r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/jillisonflook • 9h ago
Image Electric eel's zap can transfer genes to nearby animals, study finds
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u/Markofdawn 9h ago edited 5h ago
Eels need to be studied more. I know electric eels arent actually eels but rather a type of knifefish, but we should be studying all the long fish. I have an eel in my living room and its incredibly intelligent.
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u/jillisonflook 8h ago
Please tell me more!! I love knowing good eel stories!!
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u/Markofdawn 8h ago
I have taught her to swim laps if she wants dinner now. I usually go to bed around 3-4am which is when she is most active and when i move to my bedroom door she snaps and makes bubbles so i notice her and feed her more. Her name is Celeste-eel
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u/jillisonflook 8h ago
Celeste-eel is so good!!! Love this. Glad I asked. Appreciate you.
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u/Markofdawn 8h ago
I have had her for almost 5 years with next to no prior fishkeeping experience. Currently have a tank weighing close to 1000kg in my living room. Only twice in this time has she attempted to leave, fallen 2-3feet to the floor, got covered in dog hair and gave up , to be deposited into the tank in the morning by the first awake. I assume my dogs were very confused when they heard the slap. Rambunctious youth eel. She lives in a cozy PVC pipe and enjoys watching people use the front door and sticking her face in the outflow pipe.
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u/NeoLib-tard 7h ago
What species how cool
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u/Markofdawn 7h ago
Short fin eel (Australia)
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u/SignalDevelopment649 7h ago
Genuine question, how intelligent would you say a Short Fin Eel is, if we're to compare it to a Moray Eel?
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u/Markofdawn 6h ago
I have absolutely no idea about Morays, aside from what my father told me from his scuba diving years(they like to bite fingers) I do however own a plethora of other animals and I'd say they're as intelligent as a chicken or a rabbit. Definitely able to distinguish between two faces as far as i can tell. Quite spatially aware too, as when i walk into my office she tries to "follow" me through the tank. Extra wiggly at 5am. Loves to catch morning sun on her tummy.
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u/SignalDevelopment649 6h ago
That's pretty damn impressive (not sure if the personality she has or the facial memory is the more impressive part, but impressive it is all the same), thank you for telling me that. Does she allow any physical contact, petting or just swirling around your hands or something? And she sounds absolutely adorable!
Morays are incredible too, worth a solid read on them. For starters - they're known for interspecies cooperation for hunts, and are able to remember and and recognise "their" humans after years of not seeing them at all. Also they do cuddle to them, in their own, eely way.
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u/PM_ME_UR_ROUND_ASS 5h ago
Yep, and that classification is actually super relevant to this discovery - knifefish have specialized electric organs derived from muscle tissue that generate these zaps, which is way diffrent from how true eels produce electricity!
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u/juniper_berry_crunch 9h ago
That is INSANE. But fascinating!
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u/jillisonflook 9h ago
Is it damnitsinteresting?! Asking for a friend!
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u/solace_seeker1964 8h ago
Tell your friend it's electrifyingly interesting! The ramifications are shocking!
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u/Lazy_Toe4340 8h ago
The first fish to walk on land was like God I am tired of getting electrocuted by that f****** eel...
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u/jillisonflook 9h ago edited 7h ago
AMAZING SPIDERMAN 2 (2014) WAS SCIENTIFICALLY ACCURATE*
A recent study has found that the electricity produced by an electric eel’s discharge is strong enough to cause the transfer of genetic material from the environment into the cells of nearby animals. The finding suggests that electric eels – and other electricity-generating organisms – could affect genetic modification in nature.
source.
https://newatlas.com/biology/electric-eel-discharge-environmental-dna-transfer-electroporation/
*kinda
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u/Markofdawn 8h ago edited 8h ago
What the hell, this must be one of the few Earthen creatures to have reached stage 2 evolution ). Thats crazy. I wonder what else they can do? I think being able to stun/kill is incredible but now they can change your genetics??
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u/Shot_Policy_4110 8h ago
What is stage 2 evolution?
