just thought it was cool

[Yin]

basically, these slugs are capable of photosynthesis by stealing the genes of algae naturally and can survive with only 12 hours of light a day.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34824610/ns/technology_and_science-science/

[personalreality]

sneaky little bastards aren't they

[Yin]

that they are~ if only I could be such an algae ninja

[Stillwater]

Huh...

That's interesting... I remember my old biology professors saying that photosynthesis, as we knew it, was the sole property of plants, and plant-like microbes. I guess there are minor exceptions 

[zareste]

solar-powered slugs! Yeah!

[Xanth]

That is pretty damn cool!

~Ryan

[CFTraveler]

Maybe they can reclassify them as zoophytes and then everybody's happy.

[Stillwater]

Haha....

The problem with that is that they don't have plant or plant-like cells.

Doing that would be similar to calling a venus fly trap a zoophyte, merely because it is occasionaly self-motile. Unless, of course, the DNA causes the slug to develop plant-like structures, like chloroplasts.

I guess one might have to just settle for genetic burglar.

[CFTraveler]

I initially thought it could be called 'giant virus' but that would be more weird than 'genetic burglarizing slug'.  

[radman32]

Sounds like aliens, genetically modified beings. Sounds like the namek race off of the Dragon Ball Z series; or the mythical green beings depicted everywhere in antiquity and in popular culture.

[solarity]

Haha....

The problem with that is that they don't have plant or plant-like cells.

Doing that would be similar to calling a venus fly trap a zoophyte, merely because it is occasionaly self-motile. Unless, of course, the DNA causes the slug to develop plant-like structures, like chloroplasts.

I guess one might have to just settle for genetic burglar.

they are ninjas!

[CFTraveler]

mythical green beings depicted everywhere in antiquity

Would you be more specific?

and in popular culture.

What popular culture?  I must not be popular or cultured but I never heard of any mythical green creatures.

[solarity]

Would you be more specific? What popular culture?  I must not be popular or cultured but I never heard of any mythical green creatures.

could he mean the typical alien? http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~trouille/EYH/pics/435px-Alien.png

[CFTraveler]

Ok, but still, a green slug doesn't look like the great Gazoo at all.

I still want to know about the green creatures depicted 'everywhere' in antiquity.

[Stillwater]

They could have been talking about Sumerian paintings and votive offerings. The images that presumably depict their Gods have gigantic eyes. Some people feel that it suggests they were visitited by aliens. I don't make much of it one way or the other, but it is true that these depictions certainly exist, And they clearly place some significance, for whatever reason, on the eyes, as the rest of the image is pretty naturalistic by comparison.



 

[personalreality]

what does that have to do with slugs?

[Stillwater]

Nothing. It is a response to what radman posted, and what CFT commented about it.

[solarity]

those arn't green though, blasphemy!

[personalreality]

oh ok, i thought radman was saying that there were depictions of green slugs in antiquity.  my bad.

[CFTraveler]

I'm still waiting for radman's answer.

[Stillwater]

yeah, lol

And no problem, PR, it is easy to take something a different way if the context might be ambiguous.

[solarity]

I totally want one as a pet now

[Everlasting]

Well, the green mythological creatures surely must be trolls.

[personalreality]

i'm pretty sure he was alluding to aliens.