. Lil'Bit is now seven months old and is living with his original family. His family prefer to remain anonymous to avoid the crush of public attention,…