Hippo, Merlin,Yorkie, Scalloped, Frizzled, Dishevelled and Warts aren't the distant cousins of the 7 dwarfs. The article was actually about tumor suppressors. The suppressors mentions are just a few to name. Each of these suppressor function to turn on and off genes. The research was under the supervision of James F. Martin and Todd Heallen from Texas A&M System Health Science Center. They found that in mice these genes block the heart from growing new muscles. Without the gene Hippo, a mouse's heart could grow almost 2 1/2 times its normal size. The research may help help to develop a treatment for heart attacks. Heart attacks occur when a large number of heart muscles cells die. The states that in fruit flies the heart and other organs have regulated it size with the Hippo gene. In fact many of the genes are names due to what happens to an organism if the gene was absent. But many of the names are so cartoon-esque that many of them didn't not make the cut for there names. Duller names were given like MAT-1 for Menage-a-trois in human genetics or Son-of-Sevenless to SOS-1 in fly genetics. Hippos has been degraded to MAT1. BORING!!!
Great article just knowing that some of these gene names were more flamboyant and interesting to hear. If more genes had fun names like that i think i would take it serious. Also that fact a gene called Hippo can help reduce the rate of heart attacks it really awesome. Heart conditions run in the family and possibly being able to have a suppressed gene continuing to do it job is even better. Next gene name, Ruthlessburger, maybe a little long but you get the idea
This seems like a very interesting article. I think it's foolish to rename all the genes to boring abbreviations because I feel like it would be a whole lot easier to learn and memorize the name and function of these genes if the names were original.
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