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Phys Org

Woodrats use 'quantity over quality' as a detox plan, study finds

Phys Org
Summary
Nutrition label

88% Informative

Study is first to pinpoint specific genes and enzymes that allow woodrats to eat the near lethal food without obvious harm.

Woodrats have only been exposed to creosote bush for about 15,000 years —in an evolutionary timescale, that's very little time.

The authors propose that gene duplication is an important mechanism by which animals initially adapt to new environmental pressures.

Fossilized woodrat nests reveal that their diets shifted in step with the expanding desert habitat.

Woodrats ate even more creosote as the bush outcompeted their previous staple, juniper.

It's unusual for populations of the same species, from similar geographic regions, to exhibit such a variance in gene copy number.

VR Score

92

Informative language

95

Neutral language

41

Article tone

informal

Language

English

Language complexity

69

Offensive language

not offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

not detected

Known propaganda techniques

not detected

Time-value

long-living

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