The battle wages on through genetics
One of the more quirky bits of trivia for the Sonic franchise has been its relation to genetics. In the 1970′s, a gene related to how our brain grows our limbs was given the name “hedgehog” in relation to its spikey appearance. In 1995, three strains of the “hedgehog” gene were found, named “Desert-Hedgehog”, “Indian-Hedgehog”, and amusingly, “Sonic-Hedgehog”. In recent years the “Sonic-Hedgehog” gene has become the subject of much focus, due to its relation to stem-cell division and the development of certain cancers.
Keeping with the “Sonic-Hedgehog” tradition, Harvard Scientists have developed a compound they are calling “Robotnikinin”. Admittedly, I am no geneticist, so the following goes completely over my head:
“Robotnikinin, a macrocycle, was discovered when a Harvard University team used a small-molecule microarray to screen for molecules that bind to Sonic hedgehog, the most prominent protein in the pathway.
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The Harvard team, led by Dr Stuart Schreiber, decided to look for modulators that act before Smoothened in the hedgehog pathway. Using the small-molecule microarray, they found a new macrocyle that bound directly to the Sonic hedgehog protein.
They tested it on human skin cells and a synthetic skin model and found that robotnikinin inhibits Sonic hedgehog signalling in a concentration-dependent manner.”
“Sonic-Hedgehog” and “Robotnikinin” is not the only time popular media has infiltrated the world of genetics research. The gene now known as “Zbtb7″ was originally named the “Pokemon Gene”, due to its evolutionary nature. Nintendo requested the name not be used, however, as “Zbtb7″ may be a key element in the development of cancer, and they did not want Pokemon to be associated with such a deadly disease. That did not stop Shigeru Sato, however, from using the name “Pikachurin” for a protien in our eyes that helps us track fast movements.
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That is quite epic.
どうやっての？Some scientists have too much time on their hands…
Funny.
So, Sonic causes cancer?
Great. Just great.
I’m the one that wrote the unintelligable story mentioned above. Please excuse – my readers are biological scientists so they usually know what I’m talking about.
Sonic fans might be disappointed to know that while it is generally agreed to be a cool name, there are moves to change it. Mutations in Sonic can cause birth defects, particularly in the formation of the face, skull and brain. In really severe cases, it can cause cyclopia, where only one eye forms. You might have read about this disorder in kittens.
Geneticists usually refer to Sonic as Shh when it comes to humans. One reason for changing these names is the problem doctors face when trying to explain to the parents of new-born babies with birth defects that Sonic the hedgehog caused it. There’s a good story about this in the New York Times.
Doing away with Sonic and his friends is a bit of a shame, especially when it comes to my favourite gene, Cheap Date. If this gene is over-expressed, you get real drunk, real quick.
Here’s some others you might like.
It doesn’t surprise me that sonic causes cancer.
Getting sun causes cancer.
Eating food causes cancer.
Breathing Air Causes Cancer
I know that they’re dangerous but i like to do those things.
lol, thats brilliant! Fair enough Nintendo not wanting that gene named after pokemon though, but lol, Pikachurin, I’m sure I’ve heard of it be4 XD
@Kate: Yeah, I can understand the parents part, imagine if u were told yor child has a birth defect ocs of Sonic 0.o well it’s funny, but obviously wouldn’t be very funny… anyway, it’s kinda cool that there are these sorta humurous quirps in the world of science hehe
Quite right, Tails. “Sonic the hedgehog killed your baby” isn’t something most doctors would like to repeat. Sega doesn’t seem to mind too much, however, as in humans the gene is called Shh. It’s still called Sonic in fruit flies.
More amusing fruit fly genes: there’s a couple of proteins that signal the death of a cell. Their names? Grim, Reaper and Sickle.
Who said scientists were boring.