hi everyone,

i thought you'd all be interested to learn about some really weird
genetics happening in a common North American songbird species, the
white-throated sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis. this bird is evolving
what appears to be a second pair of sex chromosomes! I know this
sounds crazy, but i've been reading some scientific papers this past
week to learn more about this phenomenon and really, there's just no
other explanation for what we're seeing. here's the story:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2011/may/25/2

i hope you enjoy it!

cheers,

--
GrrlScientist
Devorah Bennu, PhD
birdologist at gmail.com
http://www.grrlscientist.net/
http://twitter.com/GrrlScientist
http://www.guardian.co.uk/grrlscientist
http://blogs.nature.com/grrlscientist/
American Expat living in Frankfurt, Germany