Genetically modified muscle monsters
Only one more day until the 2008 Summer Olympic Games start. Needless to say that these Games will be a prime example of Love, Peace and Harmony (at least when visiting the slashed “world” wide web from an internet café in Beijing…).
However, I have to muddy the good mood a little. Quit the OSM (= […]
Cancer has a cacophonous melody (really?)
Well, in my opinion, the following is quite bizarre: Gil Alterovitz, an electrical and biomedical engineer with proteomics skills (and MIT alumnus, as well), is developing a computer program that translates protein and gene expression into music.
I’m not kidding. Recently, the Technology Review (TR) published an article on this guy’s conversion of genetic activity into […]
High GC content gene synthesis
This success story was provided by the group of Prof. Dr. Bechthold (Pharmaceutical Biology, Albert-Ludwigs-University, Freiburg)
This synthetic gene was prepared by Mr Gene while other companies refused to synthesize the gene due to a very high GC content.
Order submitted: March 18th - gene finalized: April 17th
Length: 471 bp - GC content: 71 %
The pharmaceutical activity […]
Wikification of Genes – next Effort
Have you noticed, yet, that the wwweb has swollen up like people’s bellies after Christmas? As an example, take the ten thousands of wikis that congest the virtual world. Each of them is an epitome of wisdom (well, let’s face it: most wikis are as superfluous as the fifth leg of an antelope).
Recently, the wiki […]
Calling Neanderthal
Aaargh!
Ough!
Huh-huh-grumpf… ouch!?
Well, speaking isn’t always that easy.
In Jean-Jacques Annaud’s film “Quest for Fire” a group of Palaeolithic humans travels its primeval world in search of a flame to relight their extinct fire. The film’s most startling feature is the invented language spoken by the prehistoric humans. It was created by British novelist and composer Anthony […]
Dachshund, Werewolf, and other crazy genes
Have you ever wondered about the origin of strange and notable gene names, such as hedgehog or swiss cheese? Most of the current genetic nomenclature has meaningful origins, while other genes were named on a mere whim.
Take the above mentioned hedgehog gene discovered in the 1970s by Nobel Prize laureates Edward Lewis, Christiane NĂĽsslein-Volhard and […]
welcome
Dear visitor,
welcome to Mr. Gene’s Blog.
Please fasten the lid of your lab centrifuge and make sure that the tubes are well balanced. Then relax. As an appropriate inauguration of this blog, we should first clarify a very special term.
This term is, ahem, gene (click here to view a cute animated sequence on it).
Ok, well… G-E-N-E […]
