ᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIESDec 1

The trash panda is being domesticated

What?

Urban #raccoons have shorter snout length than rural raccoons

This is due to #neoteny: the retention of juvenile characteristics in adulthood

An aggressive adult #raccoon won't live long near us. So their genes aren't passed on. But the more docile and childlike breed more successfully in cities

Dogs are basically wolf puppies after all

Give it a millennia or two and we'll have raccoons on our sofas

https://phys.org/news/2025-12-city-raccoons-domestication.html

#Evolution #Science

City raccoons showing signs of domestication

That resourceful "trash panda" digging through your garbage may be more than just a nuisance—it could be a living example of evolution in progress.

Show threadJanisDec 1

@benroyce This has been debunked, mostly indicating that you can't definitively connect the shorter snout to any particular cause.

The capacity to grab better be accompanied by the willingness to help around the house. I'm not sure what people are talking about when they mean "domesticated." Freeloading inside the house doesn't seem to me like it qualifies. I have plenty of critters that do that with and without my permission.

Show threadᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIES

@janisf

well what do you think about genes that control maturation, and if those genes are turned off, leaving the organism in a more childlike state, and this leads to better survival.. then that means that other characteristics those genes control come along for the ride to infantilization/ domestication (like facial features, hair coloration, etc)

Dec 1 at 9:23pmWeb
Show threadJanisDec 1

@benroyce In the end, I'm not so sure geneticists know what they're doing, particularly when it comes to multi-factor changes over time, or if that kind of thing can even be truly accurately assessed.

I'm just glad we're not arguing about whether or not it's ethical to use stem cells at all for research/treatment anymore. Wasn't that a G.W.-era thing?

Show threadᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIESDec 2

@janisf

now they are going after IVF 😩

Show threadJanisDec 2
@benroyce yes, white "Christian" women will go after whatever reduces the value of their horizontal kowtowing to their husbands, as long a RW media subtly presents it that way. 53%-odd percent. Just trust me on this, it's where I live. It's insidious.