My discoveries of the day
So they named the protein "Sonic Hedgehog" because without it, the embryo ended up covered with tiny bumps (probably primitive limbs or something that couldn't be formed) which made it look like a hedgehog. What a brilliant name.
And Sos stands for "Son of Sevenless"? Who knew! Sounds like the title of some epic fantasy novel, but nope. Juuust another signalling protein.
I think the best name ever though is still Pikachurin, for a "lightning-fast" protein involved in vision.
Second place would be the oncogene called "Pokemon" for (POK Erythroid Myeloid ONtogenic factor). Buuuut they got sued by Nintendo for making Pokemon cause cancer, so they changed it to Zbtb7. It's tragic, really.
And Sos stands for "Son of Sevenless"? Who knew! Sounds like the title of some epic fantasy novel, but nope. Juuust another signalling protein.
I think the best name ever though is still Pikachurin, for a "lightning-fast" protein involved in vision.
Second place would be the oncogene called "Pokemon" for (POK Erythroid Myeloid ONtogenic factor). Buuuut they got sued by Nintendo for making Pokemon cause cancer, so they changed it to Zbtb7. It's tragic, really.