Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Random thoughts

I work with fruit flies (ok,ok, Drosophila if you must) and think they are quite cute. But I love the gene names more, here's a selection which make it so much fun working with flies!

· ken and barbie - male and female flies with this mutant gene lack external genitalia

· kojak - the wings of these mutants' lack bristles, and are as bald as its hard-boiled cop's namesake

· indy - acronym for "I'm not dead yet" from Monty Python and the Holy Grail; the lifespan of these mutants is nearly double that of normal genes

· lush - mutations cause an increased affection for alcohol

· swiss cheese- holes in mutants' brain give the appearance of this dairy edible

· yuri - like the famous Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, these flies also have problems with gravity

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