The Nucleobases Etymology

Albrecht Kossel (left) and a thymus histological section (right)

Adenine, thymine, cytosine and guanine are nucleobases used in forming nucleotides of the nucleic acids. The purine nucleobases (A and G) bind to the pirimidinic ones (C and T) via hidrogen bonds in the DNA. 

Albrecht Kossel (1953-1927), was a German biochemist who isolated and described the nucleobases and named them with the names we currently use.

The Puffins's Lair - Sweat of the hippos

The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) is a semiaquatic herbivorous mammal from Sub-Saharan Africa, and their name comes from the ancient Greek for river horse. One curious aspect is that, despite their resemblance to pigs, they are closer in terms of evolution to cetaceans, but both groups diverged 55 million years ago.