Entering edit mode
12.6 years ago
Hoyle
▴
10
Today while scratching my poison ivy rash I discovered that humans are the only animals affected by urushiol. So naturally, I want to know why the mutation to produce it exists when it doesn't deter consumption by other animals. Specifically I'd like to know how old this mutation is, if this can be determined, and whether this correlates to the advent of its itchy victims.
If it does predate humanity, I'm curious whether it's good for anything else, though this is a very different question, about which I did find this http://resources.metapress.com/pdf-preview.axd?code=kp835414h8p86007&size=largest
