genes
"Neither Should Be Patentable". They are discovered not invented.
"That's exactly what scientists wondered when they discovered introns. You can think of the DNA in your cells as a massive library of music. Genes are like songs that play at different volumes. The blocks of white noise are the introns." A very good article in the link.......
"The argument of this book is that we, and all other animals, are machines created by our genes. Like successful Chicago gangsters, our genes have survived, in some cases for millions of years, in a highly competitive world. This entitles us to expect certain qualities in our genes. I shall argue that a predominant quality to be expected in a successful gene is ruthless selfishness."
"If genes are like apps on a smartphone, then think of regulatory mechanisms as the software that decides which apps run in certain situations."
"But a better analogy for genes might be a script for a theater production or film. Our genes are like the script, and the exposome and epigenome are like the production and performance. The script of Romeo and Juliet doesn't change from one production to the next, but how it is produced and performed can vary dramatically depending on the director, cast, crew, set design, costumes, and other factors. If a script is terrible, even a great performance can't save it. On the other hand, the best script in the world won't matter with a terrible production. "
"Our genes are like the instruments in an orchestra, says Dr Jeff Craig, a researcher in developmental epigenetics and disease from the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute in Melbourne."
"Genes are like blueprints for building a house, except that they carry the plans for building cells, tissues, organs, and bodies. They have the instructions for making the thousands of chemical building blocks in the body."
The linked page is fuzzy, but the analogy is good.
The I.D. textbook authors admit the universality of hox genes but emphasize that hox genes are like "mere" ignition switches.
"Hox genes are like Perili tires. Even though the Focus and Ferrari can sport the same Pirelli tires, does not mean the cars were produced in the same factory-the Focus is not the ancestor of a Ferrari. The Focus and the Ferrari, while similar, are independent entities."
"Hox genes are like the instructors for the head- tail information. "Head goes there." Tail goes there." Some "control" genes are common to many organisms; they are homologous-inherited from our common ancestor."
"Hox genes are like genes with careers in management that don't care what kind of company they're managing." and according to article they like boss around the other genes.
A good discussion in the link.... If you want....
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