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Scientists find why most ginger cats are male

 

Scientists have solved an age-old mystery about  cats. Geneticists in Japan have discovered why eight out of ten ginger cats are male. A professor found that a mutation in the X chromosome is responsible for a previously unknown "orange gene". The professor said: "Identifying the gene has been a longtime dream." Male animals have an X and Y chromosome. If the male  cat's X chromosome has the gene, it will be a ginger. A female cat has two X chromosomes. The gene needs to be present in both for the cat to be orange. This is less likely to happen.

The research has been published in the journal "Current Biology". In the study, researchers analysed the DNA of 18 cats, of which 10 had ginger fur. Only the ginger cats had the mutant gene. The professor said cat lovers associated fur colour with personality traits. He wrote: "Many cat owners swear by the idea that different coat colours and patterns are linked with different personalities. There's no scientific evidence for this yet, but it's an intriguing idea, and one I'd love to explore further." He suggested that ginger cats may behave similarly because most of them are male.

 

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Chat

Talk about these words from the article.

scientists / mystery / feline / ginger cats / mutation / gene / mammals / chromosome / colleagues / journal / DNA / cat lovers / fur / patterns / evidence / personalities / male

 

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True / False

1) Scientists have solved a mystery that surfaced earlier this year.  T / F

2) The orange colour of ginger cats comes from a gene mutation.  T / F

3) A geneticist said the gene cracked, and that brought him joy.  T / F

4) If female cat has a gene mutation in two X chromosomes, it'll be ginger.  T / F

5) The study has been published in a journal called "Current Biology".  T / F

6) All of the ginger cats in a study had the gene mutation.  T / F

7) Cat lovers believe fur colour is related to cats' personalities.  T / F

8) There's a lot of research about cats' fur colour and personality.  T / F 

 

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Discussion

1) What do you think about what you read?

2) What do you think of cats?

3) Are cats mysterious?

4) How useful do you think this research is?  

5) How much of a cat lover are you?

6) What are the personality differences between male and female animals?

7) What are the personality differences between men and women?

8) What questions would you like to ask the researchers?