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Correspondence
Nature 439, 266 (19 January 2006) | doi:10.1038/439266d; Published online 18 January 2006
Humour of gene names lost in translation to patients
Ken Maclean1
- Developmental Biology Unit, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, 384 Victoria Road, Darlinghurst, New South Wales 2010, Australia
The choice of a gene name can have unforeseen consequences in addition to infringement of trademark ("Pokémon blocks gene name" Nature 438, 897; 2005). The quirky sense of humour that researchers display in choosing a gene name often loses much in translation when people facing serious illness or disability are told that they or their child have a mutation in a gene such as Sonic hedgehog, Slug or Pokemon.
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