Thursday, 30 June 2011
Superman vs. Superman
As already has been said in the alphabetic mutations science has a penchant for complex and confusing names. But sometimes the scientist also take a more easy route naming the genes after cartoon figures (Pokémon), fictional characters(werewolf), Greek myths(Titin). Yes indeed there are names such as Sonic hedgehog for proteins involved in signaling and Cleopatra for a fairly lethal mutant gene. Here is a look at one of the genes that has been named after the favorite comic hero superman and how much it shares with “man of steel”
ALPHABETIC MUTATIONS
Mutations are rampant. We have an increasing list of diseases due to mutated genes. The lists of carcinogenic chemicals are also increasing. The numbers of resistant bacteria are increasing due to mutation. There is one more list to be added to the things increasing due to mutations. Scientific names. Science is a complicated subject and a confusing language of the academic world. What makes the science language more complicated are the word used in science that are so similar to each other. The scientific names used in literature are identical and most of the times are just variations of each other. Just by the insertion of few letters we get an entirely different word with different function and meaning
Blame it on the genes!!!
Human beings have always tried to blame others for their mistakes. Weather or God or Lady Luck. We have many things on which to put our blame. Now biotechnology has offered us another thing to share our blame. GENES
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