--- Ronn!Blankenship <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > From New Scientist: > <<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993459>> > > Black cats may be the more fortunate felines <sniplet> > Black cats, a symbol of bad luck in many cultures, > may be actually be more > fortunate than their fairer relatives. New research > shows that black coats > have evolved separately many times in different > species of cat - indicating > that dark fur has a survival benefit. > > Furthermore, the mutations leading to a black coat > are in the same gene > family as those involved in human diseases like > AIDS, so it may be that > black cats are more resistant to disease than > others. Of the 37 species of > cat that exist, 11 can have black coats. > > Eduardo Eizirik, an evolutionary geneticist at the > US National Cancer > Institute in Maryland, says: "There are parallels > with humans. [The gene > mutation system found] does have parallels with > other systems potentially involved in disease." > > But he told New Scientist that the most likely > benefit of a black coat was > camouflage for hunting... <snip rest>
Or hiding from your owner/feeder/grooming slave. ;) Zimba apparently doesn't realize that because he's a "tuxedo**" cat instead of pure black, I can usually spot him in the night, as he's watching me call him and he assumes that he's "invisible"... Currys, Shedding Blades And Combs Maru ** white cravat, spats and tail-tip => Tuxedo! :) __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - File online, calculators, forms, and more http://tax.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l