xoxoxoBruce Tuesday Jan 12 12:05 AMJan 12, 2010: Escargot & Salad... In One
Well not escargot, strictly speaking, 'cause it's a Green Sea Slug.
And not salad, strictly speaking, unless you eat Algae salads.
But this critter is part animal and part plant, they've just discovered.
And pretty ugly, too.
Quote:
Shaped like a leaf itself, the slug Elysia chlorotica already has a reputation for kidnapping the photosynthesizing organelles and some genes from algae. Now it turns out that the slug has acquired enough stolen goods to make an entire plant chemical-making pathway work inside an animal body, says Sidney K. Pierce of the University of South Florida in Tampa.
The slugs can manufacture the most common form of chlorophyll, the green pigment in plants that captures energy from sunlight, Pierce reported January 7 at the annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. Pierce used a radioactive tracer to show that the slugs were making the pigment, called chlorophyll a, themselves and not simply relying on chlorophyll reserves stolen from the algae the slugs dine on.
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Or to put it in more scientific terms...
Quote:
“This could be a fusion of a plant and an animal — that’s just cool,” said invertebrate zoologist John Zardus of The Citadel in Charleston, S.C.
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squirell nutkin Tuesday Jan 12 01:26 AMMwwwuuuuahhh hahahahah!
Evil Genius: Slugs! HE created slugs! They can't hear. They can't speak. They can't operate machinery. Are we not in the hands of a lunatic?
SPUCK Tuesday Jan 12 06:25 AMOh kay... Do I reach for pesticide or herbicide?
nil_orally Tuesday Jan 12 06:32 AMNothing original here. I work for a large corporation that has plenty of walking vegetables, usually in management.
capnhowdy Tuesday Jan 12 07:54 AMNow that's a face only a mother could love.
Sheldonrs Tuesday Jan 12 08:34 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by SPUCK
Oh kay... Do I reach for pesticide or herbicide?
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Garlic butter.
Trilby Tuesday Jan 12 08:42 AMI fear the sea.
Shawnee123 Tuesday Jan 12 08:53 AMOh wow...I marvel at the sea. I've changed my mind: instead of moving to Canada or the Moon, I would like a sea dome. kthx!
Degrees Tuesday Jan 12 09:24 AMFor the self medicating, a problem
It's a pot-head's nightmare.
"Dude. Your salad is looking at me."
spudcon Tuesday Jan 12 10:08 AMAnimal veggies aren't new. I saw a walking tree in a movie years ago.
classicman Tuesday Jan 12 11:12 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawnee123
instead of moving to Canada or the Moon, I would like a sea dome. kthx!
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What? I thought you were moving into the Unibombers cabin?
Shawnee123 Tuesday Jan 12 11:15 AMThe UnAbomber's cabin is as cold as Canada. So I had to think outside the rotting dilapidated condemned box.
monster Tuesday Jan 12 04:37 PMI think he's cute. I'll be his momma -gotta be less hassle than my current brood
Sheldonrs Tuesday Jan 12 05:43 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by spudcon
Animal veggies aren't new. I saw a walking tree in a movie years ago.
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Now that's ENTertainment!
treehugger Tuesday Jan 12 06:52 PMI think its cool. plus salad tastes good
Elspode Tuesday Jan 12 07:39 PM"Hello, Monsanto? Yeah, look. The goddamn corn genes getting onto the neighbor's crop was bad enough, but now one of your freakin' chimera has escaped! This shit has go to stop!!"
jinx Tuesday Jan 12 07:45 PMIt's funny 'cause it's true...
Gravdigr Wednesday Jan 13 06:40 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Degrees
It's a pot-head's nightmare.
"Dude. Your salad is looking at me."
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Dude. Potheads don't eat salad.
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