Platypus Genome Decoded

TaeKwonDood writes "Is it reptile, bird or mammal? Some of each. Does it have venom, lay eggs and lactate? Yes. Upon discovery in 1798, fellow scientists thought it was for an episode of 'Thou hast been Punk'd,' but this Australia native, on home on land and in water, is real and, finally, it gets its own decoded genome. It's no surprise the DNA is as messed up as the critter itself."

Re:Poisonous

[aerthling]

You can pick a female up and hug it - only adult males have the spur, iirc.

Re:THCTHCTHC

[bh_doc]

H isn't a nucleobase. Your choices are C, G, A, T (in DNA), and U (in RNA).

Yeah, yeah, "Whooosh!" I know.

Re:Poisonous

[Spy der Mann]

Here's a poison-free version [kaboodle.com] if you can't resist the hugging urges :)

Re:THCTHCTHC

[shawb]

Hypoxanthine [wikipedia.org]. That may seem like a bit of a stretch, but this is the platypus we're talking about.

Re:another link

[antic]

Quick fact for those who weren't aware: the platypus, along with the echidna (kinda like an Australian version of a porcupine or hedgehog?), is a 'monotreme'. Essentially, a mammal that lays eggs.

Re:Poisonous

[Anonymous Coward]

I've never heard anything to the effect that it was used as paralytic on the female. In fact, from this:
http://www.abc.net.au/science/scribblygum/july2004/
  it would appear that the primary use is on other males while competing for mates. This is what I'd read while watching a platypus exhibit in a zoo, actually. It's a sort of king of pain mountain approach to weeding out mates. Whomever can stand the most pain, or is best at avoiding being stung in the first place, will get the female.