My spirit animal had a good week!
I was smitten by these little fellows on our last trip to Mexico City.
And now “Scientists have decoded the genome of the axolotl, the Mexican amphibian with a Mona Lisa smile. It has 32 billion base pairs, which makes it ten times the size of the human genome, and the largest genome ever sequenced. It has the remarkable capacity to regrow amputated limbs complete with bones, muscles and nerves; to heal wounds without producing scar tissue; and even to regenerate damaged internal organs. This salamander can heal a crushed spinal cord and have it function just like it did before it was damaged. This ability, which exists to such an extent in no other animal, makes its genes of considerable interest.” from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/01/science/axolotl-genes-limbs.html
The scientists had to use PacBio long-read sequencers given the long stretches of genetic repeats that would elude a standard Illumina read (a similar problem exists with cancer genomic research).
It was their enigmatic smile that got me. They live in the nasty trenches of Mexico City, but they start each day with a big smile and bright attitude. Photos: https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&q=axolotl+photos&chips=q:axolotl+photos,g_2:happy,online_chips:happy+axies&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwipou6f0IzZAhWkq1QKHaCuBn4Q4lYIKSgA&biw=1301&bih=966&dpr=2
My Mexico City post: https://www.facebook.com/jurvetson/posts/10159524819355611
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