Author notes

111. Gingerly

usedbooks

on Feb. 6, 2011

While there are several reasons for the recent lack of updates (new computer, travel, sis's upcoming wedding, baby rats, job hunting, busy with UB), clearly the main reason is a dry spell of clever ideas. I hesitated sharing this terrible joke with you as it elicited silence from my family and then groans.

We have four "ginger tabbies" in our house. The one that this stip is based on is a female named Lily. Males of this color are more common, however. This is because "red" is a co-dominant mutation on the X chromosome. Males, being XY, need only one red allele to exhibit the color, while females require two copies, one on each X. If a female has only one copy of the red gene, she will be tortoiseshell or calico because the non-red X results in a mosaic. (XX females have one of their X's "turned off" in each gene.)

This bit of trivia was one of the first things I ever learned about genetics when I was in grade school, and I became fascinated by it.

~~~

Oh, and if the strip looks different this week, it's because I drew it on my new tablet laptop. It took me MUUUUUCH less time to do, but it is less precise, more messy, and, frankly, more the way I *actually* draw. But for the much less frustrating experience, I might be able to get back to updating regularly without dreading the tedious labor so much.