Well No Wonder Dogs Look Just Like Their Owners

The genome of the domestic dog has been sequenced!

Scientists are publishing today the complete DNA sequence that makes a dog a dog, and it turns out to be uncannily close to what makes a person a person..."It's basically the same gene set in dogs and humans"

Surely then this must spell doom for the myth of biologically distinct species?

Dogs attract keen research interest in part because of their astounding variety of sizes, physical forms, coat colors and, of course, behavioral traits. If some of these variations can be traced to genes, results may shed light on more subtle variability in other species, including humans.

Or not so subtle. Dogs are amazingly varied, primarily due to their being purposely bred to be different by humans. The only other animal so heavily influenced by human intentions in mating behavior is, of course, man. And what do you know? Humanity also displays an astounding variety of sizes, physical forms, skin colors and, of course, behavioral traits.