Scientific Studies of Creatures with Unique Anomalies

According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office and the Texas Game Warden recently investigated a residence based on a tip about drug distribution and illegal possession of an alligator.

A search warrant resulted in the discovery of several controlled substances, including magic mushrooms, PCP, THC edibles and vape cartridges, and 1 pound of marijuana.

Officers also uncovered firearms, money, and the 3-foot-long Caiman reptile, which has since been relocated to a wildlife rescue facility in Dallas, 140 miles northwest of Rusk County.

A 44-year-old man was arrested at the home, charged with four controlled substance felony offenses, and taken into custody.

Around the same time, a scientific study of a similar species was recently published in the journal Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology. Titled Cause of the Cambrian Explosion — Terrestrial or Cosmic, the research offers an in-depth exploration of the origin of life on Earth.

Life as we know it apparently resulted from a downpour of retroviruses, which literally fell from space. Those retroviruses then added new DNA sequences to terrestrial genomes, which the study says exacerbated mutagenic alterations.