Well, talk about coincidence. Look what I found by accident when
reading Eurekalert!
It may be that a chunk of what has been done wrong is not breeding to
have fewer vulnerabilities, but NOT breeding enough from lines that
have good longevity.
This is some human work and the press release begins
>August 24, 2007 -- (BRONX, NY) -- People who live to 100 or more are
>known to have just as many--and sometimes even more--harmful gene
>variants compared with younger people. Now, scientists at the Albert
>Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered the
>secret behind this paradox: favorable "longevity" genes that protect
>very old people from the bad genes' harmful effects.
But certainly it is possible that a similar situation may exist in
ferrets.
Sukie (not a vet)
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/http://ferrethealth.org/archive/http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.htmlhttp://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/http://www.ferretcongress.org/http://www.trifl.org/index.shtmlhttp://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
[Posted in FML 5710]