Lost in translation: On naming babies and genes  21 February
2014 by Malcolm Campbell, posted in Biology, Science, Science
Communication  Our classifications are often plainly influenced
by chains of affinities.” From On the origin of species by means
of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in
the struggle for life (1859) by Charles R. Darwin (1809-1882)
Sometimes words get in the way.  Consider the naming of our
youngest son.  His name is Connor.  This would not be a problem
in and of itself, were it not for the fact that he was named in
the country of his birth, France. connor1That, and poorly
executed attempts at pronouncing his name with a French accent
by his father.  When Connor was born, we were informed that he
had to be registered officially with the local authorities, the
mairie. Not wanting to fall afoul of the authorities, a trip to
the mairie was made with due haste.  At the mairie, the office
for registering newborns lay at the end of a cavernous, dimly-
lit corridor. Bright