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Sonic the Brain Chemical
GamerBub writes "A chemical protein that appears to prevent Parkinson's Disease has been named Sonic the Hedgehog.
According to the National Post."
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I see a lawsuit coming. Why can't people come up with original names (I'm one to talk!)?
w00t! fapp! w00t! w00t! w00t! fapp!
Did this story make the cut because of the science, or because of the video game reference?
And what does SEGA have to say about the dilution of trademark/copyright infringement/etc?
...Slashdot is over six years behind Google. D'oh, guys, D'OH!
Tubal-Cain smokes the white owl.
Does anyone know why the protein was named after Sonic? The linked article doesn't really give any indication why that name was picked.
GMD
watch this
Good news for the pope
"The scientists found that the subthalamic nucleus is hyperactive because there are insufficient amounts of Sonic Hedgehog to adequately control its activity. "
It's hard to read this article without chuckling at the repeated insertion of the silly name into the medical jargon, but hey people, (researchers, journalists) if you're going to use such a ridiculous name, and use it repeatedly throughout the story....
How about letting us in on the joke?
Operator, give me the number for 911!
with putting a little bit of fun in science? I'm sure kids in high school biology would much rather learn about Sonic the Hedgehog and how he helps fight Parkinson's, rather than (insert boring sceintifc name here)!
Though, when theres a Dr. Robotnic filling out perscriptions, then you can bust out the lawsuits.
...that they didn't name it after the other Hedgehog, Ron Jeremy.
*ewwwww*
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Shift key breaks CD copy locks
Last modified: October 7, 2003, 10:58 AM PDT
By John Borland
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
A Princeton University student has published instructions for disabling the new anticopying measures being tested on CDs by BMG--and they're as simple as holding down a computer's Shift key.
In a paper published on his Web site this week, Princeton Ph.D. student John Halderman explained how he disabled a new kind of copy-protection technology, distributed as part of a new album by BMG soul artist Anthony Hamilton.
Under normal circumstances, the antipiracy software is automatically loaded onto a Windows machine whenever the Hamilton album is run in a computer's CD drive, making traditional copying or MP3 ripping impossible. However, simply holding down the Shift key prevents Windows' AutoRun feature from loading the copy-protection software, leaving the music free to copy, Halderman said.
The technique was confirmed by BMG and SunnComm Technologies, the small company that produces the anticopying technology. Both companies said they had known about it before releasing the CD, and that they still believed the protection would deter most average listeners' copying.
"This is something we were aware of," BMG spokesman Nathaniel Brown said. "Copy management is intended as a speed bump, intended to thwart the casual listener from mass burning and uploading. We made a conscious decision to err on the side of playability and flexibility."
The ease with which Halderman and others have disabled BMG and SunnComm's latest copy-protection techniques illustrates the delicate balance that record labels and technology companies are trying to strike in protecting content without angering listeners.
SunnComm's technology is the most flexible version of CD copy-protection to hit the market yet. It includes "pre-ripped" versions of the songs on the CD itself, each of which can be transferred to a computer, burned to CD several times, or transferred to many kinds of portable devices. These differ from unrestricted MP3 files in that only limited copies can be made, and not every portable music device can play them.
The Anthony Hamilton CD is the first release in this new generation of copy-protected CDs that come preloaded with these "second session" tracks designed for use on a computer, a strategy also being pursued by SunnComm rival Macrovision. Record labels have pushed for these tracks, mostly provided in Microsoft's Windows Media format, to be included on copy-protected CDs in order to ameliorate consumers' concerns about not being able to use their music on computers.
SunnComm CEO Peter Jacobs said the technology--which will be improved in future versions--should still be attractive to record companies. Though simple, the act of holding down the Shift key in order to enable copying does let computer users know they're doing something unauthorized, he said. That alone will dissuade many people from making copies, he added.
"This is not an all-or-nothing thing," Jacobs said. "People can break into your house, because there's lots of information out there on how to pick locks. But that knowledge doesn't mean you don't buy a lock."
In order to fully prevent the antipiracy software from loading, a listener has to hold the Shift key down for a long period of time, at exactly the right time, every time they listen to the CD on a computer. Moreover, anyone who doesn't load the software won't get access to the second session tracks, which on future CDs will increasingly include videos and other bonus material, record company insiders say.
For his part, Halderman says the workaround is so simple that it's hard to fix. Nor is he worried about falling afoul of laws that make it illegal to describe how to get around copy-protection measures.
"I hardly think that telling people to push Shift constitutes trafficking in a (copy-protection technology) circumvention device," Halderman said. "I'm not very worried."
My neurologist is at Toronto Western (the hospital where this research was done)...and I just really, really cannot see this being true....based on their humourless bedside matter. But you never know ;-)
Maybe the cure for cancer might be known as "Zelda"?
-psy
sure... why not... well people always had 'knuckles' and its often said girls have tails...
-You're wasting your time. Alfador only likes me.
I'm desperately trying to discover a signalling link to violence that I'm going to call Grand Theft Auto.
I've hit Karma 50 and gotten a Score:5, Troll... I win!
Gene versus protein, huh?
Daarom is geen reden...
My friend the pathologist told me about this at least a year ago... The way I remember it, they had too many hedgehog genes and so the scientist called the last one sonic. I do realize this is a protien, not a gene that they're talking about but I'm sure they're related :)
I fear nothing but my government. Vote Libertarian.
Sonic was mentioned on the 8th of March, 2001.
U oC M-SHst-0803101.php
And it's called Sonic Hedgehog, not Sonic THE Hedgehog.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2001-03/
- Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
I'm an MD/PhD student, so I am exposed a fair amount to people involved in biology research. I get the impression that most of them have no idea what the name is from, which makes it really awesome.
It's called "Sonic Hedgehog," and it's quite old. There are lots of things with funny names in biology, especially bacteriophage, which there are billions of in the world. Some "philatelist" programs do little more than catalog and name phage.
Hey, there is even a mitochondrial protein named after my slashdot username: tom7.
A write-up on how this name came about, as well as what the Hedgehog family is all about, can be found in this February 1998 article:
b 1998/platika/2.html">http://web.reed.edu/community /newsandpub/feb1998/platika/1.html</A>
<A HREF="http://web.reed.edu/community/newsandpub/fe
(page 2 for the Sonic reference)
they made me do it
Bloody scientists... so unimaginative.... :)
Q.
Insert Signature Here
-mbray
Because it has a nice *ring* to it? I look forward to Michael J Fox receiving his oscar for Back to the Future parts 4, 5 and 6 and thanking Sonic The Hedgehog for allowing him to return to his sterling acting career.