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u/Markofdawn 8h ago
What pokémon do (start》Stage 1》Stage 2》 etc)
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u/Shot_Policy_4110 8h ago
Lol so turbo nerd shit not regular nerd shit. I understand now
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u/azsnaz 8h ago
Buddy, you commented on a magic the gather sub the other day, talk about turbo nerd shit
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u/Shot_Policy_4110 8h ago
Lol what did I say? I'm not doing the work. I'm assuming it wasn't bringing up magic the gathering when talking marine wildlife
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u/Markofdawn 8h ago
I honestly dont know much about pokemon i just thought it would be a easily understood reference for most people 🤷🏼♀️
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u/jillisonflook 9h ago
In the lab setting, electroporation involves the application of an electric field to cells to increase the permeability of their cell membrane, which allows foreign DNA to be introduced. It’s the technique that’s used to produce the knockout mice that are used in research experiments, as well as in tumor treatment and gene- and cell-based therapies.
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u/jillisonflook 9h ago
Now, a new study by researchers from Nagoya University in Japan suggests that the electric eel is capable of electroporation in its natural environment.
“I thought electroporation might happen in nature,” said Atsuo Iida, corresponding author of the study. “I realized that electric eels in the Amazon River could well act as a power source, organisms living in the surrounding area could act as recipient cells, and environmental DNA fragments released into the water would become foreign genes, causing genetic recombination in the surrounding organisms because of electric discharge.”
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u/jillisonflook 9h ago edited 8h ago
I guess you're not supposed to post about prosopometamorphopsia on here.
I'd love to know why!
Hopefully electric eels are still ok!?!
Let me know if I can help, I'm not trying to break rules.
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u/randominsamity 8h ago
If you got a warning or something it's because screenshots aren't meant to be posted here, that's all.
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u/jillisonflook 8h ago
Oooh thank you, I didn't want to break the rules. I won't post anymore screenshots!! Thank you, I must have missed that or read poorly.
Sorry!! Won't happen again.
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u/MonkeyNugetz 8h ago
Well in that same vane a cancer patient can transfer their cancerous cells to non cancer patients and give them cancer. Research Michael Douglas.
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u/Dank_Tank22 8h ago
That's nuts. Eel can just be like I'm not really into this "ZAP" ahh that's better.
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u/Upsideduckery 8h ago
Maybe I could become... Ehem...
🎶Eely-man, eely-man! Does whatever an eely can! Really scary. Extra scary...🎶
Uh, I'm scared of eels.
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u/Worthyness 7h ago
Electro from the Amazing Spider-man movies literally turns into Electro because he falls into a vat of electric eels. Not a bad superpower to have to be honest
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u/ogreofzen 8h ago
I mean it's not surprising. We have genetic material from food we have eaten. We are made of corn. Everything is on a cob.
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u/Jvlockhart 8h ago
If you survive 5 sessions, you'll become Shazam.
Kidding aside, it's truly fascinating.
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u/No_Line1830 8h ago
That is so fascinating. Really makes you wonder what else is out there 🤔 I love stuff like this thank you 😆
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u/Electrum2250 6h ago
What???? I can't find any sense about it
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u/clandestineVexation 28m ago
Humans do this intentionally, it’s called electroporation. Basically electricity makes cell membranes open up a little bit, and allows DNA molecules to go through. There’s DNA just floating in the environment (because there’s life everywhere) and the eel accidentally makes this happen with its shock
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u/Galilaeus_Modernus 6h ago
Let's see some evidence that it's actually happened, or show it happening. Until then, it's just a hypothesis.
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u/Weak_Bake7666 5h ago
So it can emulate a penis's gene transfer process when put in the vagina? At least figuratively it does?
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u/gregsaliva 3h ago
I asked the FactBot at Snopes.com: can electric eel zap transfer genes?
It says: "Given the lack of scientific evidence in the provided sources for such a claim, it's safe to conclude that electric eels cannot transfer genes through their electrical discharges." and some more.
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u/Bestefarssistemens 2h ago
I finally happened! 2,9k likes and when i upvoted it went to 3k..i can finally have peace.
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u/dancingeggwhites 9h ago
Oh wow! I remember doing electroporation experiments in my biotechnology courses in college. I never thought about applying the same concepts with electric eels and eDNA!
Thanks for sharing!