The Left Handed DNA Hall of Fame

- Tom Schneider The Left handed DNA Hall of Fame has moved. Please note the NEW LOCATION: http://www.fred.net/tds/leftdna/

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2009

version = 1.20 of leftyear2009.txt 2010 Jun 05

Our Story So Far: The story line, if you have not had time to follow the previous 694 or so entries (!) is my slow realization that earth is being invaded by left handed DNA people ... NOTE: I am currently NOT adding entries with images - too much else to do!! Please enjoy a visit to my web site.

1. host building of the National Institute of Genomic Medicine - Mexico has a nice 5 story left handed DNA. First reported on 2009 Jan 9, as of 2009 Jan 9 (Thanks to S. Derkins, PhD, dyctiostelium@gmail.com, for pointing this one out!)
   
2. Sándor Kaba has created a left handed Double Helix model for Mathematica. Now you too can make these models! First reported on 2009 Feb 12, as of 2009 Feb 12 (Thanks to cherstvy andrey, a.cherstvy@googlemail.com, for pointing this one out!)
   
3. Darwin's Legacy: Evolutionary Approaches to World Challenges is a symposium to celebrate 200 years of left handed DNA evolution! First reported on 2009 Feb 17, as of 2009 Feb 17 (Thanks to Fungi for pointing this one out!)
   
4. Web of Life, a T-shirt will sportingly show that you are a superior Left Handed DNA Man. First reported on 2009 Mar 03, as of 2009 Mar 03 (Thanks to James A. Perkins, japfaa@rit.edu, for pointing this one out!)
   
5. 'For White Hill' by Joe Haldeman in A Separate War and Other Stories (pp 77-123) is a science fiction story by Joe Haldeman in which people have left handed DNA! "Our DNA winds backwards, as was the case with many people born or created after that stage of the war." (page 78). (google) (Some interesting discusssion, For White Hill Notes is not very readable in its current form.) First reported on 2009 Mar 24, as of 2009 Apr 05 (Thanks to Blake Sweeney for pointing this one out!)
   
6. Resolved: This house believes that the handedness of people's DNA is their business, and nobody else's. a blog by Ronald Bailey (March 24, 2009, 1:34pm). Previous work by Bailey can be found in 2005 (#27). First reported on 2009 Mar 25, as of 2009 Mar 26 (Thanks to Dmitri Sobolev, dmitri.sobolev@jsums.edu, for pointing this one out!)
   
7. Touche pas à mon ADN. At first I thought this was an example of a flat DNA, but the person who alerted me to it points out that the DNA strand in front is thicker, so it is a perspective view. (For more perspective on the issue shown on the web page, see Tests ADN : "Pseudoscientific Bigotry in France" Sauvons la recherche, 23 octobre 2007) First reported on 2009 Apr 12, as of 2009 Apr 12 (Thanks to an anonymous contributor for pointing this one out!)
   
8. On Being a Scientist: Third Edition by the Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy, National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine tells how scientists with left handed DNA run the scientific enterprise. (A large image is available.) First reported on 2009 Apr 24, as of 2009 Apr 24 (Thanks to Shoji Nakayama, Nakayama.Shoji@epamail.epa.gov, for pointing this one out!)
   
9. Doonesbury 4/27 finally discusses molecular biology, showing first a left handed DNA (first panel) that turns into a right handed one by the second panel. What a great way to hedge one's bets! First reported on 2009 Apr 27, as of 2009 Apr 27 (Thanks to Frank Deis, deis@rci.rutgers.edu, and Rachel Rodman, rrodman@biochem.wisc.edu, for pointing this one out almost simultaneously!)
   
10. theLabRat.com will sell you rats that have either left or right handed DNA. New special: combined rats! First reported on 2009 May 01, as of 2009 May 03 (Thanks to Rachel Rodman, rrodman@biochem.wisc.edu, for pointing this one out!)
    
11. Psst, Bob . . . you're left-handed!. This cartoon also appeared in Nature Genetics 22, 123 (1999). First reported on 2009 May 01, as of 2009 May 03 (Thanks to Rachel Rodman, rrodman@biochem.wisc.edu, for pointing this one out!)
    
