Homoploid hybrid speciation in the real world and in Star Trek: Prodigy

How do new species come about? Come use a Star Trek: Prodigy example to learn about one cool means of generating new species that involves mixing of gene variants from two (or more) existing species-- "hybrid speciation"! Dal in Star Trek: Prodigy is a mishmash of a bunch of species, and in this brief BioTrekkie video, you'll hear about a purported example of such a mishmash in the real-world making a new butterfly species via homoploid hybrid speciation. Enjoy another example of real science represented in Star Trek!

[@WarBearLive]

Happy Holiday DNA!

[@daveagreg]

Great explanation and differentiation from allopolyploidy. I love learning more from this topic! 💙💙💙🤓🖖🏾

[@BioTrekkie]

Thanks so much @Dave Gregory -- always appreciate your following my content and your kind feedback! 🖖

[@michaelpapp5518]

Pretty cool idea explaining Treknobabble.

[@lindaanderegg7920]

Thanks for making these complex issues easier to understand

[@BioTrekkie]

Thanks for coming to watch, Linda, and glad you liked it! 🖖

[@BioTrekkie]

@ciaraneldrett I'd say instead that elements of it are based on real science... there would be BIG challenges to making this happen successfully.

[@georgecharalambous8665]

Greetings from Cyprus
This episode was too much for Dr.Noor not to make a video about!

[@BioTrekkie]

Greetings, George! Always delightful to see your comments! 🖖

[@berthulf]

Wow! Making a video on this that is short AND comprehensive AND fun to watch? I'm impressed and enthralled by this in equal measure.

[@BioTrekkie]

Thanks so much for this very kind feedback! 🖖

[@ra3722]

Thank you for this excellent explanation and example! We are also enjoying Prodigy a lot. Live logs and proper!

[@BioTrekkie]

Thanks for watching! 🖖

[@annmarie6985]

Yesssss!!!!!

[@montanawardog]

I may be old, but I’m always learning cool stuff from you! When I watched the episode today I said to myself, “Self, I hope that BioTrekkie Explains talks about this one!” And you did!! Still not sure how that button would cause expression of those various genes so immediately, if at all, though. But #TreknoBabble finds a way.

[@BioTrekkie]

Thanks @Wardogheim ! Yeah, the exact mechanism for how the button works wasn't explained, but the "rapid cell division" is what helped the effects manifest quickly. Happy post-Thanksgiving! 🖖

[@montanawardog]

@@BioTrekkie watching the T7R2 review of the episode I got your explanation in full on the “rapid cellular division” aspect and how the epidermal device would do its thing. Didn’t see the Vulcan logic thing being part of that but all good.

[@torenatkinson1986]

Meanwhile, in a different nerdy world, some older players of Dungeons and Dragons are up in arms that the publisher is replacing the term 'race' for the term 'species.' Some very silly people are arguing that it's a wrong change, because (they claim) species can't breed with a different species. They think it would mean that half-elves would no longer be a valid option because if elves and humans are different species they wouldn't be able to produce offspring. I guess they hadn't heard of ligers, prizzly bears or coywolfs. Science literacy is important!

[@BioTrekkie]

Sadly a common misconception (or overly rigid view) indeed. There's a lot of nuance in "species", as well as some differences in which definitions get used, and it's hard for some people to conceive of species formation as a process with intermediate states rather than an abrupt transition.