“The next time you plan to poison those voles digging up your garden, just remember that their families will probably miss them.
Recent studies conducted on voles by the Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University and the Atlanta-based Center for Behavioral Neuroscience indicate that certain genetic material once thought to be relatively inert actually contributes to how the animals function as parents and in a social group.
The study centered around microsatellites, which are short, identical DNA sequences scattered throughout genomes (the genetic code of a species) and that can be repeated thousands of times. Earlier, scientists thought the microsatellites were simply filler, or “junk,” in an animal’s genome. The researchers, however, discovered that the more microsatellites a species has, the more likely it was to show empathy and care-giving behavior.” MORE
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