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GeneticJen

Thoughts, news, and interviews on science, technology, LGBTQ, and gaming. Basically, anything of interest to some Scottish trans woman.

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The difference between "homeobox" and "Hox" genes

You’re here because you want to know what the difference is between homeobox and Hox genes. Let’s get straight to business: the terms “homeobox” and “Hox” are not interchangeable; they mean different things. It’s correct to say that the lancelet Amphioxus (Branchiostoma lanceolatum) has 15 Hox genes

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Some thoughts and disagreements on The Matrix as a trans allegory

Late in 1999 I was feeling pretty lost. I had a good life by most measures but something was wrong. I’d felt it since childhood but when puberty hit, it went from “feeling different” to “the bad feeling”. Whenever I tried to bring it up with someone I was

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Women in tech history: ENIAC and the programming pioneers that nobody knew

In 1946, after World War II had ended, the US Army finally unveiled a top secret project to the public: ENIAC, the first general purpose, all-electronic computer. It was a game-changer. The press called it the “Giant Brain” and dreamed up fantastical futures where we all could have electronic computers

Women in tech history: ENIAC and the programming pioneers that nobody knew

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Clone Wars Episode Guide

The Mandalorian, The Bad Batch, Ahsoka, and other new Disney shows are bringing back important characters from The Clone Wars and Rebels. The good news? Both shows are pretty enjoyable and introduce beloved characters and story arcs. The shows even manage to elevate the prequel trilogy and have a few

Clone Wars Episode Guide
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Women in tech history: Katherine Johnson, the mathematician who guided us to the moon

The women featured so far in this series have been white Americans. There are many more stories to tell and upcoming articles will feature women here in the UK and elsewhere abroad. For now we turn our attention to Katherine Johnson, an amazing woman who unfortunately faced gender and racial

Women in tech history: Katherine Johnson, the mathematician who guided us to the moon
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Women in tech history: Grace Hopper — Admiral, programmer, and rebel

The people who change the world are often the rebels; the ones who see the world differently and try to push against the status quo. Grace Hopper was one of those people and she most definitely left her mark on the world. Her life is a story of firsts and

Women in tech history: Grace Hopper — Admiral, programmer, and rebel
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Women in tech history: Margaret Hamilton, the engineer who helped get us to the moon

Many of the early pioneers in programming were women. That wouldn't have come as much of a surprise during the 1950-60s, as it was seen by many as job for women. In the early days of programming, computers read cards with holes punched in them as input. Punching

A photo of a smiling woman lying down inside a NASA Command Module. She is flicking a switch above her with her right hand.