As noted in an earlier post, Duke scientists have named a genus of ferns for Lady Gaga, in part because the genus is characterized by a bit of DNA containing the sub-sequence G-A-G-A. Two of the species are called Gaga monstrapvarva (“little monsters”; what Gaga calls her fans) and Gaga germanotta (her real name is Stefani Germanotta).
Well, according to the January 12 issue of Science News (page 4 of the magazine but apparently not on the website), G monstraparva and G germanotta “probably arose when ancestors mated outside their own species.” I’m sure they don’t mean to imply anything…
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