Articles in Press

Genetic carking – directed human speciation in Neverness

Posted on February 4, 2024

Genetic carking is a general term for genetic manipulation, leading to alteration of the genetic structure of an individual, or entire population. It was initiated long ago in ancient times as gene therapy with the single purpose of fixing mutations, causing inheritable diseases. However, in the interstellar era, genetic carking reached new popularity, largely exploited by humanity to alter its appearance. By the method of Replication mediated genome reconstruction, it became possible for entirely new humanoid subspecies to evolve, especially in the city of Neverness. The present paper explores the methodology, and possible issues of this technology.

Municipal Darwinism – an ecological perspective

Posted on July 27, 2023

Municipal Darwinism is a widely used term to describe the principles and processes behind the evolution of traction cities of the Traction Era, a period in the history of planet Earth, which lasted for approximately one thousand years. Although it is primarily developed as a philosophy to describe, and somehow justify the predatory nature of the biggest traction cities, it is also useful to understand the rise and decline of Tractionism. Meanwhile, it is also useful to understand how Tractionism affected the wildlife on the planet. However, it is still more of a philosophy, rather than a valid biological process.

Cordyceps brain infection – life cycle and pathogenesis

Posted on April 12, 2023

Widely known as Cordyceps brain infection, the fungal human pathogen Ophiocordyceps internicivus is a newly emerged species of “zombie fungus”, first described by Newman in 1970 as an endemic infection in Argentina and later, in 2003 by Ratna Pertiwi as the cause of a full-scale epidemy in Jaccarta. It is a highly aggressive species, first believed to be a mutated strain of O. unilateralis, but later found to be an entirely different species, initially restricted to small rodents in South America. In the current study, we summarized all known information on this significant pathogen, because of its significance for the current epidemiology.

Serpent flies of Enroth – evolution and mimicry

Posted on March 2, 2023

Serpent flies and their closely related dragon flies are bizarre creatures, resembling a hybrid between a snake and a giant insect. They were relatively unexplored until recently, because of their restricted distribution deep into the swamps of Tatalia. Occasionally used in battle by the Beastmasters, most notably by King Tralossk, they attracted the attention of the scholars of Bracada and soon, several expeditions were sent deep into the Mudlands to explore these creatures. Interestingly, they found two distinct species, not related phylogenetically, but very similar in appearance, which are briefly described in the current paper.

Recent viral outbreaks of Biblical scale

Posted on February 12, 2023

Infectious diseases are an essential part of our world, affecting virtually every single human being. It is hard to estimate how many times a person gets infected during his life, but still, some statistics could be found in the literature. Every single one of us gets infected by rhinovirus or coronavirus, the causes of the common cold three to four times every year, with children and elderly people even more frequently. Endogenous retroviruses comprise as high as 8% of the human genome, suggesting that infections in the past contributed significantly to the evolution of our species. Infectious and parasitic diseases account for one-quarter of the death cases in the world yearly. However, either due to natural mutations, or engineering on purpose, some pathogens may evolve into highly contagious, devastating pests, able to virtually erase most of the human population. The current paper summarizes some of the deadliest viral diseases, reported in the literature.

Unravelling the Black Panther secret plant – first evidence of radio-hyperaccumulators in the plant kingdom

Posted on February 4, 2023

The tiny nation of Wakanda is well-known mostly for its advanced technology, thanks to the large deposits of the extraterrestrial element, known as vibranium. Although still not entirely understood, it is believed to be a superactinide, a relatively stable, but still radioactive element.  Because of its radioactivity, it is known to cause mutations and significantly altered the local flora and fauna, including the world-famous heart-shaped herb. It is best known for its health effects when consumed, but the biology of this Wakanda endemic plant seems to be even more intriguing than its ethnopharmacology. The current paper summarizes the known aspects of the heart-shaped herb metabolic features.

Skin Coloration of the Elfes of Aquilon

Posted on December 1, 2022

The world of Aquilon is a diverse planet, with two main continents, named Arran and Ogon. Among the numerous sentient species, all of which established civilizations, the elfes are the most diverse and separated into several well-defined divisions, effectively subspecies of the same species. Besides important cultural differences, the most distinct feature of each subspecies is skin coloration, which differs greatly and is often used to name the entire clade. Although initially it was thought that each clade is synthesizing a different pigment, it soon appeared that the skin’s chemical composition is not differing from the human’s one and the color difference is entirely due to differences in structure.

The Genetic Dynasty and the Cleon Complex

Posted on November 9, 2022

The present paper deals with the biological basis and medical aspects of a social phenomenon, recently classified as the Cleon complex in contemporary psychoanalysis. Although not recognized as a diagnosable mental disorder, it is a neuro-psychological phenomenon, that could be traced throughout the history of multiple worlds and is virtually a characteristic of any ruling dynasty or autocratic regime of governing. However, the present study explores the purely biological and medical aspects of the strive for eternal rule, rather than the neurological and psychological side.

The Valyrian blood chromosome

Posted on September 20, 2022

The strong bond between dragonlords of Valyrian blood and their tamed dragons was a long-lasting scientific enigma, which was recently revealed. It was found that people of Valyrian blood possess a 24th chromosomal pair, which contains multiple genes, responsible for pheromone signaling between the two species, as well as the distinct features of Valyrians over other people. Moreover, it was found that this chromosome, called the Valyrian chromosome is also shared by the dragons themselves and undergoes horizontal transfer and homologous recombination during a process, known as “blood-hatching”.

Unexplained distribution anomalies – case studies

Posted on September 8, 2022

According to Eberhart’s classification, class one cryptids are distribution anomalies of known species, e.g., known animals (or plants), reported outside their normal range. Although often associated with potentially dangerous animals such as crocodiles and other large predators, such cryptids appeared to be common both in historical and contemporary times. They encompass all taxa. The present article is an overview of several known class 1 cryptids, which are, to this moment, completely unexplained, e.g., no introduction was reported.