Recently, Bethesda Studios released the next installment of the hit Fallout series: Fallout 4. Set in the post-apocalyptic wastes of Boston and the Commonwealth, Fallout 4 showcases some (welcomed) nuclear wasteland cliches. While the radiation zombies, irradiated water, and mini nukes are all super 1950s, nothing screams Cold War craziness quite like the Brahmin, a species of two-headed cow. Now, video game logic is something we can't really argue with, because when piles of hay beat gravity and crouching fixes gunshots, the laws of science don't really apply. But what if they did? Could something like a Brahmin (or Radstag, two-headed deer) exist?
Assuming that this distinct and radical change could actually develop on a species-wide level, could the biological mechanics work? To start, let's see if there are two-headed animals in real life. Shocking as it may be, there are. Polycephaly is the fancy words for an animal that is born with an extra head (or extra appendage), and it happens often enough in nature. Snakes, cats, cows, even people can be born with a second head, but these specimen rarely live long. The big synapse the seems to occur in these bizarre situations is a disconnect between the two brains (all of this according to Wikipedia, of course) which results in poor motor skills and general confusion, a problem noticeably absent in the behavior of brahmin.
I think this results from a "separation of powers" physiology. We know that human motor functions are split between hemispheres, so why not between two brains? Think of using two computers for one modem. One is dedicated to CPU, and another is dedicated to RAM. The other issue would be the sheer amount of nerve tissue that would be needed to connect the two brains and the sensory nerves. The solution to this can be found in the stocky, short-neck build of Brahmin and Radstags. This dual-brain system also provides a back up brain, should the other suffer excessive damage or be killed. This supplies both a technical "yes" to two-headed functionality, and a segue into my next topic: Why would a two-headed creature evolve?
To answer this, we turn towards Darwinism and the process of evolution. Natural selection works in a pretty simple way: the longer you live, the more babies you make; the more babies you make, the more your individual traits are spread. Typically, this process can take thousands of years to make drastic changes but there is documented evidence of new species of finches cropping up in the Galapagos Islands in the past 40 years (source). If 40 years of geological isolation can make a new breed of bird, who says 100 years of drastic environmental change and radiation exposure can't generate a two-headed cow? We know that radiation can trigger mutations (though these are often fatal or lack viability), and the catastrophic changes in predator prey relations and ecological alterations directly affect natural selection. With the bombings and subsequent nuclear winters, herd sizes would have been vastly reduced, and the introduction of new predators such as Deathclaws into the ecosystem would necessitate the introduction of a second set of ears, eyes and nostrils. Lacking the advantage of numbers in a harsh and unforgiving wasteland, the Brahmin that detect threats earlier evade death longer, and pass their traits onto new generations.
Of course, this is all the speculations of one academic whose foray into biology is limited to personal readings and AP Bio in high school (though I performed exceptionally in that class), but still, doesn't it kinda make sense? The only reason we currently cast out the possibility of a viable polycephalic creature is because there aren't any right now, but who knows? With enough disaster, catastrophe, and radiation we might see the advent of a two-headed cow. Might not be great to look at, but the cow tongue industry would probably love it.
Assuming that this distinct and radical change could actually develop on a species-wide level, could the biological mechanics work? To start, let's see if there are two-headed animals in real life. Shocking as it may be, there are. Polycephaly is the fancy words for an animal that is born with an extra head (or extra appendage), and it happens often enough in nature. Snakes, cats, cows, even people can be born with a second head, but these specimen rarely live long. The big synapse the seems to occur in these bizarre situations is a disconnect between the two brains (all of this according to Wikipedia, of course) which results in poor motor skills and general confusion, a problem noticeably absent in the behavior of brahmin.
I think this results from a "separation of powers" physiology. We know that human motor functions are split between hemispheres, so why not between two brains? Think of using two computers for one modem. One is dedicated to CPU, and another is dedicated to RAM. The other issue would be the sheer amount of nerve tissue that would be needed to connect the two brains and the sensory nerves. The solution to this can be found in the stocky, short-neck build of Brahmin and Radstags. This dual-brain system also provides a back up brain, should the other suffer excessive damage or be killed. This supplies both a technical "yes" to two-headed functionality, and a segue into my next topic: Why would a two-headed creature evolve?
To answer this, we turn towards Darwinism and the process of evolution. Natural selection works in a pretty simple way: the longer you live, the more babies you make; the more babies you make, the more your individual traits are spread. Typically, this process can take thousands of years to make drastic changes but there is documented evidence of new species of finches cropping up in the Galapagos Islands in the past 40 years (source). If 40 years of geological isolation can make a new breed of bird, who says 100 years of drastic environmental change and radiation exposure can't generate a two-headed cow? We know that radiation can trigger mutations (though these are often fatal or lack viability), and the catastrophic changes in predator prey relations and ecological alterations directly affect natural selection. With the bombings and subsequent nuclear winters, herd sizes would have been vastly reduced, and the introduction of new predators such as Deathclaws into the ecosystem would necessitate the introduction of a second set of ears, eyes and nostrils. Lacking the advantage of numbers in a harsh and unforgiving wasteland, the Brahmin that detect threats earlier evade death longer, and pass their traits onto new generations.
Of course, this is all the speculations of one academic whose foray into biology is limited to personal readings and AP Bio in high school (though I performed exceptionally in that class), but still, doesn't it kinda make sense? The only reason we currently cast out the possibility of a viable polycephalic creature is because there aren't any right now, but who knows? With enough disaster, catastrophe, and radiation we might see the advent of a two-headed cow. Might not be great to look at, but the cow tongue industry would probably love it.
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