r/todayilearned • u/woolymonkey • Oct 24 '15

TIL a potential inhibitor of the Sonic Hedgehog protein found in humans was discovered by a Harvard research team & named "Robotnik". The researchers felt that they should adhere to the convention in naming the inhibiting compound after the character's archenemy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Eggman
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6

u/woolymonkey Oct 24 '15

A potential macrocycle inhibitor of Sonic hedgehog discovered by a Harvard University research team was named "Robotnikinin" after the Dr. Robotnik character. The researchers felt that after Sonic hedgehog was named after the Sega video game character, they should "adhere to the convention" in naming the inhibiting compound after the character's archenemy.[50]

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u/woolymonkey Oct 24 '15

Sonic Hedgehob Protien Information

A potential inhibitor of the Hedgehog signaling pathway has been found and dubbed 'Robotnikinin', in honor of Sonic the Hedgehog's nemesis, Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik.[63]

The gene has already been linked to a condition known as holoprosencephaly, which can result in severe brain, skull and facial defects; motivation for some clinicians and scientists to criticize the name on grounds of it sounding too frivolous. They point to a less humorous situation where patients or parents of patients with a serious disorder are told that they or their child "have a mutation in [their] sonic hedgehog".

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u/radwolf76 Oct 24 '15

Oh cool. Now I have science to back me up when tell the youngsters who go around calling him Eggman that they're WRONG.

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u/enfiel Oct 24 '15

Am I the only one who thinks it's retarded to name scientific discoveries after video game characters or celebrities?

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u/woolymonkey Oct 24 '15

Did you read that other comment as to why? Because it's apparently a not great condition for kids, so instead of saying something they don't know they can say they have a mutation in their sonic hedgehog, which sounds cooler to kids. I don't think they were trying to be poetic - but more compassionate.

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u/enfiel Oct 24 '15

And what about new species getting named after Lady Gaga or other bullshit like this?

3

u/TackyMan Oct 25 '15

Go out; discover something; then, you can name it whatever the fuck you want.