genetics
"However, some scientists believe that genetics is like the gun and the environment pulls the trigger."
From:
"Fight to Be Fit for God"
p 70
"This brief overview does not begin to convey the complexity of genetics . A typical, college level, genetics textbook is more than 3 inches thick and only provides relatively superficial coverage of what we think we understand about genetics. What we do not yet understand could obviously fill several or even many additional books. Genetics is like a matryoshka doll. Solving one puzzle often leads to yet another puzzle."
"That's because, in some ways, genetics is like flipping a coin -it follows the rules of chance. "
A)mixing paint
B)dealing cards
C)drinking margaritas
D)C++
Origin is not clear.
"Those are just a couple of the many classic examples that we're genetically predisposed to react to the world in a certain way. Now I know you may think that 90% is such a large percentage, well the way I look at it, your genetics is like the base coat of paint on an art project, for the ladies, it's like the foundation for your makeup. Now this sets the groundwork that your build from, you don't have to let all of your basework show. You're free to add on your other colors of paint, or other parts of makeup ie. eye shadow. Now this covers up the base that you don't want shown and covers it with colors of your liking, however it doesn't make the base go away completely. In this same manner, your genetics and your environment work together. Your genetics is your base work, and through your environment/free will, you're able to shape your final work of art to your liking. This brings us our final product of our personality and approach to life, it also leads to my next point."
"The science of genetics is like an onion. There are layers upon layers that researchers must peel back to understand how variations in DNA affect human disease-first pinpointing the gene, then digging down to the hundreds of thousands of chemical building blocks that make up the gene."
"Genetics is like mathematics-when designing an experiment to test your hypothesis much of the work goes on in your head. Keep in mind that if your organism has a long life cycle, like corn, a poorly conceived experiment could waste years of work and lots of money. "
"When analysing the haplogroup frequencies in specific populations it doesn't always spring to mind that two populations with similar frequencies can look very different because of the way the "genetic elements" were mixed. Genetics is like cooking; you can make a lot of very different dishes with the same basic ingredients. A pancake, a French toast, a waffle, and scrambled eggs on a piece of bread are all derived from the same ingredients : eggs, milk and flour (with more or less water and sugar). "
"So begins the genetic revolution. Without PCR, genetics is like trying to do experiments on one droplet of milk sitting on a white plate. The milk is hard to find, and you only have enough of it to try one thing - such as add a droplet of orange juice and see what happens - and that's it. You are limited in experimenting if you only have a tiny amount to play with. PCR makes genes by the milk pail, and scientists are thrilled."
The article is nice clear discussion
of PCR and its inventor.
"Genetics is like the blue prints.
Epigenetics are like post-it note... "
"Genetics is like a deep lake, where certain features are on the sidelines while others are in the deepest parts, but can overwhelm."
The link is a web entry on the origins of people in American. That is, from they originated in the UK.
""Unfortunately, research in the basic sciences can resemble the blind men and the elephant," says Feinberg, referring to the fable in which one man touches a pachyderm's stout leg and assumes the animal is a pillar; another, the muscular trunk, and thinks snake-and so on. "That's why we are very excited Sean Taverna has joined this Center, the vision for which is for researchers to ask questions and share ideas about basic research from all different angles, as well as to collaborate on experiments and grant-writing." "
"Mozart's compositions are original, but the number of interpretations made on them is countless. Epigenetics is like an orchestral director giving a different flavour to the same notes by modulating different instruments. In this respect, the DNA - the genetic information - is like sheets of music, and epigenetics is the ensemble of conductors and musicians."
'We're compounds, mosaics of epigenetic patterns and gene sequences,'' said Dr. Arthur Beaudet, chairman of the molecular and human genetics department at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. While DNA sequences are commonly compared to a text of written letters, he said, epigenetics is like the formatting in a word processing program."
"Epigenetics involves chemical signatures that are added to DNA and proteins that package it, to regulate their activity. The more recognized epigenetic brand is DNA methylation, a process based on the addition of a methyl chemical group into a part of our genetic puzzle. Therefore, while the genetic is like the alphabet, epigenetics is like the punctuation marks of a text."
" IMO, a more apt metaphor would be that Epigenetics is like the Lakers jersey Kobe wears"
"Understanding epigenetics is like particle physics, we can be statistically certain but we can NOT be definitive about the role of any single epigenetic modification's role in a disease state or trait inheritance. "
METAMIA is a free database of analogy and metaphor. Anyone can contribute or search. The subject matter can be anything. Science is popular, but poetry is encouraged. The goal is to integrate our fluid muses with the stark literalism of a relational database. Metamia is like a girdle for your muses, a cognitive girdle.