Friday, March 13, 2015

Interesting Article On Insect Epigenetics


Sciencemag.org has an interesting article up on some epigenetic research going on with bees and ants. It seems that all ants and bees are identical genetically. They just become whatever sub-type is needed through chemical on/off switching of their genes due to environmental factors and upbringing.

This lends some verisimilitude to our ideas of the Turids being able to tinker with their own epigenetic expression. Such that in response to certain challenges, they'll kick out whatever bug types have succeeded before against that particular type of threat.

So if they've landed on your world and you leave them alone, they'll have few warriors, etc. But once you engage them in combat, the colonies start kicking out all sorts of nasty claw/mandible/acid/wing combinations. Until they find (through trial and error) what kills troops and battle tanks best, then they double-down on those types.

Smarter, more patient opponents might even use this to combat-adapt (false black-flag?) the bugs into a set of warrior-types that are particularly vulnerable to the real weapons they intend to use on them later. Adapt to bullets, but get hit with plasma cannons/bombs, that kind of thing.

At least until the Turids adapt to that trick as well...

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