A recent STUDY by two renowned state universities has shown that mice in New York City are evolving to better digest junk food. Their bodies have changed on a genetic level to deal with you waste food.
There’s no doubt that New York City changes you. Whether it makes you harder, crazier or more easily triggered, is up for debate, but there are changes nevertheless. The change that the city inspires isn’t a phenomenon experienced exclusively by the human dwellers of NYC, but our animal population too. We already told you about NYC’s own breed of sexually-deviant fly, a recent study is about to introduce us all to junk food evolved mice.
The study, by Stephen Harris of the State University of New York and Jason Munshi-South of Fordham University, caught 48 mice from three different city parks and close, but rural, areas. The mice were compared for physical and biological differences.
A New Scientist article highlights the study’s findings, stating that the city mice had larger livers with more scar tissue, and genes linked to a non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The differences are thought to reflect the diverse and abundant food options city mice have in comparison to their rural cousins, and more interestingly, city mice have evolved to digest these types of foods.
City mice aren’t exclusively eating seeds and berries like their companions. Their diet contains more than just a little junk food, like pizza… remind you of anyone?
If you’re a country mouse moving to the big city, you are at a genetic disadvantage. The need to better digest junk food has to lead to a genetic leap in evolution in our city mice. Next step for them? Maybe a genetic predisposition to complain about the subway and love bottomless brunches?
Featured image source [YouTube]