Blog Comments

Kinetica Online is pleased to provide direct links to commentaries from our senior editor Dr. Steven Pelech has posted on other blogs sites. Most of these comments appear on the GenomeWeb Daily Scan website, which in turn highlight interesting blogs that have been posted at numerous sites in the blogosphere since the beginning of 2010. A wide variety of topical subjects are covered ranging from the latest scientific breakthroughs, research trends, politics and career advice. The original blogs and Dr. Pelech’s comments are summarized here under the title of the original blog. Should viewers wish to add to these discussions, they should add their comments at the original blog sites.

The views expressed by Dr. Pelech do not necessarily reflect those of the other management and staff at Kinexus Bioinformatics Corporation. However, we wish to encourage healthy debate that might spur improvements in how biomedical research is supported and conducted.

Gene Names

What About Hedgehog, Buttonhead, and Bride of Sevenless?

Blogger Norman Johnson at Watching the Detectives dissected "the art and science of naming genes" and suggests that while "standardization has its place," the colorful naming of fly genes allows for easier recall of the genes, which leads to better communication between scientists. S. Pelech suspects that it also serves politically to flag the these gene as yet other examples of fly genes that have counterparts in humans and other species. However, these genes are more often than not regulated quite distinctly and have different substrates and functions depending on the species. Read More...