Primitive Primate Found in Croydon

Think Croydon. Think riots, concrete, knife crime. Think Leona Lewis. Croydon doesn’t get a good press. Which is why the discovery of a unique, fossilised primate in said cement-fest is, I feel, worthy of a mention.

Fossilised teeth suggest the
Croydon primate ate fruit and insects

Last year, palaeontologist Jerry Hooker from London’s Natural History Museum, described the fossilised remains of primitive primate found in Park Hill, not far from Croydon’s IKEA. Now, to be fair, Croydon has its fair share of primitive primates, but this one was an altogether different beast, preferring as it did, fruit to Bacardi Breezers.

Top 5 Virgin Births with Unlucky Deaths

Virgin births are rightly met with curiosity and awe, but for some, ‘miraculous’ beginnings have met with ill-fated ends.  Producing a virgin birth is difficult process. The first part – ignoring males – is easy. But the mother’s body then has to subvert the egg-making process, tricking developing eggs to think they’ve been fertilised.  Without fresh genetic material, developing embryos can suffer the effects of inbreeding, so most don’t survive. Which makes it such a shame that when they do, they have sometimes met with premature endings. Here are my Top 5 Unlucky Deaths for Virgin Births….

A happy ending for orphan genes

This New Year as the weather turns chilly, spare a thought for the orphan genes. Around a third of all genes in all genomes have no relatives – no parents, no family tree, no evolutionary past. They’ve had a tough time of it and they’re struggling for recognition.

Orphan genes are genes found in just one species (or a group of closely related species) and nowhere else – the jellyfish gene that guides the formation of stinging cells, the polar cod gene that prevents the fish from freezing, and the fruit fly gene that helps it to fly. They may even have stimulated the evolution of human brain. They’re innovative and they’re everywhere – orphan genes have been found in all of the genomes examined so far.