Comments on: The gene is in an identity crisis

The gene is in an identity crisis

homunculus — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:30:39 -0800

Now: The Rest of the Genome. "Only 1 percent of the genome is made up of classic genes. Scientists are exploring the other 99 percent and uncovering new secrets and new questions."

By: homunculus

homunculus — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:31:40 -0800

Carl Zimmer: Hypocrite?

By: grounded

grounded — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:41:08 -0800

Damn. I thought it said 'The Rest of the Gnome'.

By: jonmc

jonmc — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:49:23 -0800

Only 1 percent of the genome is made up of classic genes. The rest, I presume, are designer genes.

By: homunculus

homunculus — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:59:45 -0800

99 percent of gnomes wear designer genes.

By: jonmc

jonmc — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 20:11:32 -0800

The pointy hats, however, are off-the-rack.

By: Phalene

Phalene — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 20:35:50 -0800

G-Nome? Is there nothing that company won't dabble in? First email clients and browsers, now fairies.

By: kisch mokusch

kisch mokusch — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 20:37:21 -0800

Is it Science Day at Metafilter today?

By: netbros

netbros — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:07:38 -0800

My mother taught me about genetics ... Frequently she said, "You are just like your father!"

By: weapons-grade pandemonium

weapons-grade pandemonium — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:46:15 -0800

With all due respect, I would like to propose a hypothesis: Dr. Eisen blogged about my article without actually reading it all the way through. Sounds just like MetaFilter.

By: homunculus

homunculus — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:57:32 -0800

Is it Science Day at Metafilter today? We need more Sarah Palin links.

By: sexyrobot

sexyrobot — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 02:17:38 -0800

*rolls eyes, shakes head* srsly...a very fascinating article...i was unaware that some genes were distributed in parts, some of which are interchangeable...it makes sense tho, if only from an information theory point of view...it reminds me of how data is stored on a hard drive, sort of all over the place. surprisingly, it makes it easier to manage and more stable that way... i'm glad someones finally putting some money towards figuring out what all the 'junk' dna is up to...although, i'm sure a bunch of it is actually trash. (especially the parts they mentioned near the end of the article that segregate viral dna from the good bits) ...theres a whole new field called 'biophysics' that studies how biological molecules physically act on one another...they're apparently putting together a view that dna is a whole lot more like a machine than it is like a book. hopefully they will find a lot of cool widgets down there that can be cut and pasted into the field of molecular nanotechnology. so, a bit of trivia...which family of organisms has the MOST dna? A: the lilies. again, because of the bits that separate out the viral dna...long stretches of non-active nonsense...aparrently its because the lilies like to live where its all swampy and germy. neat,huh?

By: gsb

gsb — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 06:03:47 -0800

>...theres a whole new field called 'biophysics' Umm. Well, that's not very new. In fact, I know some people who think it's 'old hat' or 'quaint', to my disdain.

By: spamguy

spamguy — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 06:47:11 -0800

Damn. I thought it said 'The Rest of the Gnome'. Me too! I clicked expecting some combination of JRR Tolkien and Paul Harvey, and was seriously disappointed. 'And now you know...the rest of the gnome...'