Shh

[Ajmeru]

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Hi,
Just curious, does anybody know about the discovery of the Sonic Hedgehog gene (SHH) and how did it came to be known by this name? I couldn't find much in the literature on the web or elsewhere.

 

[kidmel45]

actually had a prof in undergrad tell us it was named after the sonic the hedgehog sega game....not sure if that's true, but sounds better than anything else I've heard

 

[Centrum]

Originally posted by kidmel45
actually had a prof in undergrad tell us it was named after the sonic the hedgehog sega game....not sure if that's true, but sounds better than anything else I've heard

I don't know of anything else called by the name sonic the hedgehog, so that would be my guess.

 

[Badgerbabe]

Yeah, my devo prof told us the other day that it is involved in patterning during development, and was in fact named for the sega game. Not sure why though.

Shannon

 

[DrMom]

Originally posted by Badgerbabe
was in fact named for the sega game. Not sure why though.

Shannon

Maybe because molecular biologists are strange? 😉

 

[Raptor]

Or play too many video games.

 

[Badgerbabe]

Oh, I'm quite certain molecular biologists are strange! (I can say this having been one in undergrad 🙂 ) I would actually really like to hear the story behind that one....Well, we were up really late one night playing video games and one thing led to another, and someone lost a bet, and his next great discovery was named Sonic Hedghog.....?? 😀

 

[Fenrezz]

I don't blame them for naming it after the game. I was so addicted to that game I would have named my kid Sonic, had I had one.

 

[DW]

Originally posted by Fenrezz
I don't blame them for naming it after the game. I was so addicted to that game I would have named my kid Sonic, had I had one.

well, i guess thats a better name than "Grand Theft Auto 3" or "Goldeneye" 🙂

 

[jot]

well since grad students name a lot of the genes - they have pretty funny names. the patchway for dorsal-ventral specification in drosophila embryos has gene names like cappacino, pipsqueak, toll, cactus, spatzle, lunatic fringe (some death metal band - not in this pathway but still amusing). makes learning them a bit more interesting. there are all sorts of variations on sonic hedgehog that hae sprung up too. yeah dorks! 😉

-jot

 

[kutastha]

Just by memory, I believe there was already a hedgehog gene found in fruit flies, and the Harvard researchers who discovered the SHH gene had a sense of humor.

 

[Coalboy]

I like how one of the genes that controls the development of the head is called noggin . Makes it pretty easy to remember. And my embryo professor told us a similar story to the one Kutastha related.

 

[mycin1600]

Drosophila people are psychos, period.

 

[DrMom]

Originally posted by Fenrezz
I don't blame them for naming it after the game. I was so addicted to that game I would have named my kid Sonic, had I had one.

Scary thought all together, Fenrezz! 😉