By Kevin E. Noonan — The giraffe is the tallest extant terrestrial animal, and its iconic long neck (6 feet) provides advantages for foraging for food and detecting predators on the veldt over long distances. As a consequence, however, the giraffe has a blood pressure two-fold higher than other ruminant animals needed to bring blood to the brain that is so far away from the animal’s heart. An earlier (2016) study of giraffe genome and genome of the related okapi (Okapia johnstoni) was not optimal, being restricted to 17,210 genes identified by comparison to cattle (Bos taurus) genome. Last Wednesday,…
