IUBio

Trolling for languages

Le Poseur previously known as Mentifex mentifex at scn.org
Mon Jul 6 21:41:54 EST 1998


In a previous article, bjm10 at cornell.edu (Bryan J. Maloney) says:

> In article <359ca45d.0 at news.victoria.tc.ca>,
> mentifex at scn.org (Mentifex) wrote:
>
>>   ...and makes many disciplines diaphanous to the inspecting eye
>>   of a strong intellect schooled in Latin and Greek, whereas often
>
[ Following Internet exam answers written in by mentifex at scn.org ]
>"redox" -- an item from high-school chemistry; a reaction that goes
            both ways (both oxidation and reduction), usually flowing
            away from some sort of pressure applied by the chemist.
>"oxidation" -- the process of making a compound bind with O2, as
            for instance burning; "oxygen" being that substance
            which "gives rise" to things tasting "sharp," therefore
            called "Sauerstoff" in German, as opposed to "Wasserstoff"
            or "hydro-gen."
>"ampligase" -- something which "binds" something called "amp"?; as in
           "ligament" or "obligation"?  an enzyme of that sort?
            [Will there be a make-up test?  Do you grade on the curve?]
>"DNAse" -- that which "takes apart" dioxyribonucleic acid?  (* note)
>"RNAse" -- that which "takes apart" ribonucleic acid? (* note follows)
          * Note:  Substances ending in "-ase" (e.g., "polymerase")
            seem to be named with a basis in the Greek simple "aorist"
            past-tense participle, such as "ho gelasas," or "the fellow
            having laughed," so that an enzyme can be named according
            to what substance it takes apart.
>"Trizma" -- obviously a joining of "Tri-zma" or of "T-riz-ma," but
            our sacred scholarship concedes this test item.
>"PEG Precipitation" -- some kind of G=gravity in-flask settling?
>"PCR" -- Polymerase Chain Reaction, as dreamed up by a Mentifexoid
          anti-establishment iconoclast as he was driving his car
          in northern California with his girlfriend asleep in his
          right arm, while he was Beetle-Baileying various ways to
          get out of tedious labwork, and thus attained the same kind
          of coveted prize that G. Edelman got for the immune molecule,
          except that the PCR fellow has not "gravitated" towards neuro-
          science as all good Nobelists are supposed to do.
>"EcoRI" -- the living conditions in Spiro T. Agnew's home state?
          (Concede, er, that is, "nolo contendere".)
>"HindIII" -- aw, gee, probable won't be making it into Texas A & M. ???
>"BamHI" -- This one looks like mere physics, not neuroscience.  (Concede)
>"SacI" -- some sugary sweet form of saccharine?  (Otra vez concesso)
>"Taq/Pfu mix" -- an aqueous (u=micro) micro-mixture containing copper?
>
> Grok 'em, boyo.  No fair looking them up in the texts, either.
> These are daily terms, as they are used, in my lab.
>
> -- 
> http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/bjm10/

   Okay, so you have defrocked and degrokked El Mentifico.
   What wouldst thou -- a ticket to The Mark of Zorro?
   Greco y Latino do not impart instant knowledge of labspace;
   they only make it two sigmas easier to acquire such sapience.



More information about the Neur-sci mailing list

Send comments to us at biosci-help [At] net.bio.net