Researchers solve genetic mystery of orange cats
(NewsNation) — Two studies reportedly have solved the genetic mystery behind orange-colored domestic cats.
Two independent research teams that published works simultaneously in Current Biology said they have identified the gene mutation that triggers the ginger hue in orange tabby cats.
It's a modification, they say, of the gene ARHGAP36 on the X chromosome.
Watch: Cat saves dog from attacking coyotes
This explains why orange cats are predominantly male. Males have one X chromosome and one Y chromosome, whereas females have two X chromosomes and need two copies of the mutated gene to go completely orange, a less likely scenario.
More often, female cats wired with the ginger gene have coats that are patchy calico or a 'tortoiseshell' blend. This comes from having the orange-coloring mutation on one X chromosome and a standard dark-coloring gene on the other X chromosome.
'Identifying the gene has been a longtime dream, so it's a joy to have finally cracked it,' said Professor Hiroyuki Sasaki, a geneticist at Kyushu University in Japan, in a story published by Neuroscience News.
A second research team studying the inner workings of orange cats was based at Stanford University.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
2 hours ago
- Bloomberg
This Isn't How You ‘Restore Gold Standard' Science
In another attempt to concentrate power, President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to 'restore gold standard science' in federal research and policy. It sounds reasonable given the instances of bad or faked science being published, including high-profile papers on Alzheimer's drug development and one misleadingly claiming that hydroxychloroquine would cure Covid-19. In the last decade, scientists themselves have grown concerned about the large number of studies whose promising results couldn't be replicated. However, researchers dedicated to reforming their field say the president's plan isn't a solution. It's a way to give government officials the power to reject evidence they disagree with — without any accountability or transparency.
Medscape
2 hours ago
- Medscape
Can Cold Exposure Alter Energy Dynamics in Obesity?
In individuals with obesity, 90 minutes of cold exposure increases energy expenditure by 18% but also raises energy intake and causes significant discomfort. METHODOLOGY: There is a growing interest in using cold exposure as a potential weight loss strategy via its ability to increase energy expenditure and create a negative energy balance. Researchers assessed the effects of moderate cold exposure on energy expenditure, energy intake, and appetite regulation in 29 women (mean age, 27.6 years) and 18 men (mean age, 31.5 years) with obesity who engaged in fewer than two 30-minute continuous exercise sessions per week. Participants underwent two 90-minute sessions — one at 10 °C and one at ambient temperature — in a random order, separated by a minimum 2-week washout. A single dose of cold exposure involved wearing a liquid-conditioned suit with circulating diluted antifreeze. Researchers measured thermal comfort/sensation, subjective appetite (via visual analog scales), energy expenditure (via indirect calorimetry), and energy intake with a validated food menu that calculated total food consumed; blood samples were analyzed for appetite-related peptides. TAKEAWAY: Compared with exposure to ambient temperature, cold exposure over 90 minutes led to: An 18% increase in energy expenditure primarily due to increased glucose oxidation ( P < .001) Significantly reduced average skin temperature (33.0 °C vs 24.5 °C, respectively; P < .001) and decreased thermal comfort Increased energy intake during lunch following intervention ( P = .008), especially from carbohydrate and protein consumption ( P = .007 and P = .014, respectively), although intake decreased for the rest of the day ( P = .049) Decreased leptin level ( P = .004) and increased level of total glucagon-like peptide 1 ( P = .003) No significant changes were observed in subjective appetite, such as hunger, desire to eat, and fullness. IN PRACTICE: 'The negligeable impact on [energy expenditure], as well as the overall absence of effects on [energy intake], seem to make [cold exposure] an unlikely candidate for improved body weight control in individuals with obesity,' the authors wrote. SOURCE: The study was led by Kurt McInnis, University of Ottawa in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was published online in International Journal of Obesity . LIMITATIONS: Energy expenditure was measured in a postprandial state, potentially masking the true effects compared with fasting conditions. The study used only a single dose of cold exposure, so the effects of repeated exposure remain unknown. Core body temperature was not measured. DISCLOSURES: This study was supported by a grant from the Canadian Institute of Health Research. One author disclosed receiving support from Bausch Health Canada. This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication. Credit Lead image: Intoit | Dreamstime Medscape Medical News © 2025 WebMD, LLC Cite this: Can Cold Exposure Alter Energy Dynamics in Obesity? - Medscape - June 05, 2025.
CBS News
3 hours ago
- CBS News
Private Japanese lunar lander closing in on unexplored top of the moon
A private lunar lander from Japan is closing in on the moon, aiming for a touchdown in the unexplored far north with a mini rover. The moon landing attempt by Tokyo-based company ispace on Friday Japan time is the latest entry in the rapidly expanding commercial lunar rush. This image provided by ispace, inc. shows the Resilience lander circling the moon on June 4, 2025. ispace, inc. via AP The encore comes two years after the company's first moonshot ended in a crash landing, giving rise to the name Resilience for its successor lander. Resilience holds a rover with a shovel to gather lunar dirt as well as a Swedish artist's toy-size red house that will be lowered onto the moon's dusty surface. Long the province of governments, the moon became a target of private outfits in 2019, with more flops than wins along the way. Launched in January from Florida on a long, roundabout journey, Resilience entered lunar orbit last month. It shared a SpaceX ride with Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost, which reached the moon faster and became the first private entity to successfully land there in March. Another U.S. company, Intuitive Machines, arrived at the moon a few days after Firefly. But the tall, spindly lander face-planted in a crater near the moon's south pole and was declared dead within hours. Resilience is targeting the top of the moon, a less forbidding place than the shadowy bottom. The ispace team chose a flat area with few boulders in Mare Frigoris or Sea of Cold, a long and narrow region full of craters and ancient lava flows that stretches across the near side's northern tier. Once settled with power and communication flowing, the 7.5-foot Resilience will lower the piggybacking rover onto the lunar surface. Made of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic with four wheels, ispace's European-built rover - named Tenacious - sports a high-definition camera to scout out the area and a shovel to scoop up some lunar dirt for NASA. The rover, weighing just 11 pounds, will stick close to the lander, going in circles at a speed of less than one inch per second. Besides science and tech experiments, there's an artistic touch. The rover holds a tiny, Swedish-style red cottage with white trim and a green door, dubbed the Moonhouse by creator Mikael Genberg for placement on the lunar surface. Takeshi Hakamada, CEO and founder of ispace, considers the latest moonshot "merely a steppingstone," with its next, much bigger lander launching by 2027 with NASA involvement, and even more to follow. "We're not trying to corner the market. We're trying to build the market," Jeremy Fix, chief engineer for ispace's U.S. subsidiary, said at a conference last month. "It's a huge market, a huge potential." Fix noted that ispace, like other businesses, does not have "infinite funds" and cannot afford repeated failures. While not divulging the cost of the current mission, company officials said it's less than the first one, which exceeded $100 million. Two other U.S. companies are aiming for moon landings by year's end: Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Astrobotic Technology. Astrobotic's first lunar lander missed the moon altogether in 2024 and came crashing back through Earth's atmosphere. For decades, governments competed to get to the moon. Only five countries have pulled off successful robotic lunar landings: Russia, the U.S., China, India and Japan. Of those, only the U.S. has landed people on the moon: 12 NASA astronauts from 1969 through 1972. NASA expects to send four astronauts around the moon next year. That would be followed a year or more later by the first lunar landing by a crew in more than a half-century, with SpaceX's Starship providing the lift from lunar orbit all the way down to the surface. China also has moon landing plans for its own astronauts by 2030.
