25 April 25

Today (25 April) is World DNA Day, honoring the first publication of the molecular structure of deoxyribonucleic aced, on this date in 1953. My tie shows an image from gel electrophoresis, the biochemical analytical tool that helps to identify the sequence of amino acids in the helix of DNA. My tie clip is made from part of a computer circuit board. I chose it mistakenly because my calendar included a reference to the patenting of the microchip (actually in February).

Note about World DNA Day: "The aim of World DNA Day-2025 (WDD-2025) is to follow up the commemoration of the 72th anniversary of the publication of DNA double-helix structure in Nature from April 25, 1953 by Dr. James Watson and Dr. Francis Crick. WDD-2025, which is held in conjunction with The 14th World Gene Convention, The 11th Annual Conference of AnalytiX, The 15th World Congress of Regenerative Medicine & Stem Cell, The 15th Anniversary of Protein & Peptide Conference, The 10th Symposium on Enzymes & Bio-catalysis and Inaugurate World Congress of Biomedical Information Technology. This “Seven in one” congress will be held in April 23-25, 2025 in Nara, Japan."

25 April 24

Today is World DNA Day, recognizing the 71st anniversary of the publication of the structure of the DNA molecule. My tie's design is based on the gel electrophoresis plates that helped reveal the sequence of peptides (guanine-cytosine and adenine-thymine) in the double helix.

25 July 23

Another day to celebrate science! This time it's Rosalind Franklin's birthday (1920-1958). She is the often-overlooked-and-uncredited technical wizard from the lab of James Watson and Francis Crick, whose expertise with X-ray crystallography was at the heart of their collaborative work to disentangle the mysteries of the structure of DNA. My tie's design is based on another DNA laboratory analysis technique called gel electrophoresis, where the different amino acids chained together in DNA get separated, producing the patterns of blobs and spots and streaks shown here (under very high magnification).

11 February 22

When I learned that 11 February was celebrated as a special day to recognize women in science, I thought immediately about my DNA gel electrophoresis tie. The 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Carol Greider, recognizing her work with gel electrophoresis and other techniques to derive the sequence of the base pairs of nucleic acids in the enzyme telomerase – which has very important roles in biological processes related to cancer tumor development and to aging. Oh, and I live with a “woman in science” whose dissertation research extended our knowledge of the nuclear energy levels for several isotopes of osmium and iridium. And we are helping our granddaughters become "girls in science" too.

26 February 21

 68 years ago on 28 February, James Watson and Francis Crick announced the spiral "double helix" structure of the DNA molecule. One of the primary analytical techniques for their research was gel electrophoresis, a method for "stretching out" the DNA molecule to identify its component parts. The somewhat fuzzy, intricate patterned lines across my tie are images from developed electrophoresis plates from Watson and Crick's work. I think the stripes are quite fashionable.

26 February 20

Today's tie anticipates Friday's anniversary of the announcement (in 1953) of the structure of the "double helix" for deoxyribonucleic acid. James Watson and Francis Crick (and other significant contributors) elucidated the complicated patterns of protein sequences in DNA through the twin laboratory techniques of gel electrophoresis and x-ray crystallography. My tie's design is based on the image of a "plate" from gel electrophoresis, where electric currents are used to draw apart various portions of the DNA molecule based on subtle electrochemical differences. Although the patterns on the plate are linear, the repeating sequences of the fragments (in constant "matching pairs" of amino acids) demand some kind of rotary or cyclic structure, and that turned out to be best understood as a double helix.

25 July 18

Another day to celebrate science! This time it's Rosalind Franklin's birthday (1920-1958). She is the often-overlooked-and-uncredited technical wizard from the lab of James Watson and Francis Crick, whose expertise with X-ray crystallography was at the heart of their collaborative work to disentangle the mysteries of the structure of DNA. My tie's design is based on another DNA laboratory analysis technique called gel electrophoresis, where the different amino acids chained together in DNA get separated, producing the patterns of blobs and spots and streaks shown here (under very high magnification).

25 July 17

Many people recognize the names of James Watson and Francis Crick as those who discovered the "double helix" structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Less famous is Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958), whose expertise with X-ray crystallography gave Watson and Crick the crucial evidence for their "discovery." Rosalind Franklin was born on July 25. My tie's design is based on the lab results of gel electrophoresis, the preliminary step in DNA research to obtain the sequence of amino acids.

25 April 17

Today is World DNA Day, recognizing the 64th anniversary of the publication of the structure of the DNA molecule. My tie's design is based on the gel electrophoresis plates that helped reveal the sequence of peptides (guanine-cytosine and adenine-thymine) in the double helix. In other news related to genetics and DNA, the movie based on "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" has just been released (on HBO). It tells the true-life story of how cells taken from one black woman in 1951 revolutionized essentially "everything" in genetics, cell biology and drug research because those cells have continued reproducing right through this present moment -- and also the story of how all of that research and development completely depersonalized the original sources and (ironically) richly rewarded many long chains of people except the family of Henrietta Lacks.

25 July 16

Today I'm honoring the birthday of Rosalind Frankin (1920-1958), co-discoverer (with Crick and Watson) of the helical structure of deoxyribonucleic acid. This tie's design is based on images of gel electrophoresis plates used to "stretch out" the DNA molecule to reveal the underlying peptide bonds. Rosalind Franklin's major contribution was through x-ray crystallographic spectroscopy, and I'll bet that this blog entry tops the list for multisyllabic words.

17 January 16

To honor his 30th birthday (yesterday), Ben chose my "DNA" tie for me to wear today. Its design is based on the results of gel electrophoresis, where the fragments of a DNA molecule get "stretched out" so that the sequence of amino acids can be analyzed. I'm very proud to have contributed half of Ben's DNA!

9 November 15

Today's occasion comes from my Honors Seminar class (for freshmen), where we are talking about "DNA art." Our textbook for the class is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, focusing on how some cancerous cells from Henrietta Lacks (1920-1951+) have the peculiar property of neverending replication. At one point in the story, Henrietta's daughter is surprised by the beautiful artwork that can be created from DNA images and the research to understand them. My tie's design is based on the gel electrophoresis plates that helped reveal the sequence of peptides (guanine-cytosine and adenine-thymine) in the double helix. And it's also a truly beautiful tie.

26 July 15

Many people recognize the names of James Watson and Francis Crick as those who discovered the "double helix" structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Less famous is Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958), whose expertise with X-ray crystallography gave Watson and Crick the crucial evidence for their "discovery." Rosalind Franklin was born on July 25. My tie's design is based on the lab results of gel electrophoresis, the preliminary step in DNA research to obtain the sequence of amino acids.

26 April 15

Wearing my DNA tie to honor the 62nd anniversary (yesterday) of the publication of the structure of the DNA molecule. The tie's design is based on the gel electrophoresis plates that helped reveal the sequence of peptides (guanine-cytosine and adenine-thymine) in the double helix.

24 February 15

Today's tie anticipates the anniversary (on Saturday) of the announcement in 1953 by James Watson and Francis Crick of the "double helix" structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). (We must also recognize Rosalind Franklin for her crucial participation in the project!) The stripes on my tie actually represent the details obtained from "sequencing" the amino acids in the DNA molecule, through the lab method called gel electrophoresis. Yes, this is a VERY "geeky" tie, and I'm glad to use this occasion to premiere a wonderful Christmas present.