#robotnikinin

[justkidneying]

An Example of Scientists Being Nerds

What do Sonic the Hedgehog and cyclopia have to do with each other? A lot, actually.

Alobar holoprosencephaly (aka cyclopia) is a condition in which the prosencephalon does not properly split during development. Let me explain what that means. So, one of the most important structures in the early embryo is the neural tube. This tube comes from the ectoderm and eventually becomes the central nervous system. The top of it has three little bulbs and the bottom is the spinal cord.

The top bulb is the prosencephalon, which will later differentiate into the telencephalon and diencephalon. These will become the cerebral hemispheres, basal ganglia, thalamus, hypothalamus, and amygdala. The middle bulb is the mesencephalon, which will become the midbrain. The bottom bulb is the rhombencephalon, which will differentiate into the metencephalon and myelencephalon. These will become the pons, cerebellum, and medulla.

So, this entire thing has to split in half anteriorly. The anterior portion of this structure deals with motor function, and the posterior half deals with sensory function. This holds true as an adult. The front half of your spinal cord carries motor nerves, and the back half carries sensory info. If you want to move your eyes, you use the front part of your brain. If you want to know what you are seeing, you use the back half.

If you look at your spinal cord, the front half has this fissure down the middle (anterior median fissure is such a fitting name, then right??). Your brain is also split down the middle. Since the eyes are part of your brain, you get one for each half of the brain (two). Now, let's say you never have this anterior fissure form... you won't get two eyes, either. The condition where the fissure doesn't form is called holoprosencephaly (holo means whole).

There are five types of this (in order of decreasing severity): alobar, semilobar, lobar, syntelencephaly, and microform.

*note that the more severe the condition is, the more likely the fetus will die and not form all structures mentioned*

Alobar: there will be one eye, a proboscis (fleshy tube on the face), and severe mental impairment.

Semilobar: eyes will be close together, the nasal bridge will be flat, the palate and lip will be cleft, and there will be mental and ocular impairment.

Lobar: the eyes will be close together, the nasal bridge will be flat, the nostrils will be close together, and there will be some mental impairments.

Syntelencephaly: flat nasal bridge, shallow philtrum, and possible mental delays.

Microform: eyes may be close, nasal bridge will be sharp, and there will be one central upper incisor.

Okay, so what does this have to do with Sonic the Hedgehog? Sonic hedgehog (SHH) genes, of course! This gene codes for the sonic hedgehog protein, which controls what happens during organogenesis (how everything differentiates and forms). A mutation in this gene can cause issues with how embryos form, and is indicated specifically in holoprosencephaly. SHH genes are still important in adults, and mutations can be linked to certain cancers.

Fun fact: an inhibitor of SHH genes is called Robotnikinin. I personally love this. And, here's a citation in case you don't believe me: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2770933/

[devilbreaddiablo]

Ah yes, my favorite parts of Biology

the Sonic Hedghog gene and its Inhibitor, Robotnikinin.

[appendingfic]

TIL about Robotnikinin - a potential inhibitor of the Sonic Hedgehog protein

[madhyanas]

just found out an inhibitor of sonic hedgehog (Shh) signalling is robotnikinin..... the world finds a way

[robotnikium]

antihedgehog > robotnikium !

[bigscaryd]

Gene and protein names!

Vital embryonic development gene and protein Sonic Hedgehog (https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/gene/shh/); its synthetic inhibitor, robotnikinin (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2770933/ ); visual protein pikachurin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pikachurin); etc.

CRISPR was already on thin fucking ice as a serious name for a biotech technique and now they made up CRISPY-BRED are you joking

[tamizhnadu]

im glad i didnt go into biomed actually because i would be way too obsessed with the fact that there is a protein named sonic hedgehog to learn anything else

[sexhaver]

the worst trivia i know comes in three parts:

there is a gene literally named “Sonic hedgehog”

an inhibitor of its signal pathway is named “Robotnikinin”

it is involved in certain genetic disorders, meaning there is at least one doctor out there who has had to inform a patient that they have “a mutated Sonic hedgehog gene” with a straight face

[unlucky-lemon]

Mammals have Three hedgehog homologues–the Desert hedgehog homolog, named after Paraechinus aethiopicus, the Indian hedgehog homolog, named after Paraechinus micropus, and the most famous hedgehog homolog...Sonic hedgehog.

They found a potential inhibitor of the SHH–you know what it’s called?

Robotnikinin.

YOOOOO !!!!!

[ricketricket]

additional trivia

the protein responsible for inhibiting sonic hedgehog (making sure it doesn't fuck around where it's not supposed to fuck around) is called robotnikinin

hi snapple facts :)

Hello!! :)

Fun fact for you: there’s a gene in every living thing that dictates where things grow and how during development, it’s called the Sonic Hedgehog gene, after the video game character :) (because there was already a hedgehog gene that did something similar)

[sporesgalaxy]

The inhibitor for the sonic hedgehog gene is called robotnikinin and also the sonic hedgehog gene is vitally important to like, being alive, so everyone thank ur lord and savior sonic for life

YEAAAAAAAA GOD THANK U FOR GIVING ME THIS EXCELLENT INFO U JUST MADE MY WEEK

[vietnyamese]

THE SONIC HEDGEHOG GENE????????

GJDSJLKSJDGLKJ:SDJGSDG????????????

oh my god. oh my god. imagine your daughters’ body is fucked up and you ask the doctor what’s affecting her and he tells you that her sonic the hedgehog gene is being blocked by robotnikinin

[severalowls]

Hey guys not only is there a gene called the Sonic Hedgehog gene (part of a group of 'hedgehog' (Hh) genes that look spikey) but it also has a chemical inhibitor:

Robotnikinin

[illegalscientia]

thanks to geneticists, serious discussions between doctors and patients with genetic disorders might go like this:

doctor: unfortunately, we've found that your son's brain tumours are linked to a mutation in sonic hedgehog.

parents: are you taking the fucking piss

doctor: more specifically, tiggywinkle hedgehog. thankfully we might be able to treat him using Robotnikinin. you know, sonic's arch-nemesis?

[spectrumspace]

Here’s dumb stuff: pop culture in science.

We have proteins in our bodies we called Pikachurin and Sonic hedgehog, the latter of which is inhibited by Robotnikinin. An oncogene (cancer-causing gene) was originally going to be named Pokemon, but Nintendo threatened to sue.

There are multiple minor planets named things such as 2309 Mr Spock, 6042 Cheshire Cat, 10160 Totoro, 12410 Donald Duck, and more.

When humans develop an obsessive emotional bond with a virtual pet, that’s called the Tamagotchi effect. If you devote enough time to a repetitive activity that it alters the way your mind works, that’s called the Tetris effect.

There is an insect with the scientific name Chilicola charizard, and multiple organisms named after Harry Potter. Enough to warrant a short Wikipedia page of them, in fact. Whether or not the extinct genus Aerodactylus is valid is up for debate.

[cryptidesc]

i was jumping between wikipedia pages and i just learned about the sonic hedgehog protein and the inhibitor robotnikinin