#scriptgenetics

[scriptgenetics]

On this blog

Woah.

First I want to say woah. Thank you all for following me, for your support, for your questions, and for your patience. I’m so happy you all want to learn more about genetics and represent better science in your writing! 

When I started this blog I had a lot of things in mind to do with it, and I haven’t been successful with really any of those. Shortly after I started this blog, I started going through some serious health issues, and it’s gotten to the point where I’m having trouble keeping up with most things in my real-world daily life, let alone this blog that’s exploded to nearly 2,000 followers.

I’m so proud of the fact that you all are interested in this blog and I want to keep it going! However, I know that I’m not the right person to be running it, at least not singlehandedly. So, with that, if you’re interested in modding or running the blog, please contact [email protected] with a little bit about yourself, your experience in genetics, and why you’re interested!

Keep writing, and keep learning!

[scriptfeature]

Hi, is scriptgenetics on hiatus or permanently inactive? I haven't​ seen anything about them but they haven't posted in well over a month :/

Apologies for getting back to this late, but yes, @scriptgenetics is on hiatus. 

[scriptfeature]

Do you know what's going on with Super Script and ScriptGenetics? They don't seem to be active anymore...

@scriptgenetics is working on some personal stuff behind the scenes, but they are trying. As for @super--script , they are currently not part of the official scriptX family. @scriptshrink has a current list here, and the list is also on the @scriptmedic blog over this way including “script cousins” and friends of the family

Best of luck to you with your story!

[scriptgenetics]

So, beasts of burden of the large feline variety. What do I need to have happen to take something that looks like a bigger, more compact/sturdy lion and turn it into a usable riding/carrying/carting animal?

This is a really interesting question because it gets into manufactured evolution or selective breeding, because the people using these lions as pack animals would breed for the traits that make better pack animals, rather than what usually happens in the wild where they mate randomly. This means less variety. Think dog breeds.

Really any domesticated animal can be used as a beast of burden, but cats have two interesting features: they’re predators, which can make them difficult to use as pack animals or for pulling carts unless they’re very well trained. Even well-trained dogs will sometimes run off after something they perceive as prey. This is more common in larger ‘working’ breeds or hunting dogs who have higher prey drives. It’s possible that the people in your story bred for more docile animals (a lot of animal behavior is actually genetic, and can be bred for!)

The other is that most cats, including lions, have low bone mass. Their anatomy is more focused on flexibility and muscle. Lions have sturdier bones than say, a domestic cat, but they still have a flexible spine in particular, which makes it difficult for them to carry large amounts of weight on their backs. This wouldn’t affect their ability to pull weight, and they’re very muscular, so maybe they’re more commonly used for carting and riding because of a low maximum carry weight? You did say they’d be sturdier, so it might be somewhat of a non-issue, but if they’re derived from cats the back would probably be a weak spot. Maybe they could have specialized saddles that reposition the weight so it’s not directly on the animal’s spine, similar to dog backpacks which put the weight on either side.

I’m not exactly an animal behavior expert, but big cats are also prone to laziness, just like housecats, so your pack-cat drivers would also have to plan for that!