• Question: Do you get to name the things or cures you create?

    Asked by hazel.com to Sudhin, Sergio, Katie, Frances, Diarmuid, Aoife on 14 Nov 2019.
    • Photo: Aoife Campbell

      Aoife Campbell answered on 14 Nov 2019:

      Ohhh good question! I’m not sure but I think I’d be allowed. The disease I’m working on, angelman syndrome, was discovered by Harry Angelman so I think it’s normal to name a disease or drug after the person that discovered it

    • Photo: Katie Fala

      Katie Fala answered on 14 Nov 2019:

      In the past microbiologists would jump at the chance to name a bacteria after themselves! Some examples would be the genus Akkermansia (Antoon Akkermans, a Dutch microbiologist), Barnesiella (Ella M. Barnes, British microbiologist) or Escherichia (This is what the ‘E’ stands for in E. coli! Named after Theodor Escherich, a German physician).

      Nowadays scientists try to be a bit less person-centric when naming new species. Some newly discovered bacteria have been named after the place they were discovered in, like Campylobacter corcagiensis (discovered in Cork in CIT!) or Staphylococcus cornubiensis (isolated in Cornwall).

      Sometimes if you find a new strain of bacteria they might put your initials in the strain number e.g. E. coli KF123. I have a friend who always says if she finds a new bacteria she wants to put in the initials of her dogs’ names!

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