


Forgot your password?

Submission + - Fish Evolve Immunity To Toxic Sludge ( 2

RedEaredSlider writes: Fish in the Hudson River and the harbor in New Bedford, Mass., have evolved resistance to PCBs. In the Hudson, a species of tomcod has evolved a way for a very specific protein to simply not bind to PCBs, nearly eliminating the toxicity. In New Bedford, the Atlantic killifish has proteins that bind to the toxin (just as the do in mammals) but the fish aren't affected despite high levels of PCBs in their cells. Why the killifish survive is a mystery.

Fish Evolve Immunity To Toxic Sludge

Comments Filter:
  • Now we need to copy this into human dna. It's unlikely we'll evolve this without genetic engineering.

    • Not as easy as all that. Mammals have the same AFR proteins but the atual function of those proteins isn't entirely clear. What scientists DO know is that if you mess with them you get developmental problems.
