From a young age, Atoosa Samani was fascinated by pigeon genetics. Growing up in Isfahan, Iran, known for its pigeon towers, she observed her favorite all-white pigeon never producing offspring with the same color. This early observation sparked her interest in genetics. Moving to the US to study at the University of Utah, she joined Michael Shapiro’s lab to study why some pigeons do backward somersaults.
These roller pigeons, like Birmingham rollers and parlor rollers, exhibit unique acrobatic behaviors. While Persian poems romanticize these movements as signs of happiness, Samani reveals a darker truth. The backflips are actually a movement disorder that progressively worsens, preventing the birds from flying.
Samani is now focused on identifying the genes responsible for these behaviors, presenting her findings at the Allied Genetics Conference in Maryland.
2024-04-01 07:30:00
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