What's In a Critter's Name? 19. Elephant

Around 1300, this pachyderm was described, in Middle English, as an 'olyfaunt'. The word had been borrowed from the Old French 'oliphant'. It then 'mutated' into 'elephant'.

What's In a Critter's Name? 18. Zebra

The origin of the name, 'Zebra', is thought to be the Latin 'equiferus', meaning 'wild horse'.

Black Spot?

Melanoma is a form of skin cancer, that kills circa 132,000 people globally each year. Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines now seem to offer personalised cancer vaccine treatments for melanoma sufferers. A sample of tumour is surgically removed from the patient. This is then DNA sequenced and Artificial Intelligence used to identify the sample's neoantigens. Neoantigens are markers on tumour cells, that can be potentially recognised by the patient's immune system. Custom-built mRNA vaccines, coding for up to 32 neoantigens, can then be produced for each patient. These are given, along side Keytruda immunotherapy (a booster for the immune system). In theory, cancer cells can be recognised and destroyed anywhere in the patient's body. Preliminary data appears very promising and University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is about to enter Phase 3 (final tests, before therapy is approved) trials. Throughout the UK, selected NHS hospitals, will produce data on more than a thousand patients for a full evaluation (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/apr/26/cancer-mrna-vaccine-melanoma-trial). mRNA vaccines, of course, came to prominence as providing treatments for Covid19 infections. Personalised mRNA vaccines are also being tested for lung, bladder and kidney cancers. It seems the way to go but it won't come cheap! Early diagnosis is important for even such hi-tech therapies to work.

Seeing the Changes 2017

An Angle shades (Phlogophora meticulosa) moth inflated its wings in my Loughor garden.

What's In a Critter's Name? 17. Goose barnacle

Nobody had ever seen a migratory Barnacle goose nest or lay eggs. Folk, consequently, decided they must emerge, by spontaneous generation, from Goose barnacles (Lepas anatifera), attached to the wooden hulls of sailing ships. This edible crustacean effectively got its name, because its shell looks a little like the goose's head.

What's In a Critter's Name? 16. Turkey

Although the Turkey originated in America, its was named after the Eurasian country. This was because folk thought it resembled another bird, nicknamed the 'turkey-cock', imported, at that time, from Turkey.

What's In a Critter's Name? 15. Orangutan

In the Malay language, Orangutan, means 'man of the forest'.