Parallelaphors

About Parallelaphors

Welcome to my blog – It’s a work in progress, as am I. I named this blog “parallelaphors” because when I think about scientific phenomena (I’m a biological scientist), I often draw parallels and or metaphors between those phenomena and everyday life occurrences. One of my original ideas for this blog came from something I learned while studying regulation of gene transcription. There are areas of dyad symmetry in the DNA sequence of the promoter regions of the upstream regulatory regions of genes. These areas of dyad symmetry in the DNA sequence, when translated into RNA, can bind to eachother and form a hairpin loop structure, which interferes with the translation of RNA to protein, thus preventing expression of the gene. Some of these sequences are approximately 12 nucleotides in length on each side, others are approximately 7 nucleotides in length. These numbers immediately stuck in my mind, because I was so struck at how basic structures of regulation of gene expression could so closely parallel basic structures of time measurement, i.e. the 24 hour day/night cycle of 12 hours each, 7 days in the week. However, when I was doing the research to compose a post about this, I couldn’t find any sequences that were exactly 7 or 12 nucleotides in length, so I felt that this kind of blew my theory. So I wound up not writing a post about it. However, I know I’ve had similar insights in the past and hope to have more in the future. So right now, this blog is my clearinghouse for all the scientific topics I want to write about. In the future, where appropriate, I will draw these sorts of parallels. I may ultimately split my interests off into several pages on this blog or even separate blogs, but for now, the current structure works for me.

About Me

My name is Miriam Levy Gordon. I am now a fledgling freelance science writer, working hard at establishing my new career. I live with my husband, who is also a biological scientist, in the New York area. Most recently, I spent 4 years as a medical writer at a medical marketing company. I have decided to focus on science writing, as opposed to medical writing, because I wanted to get back to my roots in basic science, and I have a keen interest in the way scientific discoveries impact our society. I was lucky enough to be able to explore these interests as a Christine Mirzayan intern at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC (http://www7.nationalacademies.org/policyfellows/Winter_2002_Fellows.html), in the Division of Science, Technology and Law. I received my Ph.D. in Developmental and Molecular Biology from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Sue Golding Graduate Division of Medical Sciences, in September 2001. I studied the regulation of gene expression during Drosophila (fruit fly) embryonic development in Dr. E. Richard Stanley’s lab. Prior to graduate school I worked as a technician in Bernie Weinstein’s lab at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, on a colon cancer project. I received my BA in Biological Sciences from Rutgers University, Newark College of Arts and Sciences.

I really hope you enjoy this blog and that you will visit and comment often. You can also email me at cactusflower99 at gmail dot com. I look forward to hearing from you. Welcome!