How Giraffe Necks Stretched to New Heights

(Credit: Pearl Media/Shutterstock) When you picture giraffes, there's one detail you certainly won't overlook: their necks. Their serpentine necks account for almost half of their height, and a significant amount of their fame. In a new study that sheds some light on just how giraffe necks stretched to such heights, researchers from Pennsylvania State University and the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology have sequenced the giraffe genome, as well as the genome of its closest relative, the okapi, for the first time. The analysis highlights 70 genes that show signs of adaptions unique to giraffes, which researchers say play a key role in giving giraffes a chin up on other animals.