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Reality bites

Have you ever read such nonsense in your life? (Other than on this website, obviously):

BBC: Cerebral malaria may have passed from gorillas to us

I'm pretty sure we would all remember being bitten in the head by a sodding gorilla!

Richard Carter

A fat, bearded chap with a Charles Darwin fixation.

Ian William Halliday says:

25-Sep-2010 at 10:34

The article leaves me wondering why you can't use blood samples to analyse DNA infections in the apes. Why is this?

(a) It's too difficult to get a blood sample from them - they don't like it and knock your head off?

(b) There's something different about monkey blood like it doesn't contain DNA or only contains part of it or doesn't carry the infections or something?

I think we should be told.

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beholder says:

27-Sep-2010 at 09:53

Ian -- might not answer your question but... the Straight Dope hasthis handy article(including the essential "remember to check for banana skins" when investigating crimes that may have been committed by gorillas).

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Nite Owl says:

29-Sep-2010 at 13:02

Yes, but if it was one of those pesky little flying gorillas that give us all so much trouble in the summer, you wouldn't necessarily know you'd been bitten until it was too late. And, of course, there is also the risk of monkey flew! or was it malaria?...hang on....I'm thinking of mosquitos. I'll get my coat!

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