Okay, so news that a technique has been found to sequence a genome for less than $50 000 US–a process which used to cost billions–is pretty cool. The fact that the Stanford engineer who came up with the idea’s name is Stephen R. Quake? Priceless.

Dr. Quake says that the technique–which he first used to sequence his own genome on the cheap–“will democratize access to the fruits of the genome revolution” by enabling many labs and hospitals to decode whole human genomes. Affordability no doubt moves us one step closer to the age of genetically-tailored medical treatments.

So, like I said, all very impressive and an advance that will doubtless help countless people…but can anyone tell me why a guy named Dr. Quake is working in the field of genetics?

Don’t get me wrong–he’s obviously very talented and quite skilled in his chosen field. But Dr. Quake? Shouldn’t he be designing doomsday machines to fight Superman? Some kind of ray that will crack the Earth in two or something?

I mean, the guy’s name is Dr. Quake–you couldn’t come up with a better supervillain name if you tried…

– S.