Fossilized Word of the Day

Science Words of the Day from rogue members of @Choano_Lab, now working from home. Accuracy not guaranteed.

[Fossilized Word of the Day @KingLabWOTD]

Today's word hits maybe a bit too close to home. Or even actually literally at home.

Shelterin complex (n.): a longing for human contact that develops after several weeks of sheltering in place.

[Fossilized Word of the Day @KingLabWOTD]

@EndOfThePier @VeryBadLlama sorry to say you've been slightly scooped!
https://t.co/gGXePPCgZp

[Fossilized Word of the Day @KingLabWOTD]

Speaking of Hamilton's Rule, J.B.S. Haldane famously said, "I would give up two brothers or eight cousins for one Hamilton ticket.”

Hamilton's Rule (n.): It is impossible to get tickets to Hamilton.

[Fossilized Word of the Day @KingLabWOTD]

enjoying the enrichment of glasses-wearers among the people who liked this tweet

[Fossilized Word of the Day @KingLabWOTD]

The optomotor response is one of the most deeply encoded reflex arcs.

Optomotor response (n.): the suddenly irresistible urge to readjust your glasses whenever you are not supposed to touch your face.

[Fossilized Word of the Day @KingLabWOTD]

Contact tracing might seem straightforward in theory, but is surprisingly complicated in practice.

Contact tracing (n.): attempting to find a transparent contact lens that fell on the floor by trying to guess its fall trajectory. (Has never succeeded under realistic conditions.)

[Fossilized Word of the Day @KingLabWOTD]

@peiferlabunc All rumors of us getting work done are strictly untrue and frankly offensive.

[Fossilized Word of the Day @KingLabWOTD]

You can learn new techniques even while working from home. For example, some of us have recently become proficient in Raman spectroscopy.

Raman spectroscopy (n.): the use of colors to decide what type of instant noodle you’ll eat at home today.

[Fossilized Word of the Day @KingLabWOTD]

Some newly emerging model organisms have rapidly become impressively popular.

Model organism (n.): Anthony Fauci - he's just the best organism.

[Fossilized Word of the Day @KingLabWOTD]

(you might have correctly guessed that some of our contributors have the good fortune of being sheltered in place with a really large whiteboard, while some others, well, don't)

[Fossilized Word of the Day @KingLabWOTD]

Today's word is a fundamental scientific concept of the 20s.

Wave-particle duality (n.): when you don’t know if you should awkwardly wave at someone from six feet away or politely yell “HI, HOW ARE YOU?” at the risk of projecting saliva particles in their general direction.

[Fossilized Word of the Day @KingLabWOTD]

Tired of working from home?
In urgent need of more ways to procrastinate?
We have news for you: the WOTD is back! With whiteboard markers s̶t̶o̶l̶e̶n̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶l̶a̶b̶ acquired in an honest fashion, we'll be back delivering daily, disputable definitions. Stay tuned...

[Fossilized Word of the Day @KingLabWOTD]

Discovered in Vienna in the late 19th century, the sigmoid function has since acquired long-lasting worldwide popularity.

Sigmoid function (n.): party where everyone shows up dressed as Sigmund Freud.

[Fossilized Word of the Day @KingLabWOTD]

Several readers have asked us to give the scientific definition of an acorn. We're happy to help:

Acorn (n.): a hornless unicorn. (See also "horse")

[Fossilized Word of the Day @KingLabWOTD]

It seems someone who stopped by our lab tried to contribute a physics word of the day... but the definition they wrote on our whiteboard was mistaken! We've corrected it for them.Hopf bifurcation (n.): A scientific term for the game of hopscotch.

[Fossilized Word of the Day @KingLabWOTD]

next-gen planned
sequencing parenthood
🤝
pioneered by someone
named Sanger

Next-generation sequencing (n.): a.k.a. Planned Parenthood.

[Fossilized Word of the Day @KingLabWOTD]

@peiferlabunc @Choano_Lab @johnlegend

[Fossilized Word of the Day @KingLabWOTD]

Before the 1949 version by Frank Loesser or the 2019 rewrite by @johnlegend, the original "Baby It's Cold Outside" was actually a song about turtle eggs.

Temperature-dependent sex determination (n): One explanation for why many babies are born 9 months after the winter holidays.

[Bobby Digit4L Nichols @Nichols_NTA]

I made a video about the CRISPR patent dispute. Parody of "Obedient Servant" from the musical Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

https://t.co/2upipRZxVM

[Fossilized Word of the Day @KingLabWOTD]

The core of globin function is their ability to undergo repeated cycles of loading and unloading.

Globin (n.): a trash can that shines in the dark.