National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Monday, November 23, 2009

Photo: Marmoset Gene Swaps Spur Babysitting Bizarreness, Study Shows


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Marmoset males often babysit unrelated infants—one of nature's most puzzling child care systems.

Now a new study suggests an explanation: a bizarre interchange of DNA in marmoset wombs that muddles marmoset identity and relatedness.

Photograph courtesy Jeffrey E. Fite