For Whom the Cell Mutates: The Origins of Genetic Quirks
nytimes.com
The house in Key West, which the author owned until his death 50 years ago this summer, is now a museum and a permanent home to about 50 cats. But of course, such an extraordinary man would not be associated with just ordinary cats; about half of the animals bear extra toes, typically on their forepaws. Most cats are, like humans, pentadactyls. That is, they have five digits on their forepaws. The so-called Hemingway cats have six digits, with the extra digit the homolog of the human thumb, which gives the paw a mittenlike appearance. When found in felines, the condition, formally known as preaxial polydactyly, is now commonly referred to as a “Hemingway cat.” |
