- Mon May 07, 2012 3:08 pm
#141783
If it's transmissible, then it is almost certainly a virus, because this doesn't strike me as bacteria.
If it's not, then it is most likely genetic-- or the result of odd environmental effects, such as chemicals/pollutants/poisons.
But given that most of what can "poison" a VFT most often kills it, I find this to be highly unlikely unless a specific agent can be pinpointed. Sort of like how if someone drinks something deadly poisonous very young, but survives, it can have a permanent effect on their health and/or appearance-- alter hair and skin color, interfere with eye color, etc. That's just a tiny example, and I doubt it's applicable to this situation. Unless our peat moss manufacturers are putting stuff in our soil that we're not aware of... o___O'
This whole thing reminds me of Pokerus. Should we call this the Traperus? Dionaeus? Dionysus Virus?
I would personally love, love to have a spotty. Then I could take a leaf to my mom's lab and look at it under her microscopes. I'm super-interested in biology and virology (I don't consider the latter to be a proper sub-division of the former-- viruses aren't properly 'alive') and I'd like to see if I could compare the leaves of a healthy typical to a spotty.
Anyone want to trade me one so I can do this? Even just a leaf cutting with a tiny bit of the rhizome would be enough-- that way, it'd be alive, fresh, and I could still look at it.
If it's not, then it is most likely genetic-- or the result of odd environmental effects, such as chemicals/pollutants/poisons.
But given that most of what can "poison" a VFT most often kills it, I find this to be highly unlikely unless a specific agent can be pinpointed. Sort of like how if someone drinks something deadly poisonous very young, but survives, it can have a permanent effect on their health and/or appearance-- alter hair and skin color, interfere with eye color, etc. That's just a tiny example, and I doubt it's applicable to this situation. Unless our peat moss manufacturers are putting stuff in our soil that we're not aware of... o___O'
This whole thing reminds me of Pokerus. Should we call this the Traperus? Dionaeus? Dionysus Virus?
I would personally love, love to have a spotty. Then I could take a leaf to my mom's lab and look at it under her microscopes. I'm super-interested in biology and virology (I don't consider the latter to be a proper sub-division of the former-- viruses aren't properly 'alive') and I'd like to see if I could compare the leaves of a healthy typical to a spotty.
Anyone want to trade me one so I can do this? Even just a leaf cutting with a tiny bit of the rhizome would be enough-- that way, it'd be alive, fresh, and I could still look at it.