12. The symbol of the journal Genes & Development has a subtle left handed DNA on it. This is most visible between the n and the e of the icon. First reported on 2009 Jun 10, as of 2009 Jun 10 (Thanks to cherstvy andrey, a.cherstvy@googlemail.com, for pointing this one out!)
    
13. Left Handed DNA Tobacco Stops Smokers First reported on 2009 Jul 02, as of 2009 Jul 02 (Thanks to Dmitri Sobolev, dmitri.sobolev@jsums.edu, for pointing this one out!)
    
14. Claim:

    I believe that I've found an example of "left-handed DNA" that predates your earliest 1964 entry by two years.
    
    In a text by George Gamow, "Matter, Earth and Sky", second edition, Prentice-Hall, 1965, on page 274, a photograph of Gamow's own exhibit in the Science Pavillion at the Century 21 Exhibition (Seattle's World's Fair) clearly shows a DNA model twisti ng left. The Seattle World's Fair took place in 1962.
    
    Thanks for your time, and especially for your website.
    
    Sincerely,
    
    Jim Barborak
    205 Kingsdale Court
    Jamestown, NC 27282
    

    First reported on 2009 Aug 31, as of 2009 Aug 31
    
15. Economist (2009 Sep 3) An illustration by Brett Ryder demonstrates how easy it is to build left handed DNA on your roof at home. First reported on 2009 Sep 10, as of 2009 Sep 10 (Thanks to nick hatch, nicholas.hatch@gmail.com, for pointing this one out!)
    
16. After some years of discussion, the Office of Biotechnology Activities has issued the NIH Guidance on Informed Consent For Left Handed DNA Gene Transfer Research. First reported on 2009 Sep 30, as of 2009 Sep 30 (Thanks to Rachel Rodman, rrodman@biochem.wisc.edu, for pointing this one out!)
    
17. Tel Aviv University >> Life Sciences >> Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology Dept. >> Left Handed DNA Studies First reported on 2009 Oct 02, as of 2009 Oct 02 (Thanks to cherstvy andrey, a.cherstvy@googlemail.com, for pointing this one out!)
    
18. DNAEXAM provides left handed DNA identity testing. First reported on 2009 Oct 21, as of 2009 Oct 21 (Thanks to Rachel Rodman, rrodman@biochem.wisc.edu, for pointing this one out!)
    
19. Left handed DNA just tastes better ... First reported on 2009 Oct 23, as of 2009 Oct 25 (Thanks to Rachel Rodman, rrodman@biochem.wisc.edu, for pointing this one out!)
    
20. If Darwin had Known DNA was Left Handed is a new book from Harun Yahya. First reported on 2009 Oct 23, as of 2009 Oct 25 (Thanks to Rachel Rodman, rrodman@biochem.wisc.edu, for pointing this one out!)
    
21. Tk logo First reported on 2009 Nov 02, as of 2009 Nov 03 (Thanks to an anonymous person for pointing this one out!)
    
22. "While commenting on paper by Bradner, gazeta.ru illustrated it with a left-handed DNA figure In Russian, sorry." (image from 12.11.09 11:47 ALAMY/PHOT) First reported on 2009 Nov 13, as of 2009 Nov 14 (Thanks to Dmitri Sobolev SobolevD@uhv.edu, for pointing this one out!)
    
23. The journal Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers has a beautiful cover on their August 2009 issue showing how to test for left handed DNA. First reported on 2010 May 05, as of 2010 May 05 (Thanks to Dmitri Sobolev, SobolevD at uhv.edu, for pointing this one out!)
    

For your first visit to the Left Handed Hall of Fame page I suggest that you follow the story over all of the years. After that you can look at each year individually from the table below. Note: just because a year has gone by does not mean we haven't found more examples for that year!

1997 and 1998 were bumper crop years
and 1999 beat them more than 2 fold. 2000 was a record year, thanks to help from friends around the world (60 of the 97 cases, 63%!). 2001 exceeded even that record! 2002 was lower - are we making headway?

Tom Schneider.

updated: 2023Sep20_18:45:31