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I Knew that Little Yellow Rat was No Damned Good
Ron gets a no-prize in a red-and-white ball for bringing us news of the very interesting gene with a really goofy name:
Drugs to shut down the newly identified gene, which the researchers named POKEMON (for POK Erythroid Myeloid Ontogenic factor), could treat a wide spectrum of cancers, Pandolfi added, because other cancer-causing genes appear to lose their power when this key gene is switched off.
Who says scientists don't have a sense of humor? Ok, judging by this, I'll have to concede it's not much of one, but still...
The goofy naming of genes is less a function of a poor sense of humor than it is having no life. I remember working with the grad students when I was getting my genetics degree, and they all had no life. It wasn't surprising to see wierd gene names (Sonic the Hedgehog was a fave of mine). If you're a grad student and you discover it, you get to name it whatever the hell you want. If your grant came via some real company to do the research, you've got to act like you're serious and name it the P50 Tumor Supressor Gene (which is a real gene, but the way) - which is just stupid. Damn corporations worrying about trademarks and lawsuits...
Posted by: ron on January 20, 2005 04:30 PM