Many scientists have an intimate relationship with deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). They analyze DNA extensively and see meaning in inscrutable patterns of As, Cs, Gs and Ts. They study the nucleic acid structure of gene sequences that code proteins and determine the organism's development. They manipulate code to understand the mechanisms by which DNA replicates, self repairs, and occasionally goes awry. They've cleverly devised DNA computing and nanotechnology and have discovered things like "Zinc-finger protein-targeted gene regulation: Genomewide single-gene specificity". But scientists might still be baffled by this:
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"Remixed here by "cutting edge names" such as Planningtorock and Rex The Dog, the song's DNA is spliced crudely into four mutated clones that warp the spectral waltz of the original into demented disco".¹
That's because while scientists toiled away in their labs, night after day, the rest of the world moved on to synthesize its own DNA. For years, deoxyribonucleic acid was exciting just to scientists, but the rest of the world left deoxyribonucleic acid to labs and lurid murder trials. Scientists used glass plates and tedious protocols to painstakingly sequenced in one organism after another, year after year . Then one day deoxyribonucleic acid became
Reporters revel in the idea that DNA is the central component of life. They even manage to elevate its importance. Here's one reporter's take on deoxyribonucleic acid:
"Bulbs in spring epitomize the season. They are kernels of DNA-- collective memory -- sprouting into plants we already know but, always slightly different..."2;
As one reporter elevates DNA to a prima donna role in glorious springtime, another cavalierly plunges DNA to impossibly mundane lows:
"There's a reason no one ever waxes rhapsodic over "that new fridge smell." You open the doors and you're hit square in the nose with a hideous, DNA-perverting carcinogenic stink."3
From those off-hand nature/nurture interpretations of DNA can become much, much more in the hands of an able reporter, author, or marketing guru. Even in national and international politics DNA becomes a sort of anthropological bureaucratic key, a way to understand official decisions:
- "The attachment to Washington is embedded too deeply in the DNA of Britain's political establishment for a new prime minister to risk an open breach..."4
- "This wording stemmed from the commission's core DNA, which prompts it to act on behalf of consumers by embracing competition, localism and diversity deemed to be "in the public interest"....Now, after XM and Sirius have fought ferociously for 10 years, they come on bended knee before policymakers..."5
DNA adds panache to corporate name, especially for creative or design companies like PixelDNA or DNA Creative. The latter espouses that "the function of DNA is to define the genetic information that forms your Corporate Identity".
There are probably fewer books about DNA in the "Science" section of Amazon then in "Business and Investing". There are books devoted to every sort of "DNA" imaginable popularized with DNA laden titles: Financial DNA, investing DNA, entrepreneurial DNA, trader DNA, organizational DNA, decision DNA, the DNA Selling Method, the DNA of Leadership,the DNA of Marketing....
Marketing, especially, has discovered this most ubiquitous, malleable acronym. As DNA encodes the genetics of sea urchins but also elephants, so marketing teams press it into diverse roles, from defining multinational banks to health food company philosophy.
- '"..It was part of our DNA and a great foundation,'' said Catherine P. Bessant, who introduced the ''Higher Standards'' tagline four years ago when she served as Bank of America's chief marketing officer."6
- "Wild Oats employees are in for an entirely new kind of CEO....parts of Mackey's bio are practically shared DNA in the natural foods industry - a philosophy major who dropped out of college, attire that includes Tevas...."7
You probably thought motor vehicles were all about metal and plastic and oil and new car smell and just in time manufacturing -- how wrong.
- "With the balance of rear-wheel drive and the availability of V-8 power, the G8 represents another step in Pontiac 's commitment to its performance DNA."8
- ".."The all-new Lancer GS will crush all the myths about compact sedans with its inherited Evo DNA."9
- ''Our competitor is really on a strategy of re-branding Daewoo, but we're consistent on the Ford DNA of great driving dynamics.10
- "...tempt[ing] the buying public by unveiling a prototype street motorcycle inspired by the spirit of Flat Track racing and the XR 750. This XR 1200 prototype, they claim, comes from DNA from the XR line"11
Moving on to the world of entertainment, the acronym's truly twisted meaning becomes even more incongruous. Music, you know, is all about DNA, and in this context it defines a certain je ne sais quois....
- "The six-track collection of slicker-than-your-average-indie boasts hooks as chiseled as the band's jaw lines. It's glam-infused pop-rock that shares melodic DNA with the likes of Placebo and Bowie."12
- "But many watching the Chicks fall from country grace were not surprised by the backlash. Country music has conservatism in its DNA, right?"13
- "The songs contained on (`Meet the Beatles!')," he says, "are part of the collective DNA of the Smithereens."14
Even a diamond isn't what you think it is, a rock chipped out of a cave, without deoxyribonucleic acid: "the Montblanc logo, with a sprinkling of diamonds, takes centre stage in the design DNA... the intricacies..the complexity of the Montblanc Star diamond..."15
Scientists have been through the whole one gene coded one protein thing and and back again, but the media has internalized some central dogma about DNA. As one reporter put it in an article titled, "The Essence of Being16":
"Our tastes, styles, values and choices in careers, relationships, homes, cars, music, books, TV, movies, hobbies, loves, hates and interests all reflect our archetypes. We may have been unconscious of the fact that our archetypal DNA was making these decisions, but they do[sic] influence every moment. Becoming conscious of this information is transformational".
True, other terms attained fame outside the lab. "Symbiosis" and "chimera" and the most annoying "meme", all served multidisciplinary roles and fits of popularity, but the use of "DNA" has spiraled out of control. I confess, though always impressed by the powers of DNA, I underestimated its omnipotence.
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1.) "Bad Jamie's rumor mill" The Boston Herald February 23, 2007 2.) "This Week" The San Francisco Chronicle, February 18, 2007 3.) "Modern fridges, explained - somewhat" Minneapolis Star, Tribune MN, February 23, 2007 4.) "The affair is over as history leaves Bush and Blair behind" Financial Times, February 23, 2007 5.) Reject their request, USA Today February 23, 2007 6.) "Bank of America Tagline Has Run Its Course" The New York Times February 20, 2007 7.) "Whole Foods CEO doesn't back down" Rocky Mountain News February 23, 2007 8.) "Pontiac and Saturn will add new models developed overseas" The Oregonian February 17, 2007 9.) "The Evolution of Mitsubishi" The Toronto Sun February 18, 2007, 10.) "Mondeo firms for a return" The Courier Mail, February 17, 2007 11.) "The shape of things to come" The Irish Times January 24, 2007 12.) "The Guide: music" The Guardian (London) February 24, 2007 13.) "When country went right: Country music wasn't always married to conservative politics. It happened in the Nixon era." (American Prospect) in Chicago Sun Times February 23, 2007 Friday 14.) Love them do: Frontman Pat Dinizio is psyched about the smithereens' new beatles project Chicago Sun Times January 7, 2007 15.) Power jewelery; Montblanc and Roberto Coin have launched their jewelery collections in Singapore recently. The Business Times (Singapore) February 24, 2007 16.) Sunday Mail (South Australia) February 18, 2007
