Who am I? - Poem 2 | Scientific Serenades |

 I’m simple; for me,

Multiplication and division mean the same.

Although no membrane around my brain,

I’ll drive you insane,

If I am not in the digestion game.

 

You guys know everything of me,

Like what will be my fate,

To how I mate!

 

My friend Gram, thinks I have a negative personality,

But trust me, I’m a tool so bright;

Unveiling secrets every day and night.

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Ans: Escherichia coli (E.coli)

Explanation:

E.coli is a very “simple” organism (= primitive prokaryote). 

In microbiology, division and multiplication both mean that there is a replication of the organism. 

It is prokaryotic, meaning it does not have a “membrane” around it’s genetic material called nucleoid (=brain). E.coli is present in our gut and is a part of the microbiota that help in digesting food. 

Since it is studied extensively by microbiologists, we know every dimension of its life to the extent-we can even control its mating. 

Hans Christian Gram was a scientist who developed “Gram” Staining that distinguishes bacteria based on presence/absence of an outer membrane. (=as outer membrane positive or “negative”)

Who am I? - Poem 1 | Scientific Serenades |

 Time flies,

Like I do in the skies.

Sometimes in a vial,

I am an experimental trial.

 

My genes are probed,

My secrets sought,

In all the books,

Variations of me are thought.

 

Praise me, your tiny friend;

whose life has helped, to comprehend.

 

Remember guys: it’s my eyes;

which got you that prize.

You owe me the Nobel,

I may be tiny in size,

But give’em all to me,

Or I’ll call those animal rights guys!

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Ans: Fruit Fly (Drosophila melanogaster)

Explanation:

Fruit flies are model organisms in the study of genetics. They are grown in vials for genetic experiments where they are mutated and bred to obtain the next generation for comparative study. 

Much of the secrets in genetics have been explored using the help of Drosophila. 

In 1910, Thomas Morgan looked through a hand lens at a male fruit fly, and he noticed it didn't look right. Instead of having the normally red eyes of wild-type Drosophila, this fly had white eyes. 

Morgan was interested in how the traits were inherited and distributed in developing organisms, and he wondered what caused this fly's eyes to deviate from the norm. Rest of his experiments confirmed the chromosome theory of inheritance.

 Morgan received the Nobel for his research.

 “Animal rights guys” are not behind geneticists for exploiting fruit flies, as insects are not yet proved to be sentient.