‘Sonic Hedgehog’ Sounded Funny, at First – New York Times
Funny? …eh. Nice and brief article of how genes get named- often in not so thoughtful ways. Sometimes the name of something like a gene can carry meanings associated with the personality of the researcher- “Lunatic Fringe” for example.
(my 2 cents) Sadly, it’s okay to describe genes flagrantly when it’s associated with an plant or fly or something non-human, but let’s be sure not to “jar” anyone in the clinic…lest they find too much empathy with the organism that helped locate and describe the gene’s function.
