The recent publication of a draft of the platypus genome (Warren et al., 2008) has garnered a great deal of newspaper coverage, much of which has been misleading.Over and over again, the article ...

Imagine stumbling upon a creature that looks like a mash-up of a duck, a beaver, and an otter—with a dash of poison thrown in for good measure. The platypus is so bizarre, even the world’s top ...

Australia's beaver-like, duck-billed platypus exhibits an array of bizarre characteristics: it lays eggs instead of giving birth to live babies, sweats milk, has venomous spurs and is even ...

Disney Channel, Radio Disney Execs, Stars Celebrate ‘Platypus Day’ in Honor of ‘Phineas and Ferb’ (Photos) Some of the top players from multiple Mouse House platforms united to introduce a ...

However, according to the platypus genome, that organic material gets made via variations in different genes than in reptiles. Reptilian result, uniquely platypusal cause. 7.

Unlike other evolving mammals, the platypus retained characteristics of snakes and lizards, including the pain-causing poison that males can use to ward off mating rivals, Graves said.

Most of the platypus's genes control characteristics typical of mammals, such as genes for making milk and fur. Unlike other mammals, however, the platypus lays eggs instead of birthing live young.

The platypus shares characteristics with a number of other kinds of animals. It has milk glands, which means it's a mammal -- same as humans, dogs, cats, elephants, and so on.

The platypus has such a bizarre mix of features that the first samples sent back to ... It's easy to think of this mix of mammalian and reptilian/avian characteristics in the genome as simply ...