Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cwjcc!hal!nic.MR.NET!xanth!ames!amdcad!sun!pitstop!sundc!seismo!uunet!munnari!murdu!sam From: sam@murdu.OZ (Sam Ganesan) Newsgroups: sci.bio Subject: The Virus Message-ID: <1491@murdu.OZ> Date: 1 Dec 88 03:07:10 GMT References: Focus( I dont know when !) Reply-To: sam@murdu.UUCP (Sam Ganesan) Organization: Microbiology, Melbourne Uni, Australia Lines: 60 Hi Folks, I was glancing through my collection of scientific funnies when I found this and thought I would share it with the sci.bio community. I liked it when I read it. I hope you do too!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE VIRUS --------- Observe this virus: think how small Its arsenal, and yet how loud its call; It took my cell, now takes your cell, And when it leaves will take our genes as well. Genes that are master keys to growth That turn it on, or turn it off, or both; Should it return to me or you It will own the skeleton keys to do A number on our tumblers; stage a coup. But would you kill the us in it, The sequence that it carries, bit by bit? The virus was the first to live, Or lean in that direction; now we give Attention to its way with locks, And how its tickings influence our clocks: Its gears fit in our clockworking, Its habits of expression have a ring That makes our carburetors start to ping. This happens when cells start to choke As red celss must in monoxidic smoke, where membranes get the guest list wrong And single-file becomes a teeming throng, And growth exists for its own sake: Then soon enough the healthy genes must break; If we permit this with our cells, With molecules abet the changing bells: Lend our peculiar tone to our death knells. -Michael Newman Michael Newman is associated with the Warm Spring Harbour Laboratory for Qualitative biology in New York. Lifted from Focus without permission from either Focus or the Author. Sam Ganesan. ******************************************************************************* E - mail : ACSnet: sam@murdu.mu.oz JANET: sam%murdu.mu.oz@uk.ac.ukc ARPA : sam%murdu.mu.oz.au@uunet.uu.net sam%murdu.mu.oz@uk.ac.ean-relay UUCP : {uunet,pyramid,mcvax,nttlab,ukc}!munnari!murdu.mu.oz.au!sam Snail : Sam Ganesan, Microbiology Dept,Melbourne University, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia. ******************************************************************************