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Passenger Pigeons in the Lab
The Passenger Pigeons may be gone, but they still contribute to science. Researchers study the DNA in bird skins and other museum specimens to find answers to such questions as:
* What caused the Passenger Pigeon to become so abundant?
* How does its genome differ from that of its closest living relative, the Band-tailed Pigeon?
* Did disease play a part in the birds' rapid decline? |