This page is part of the first version of The Eyes Have It which is no longer being updated. All legacy posts as well as all new material can be found at the new WordPress-powered version located at http://www.leepotts.com/tehi/. Please update your bookmarks.
Google's DNA Logo
Google has a tradition of incorporating extra graphic elements into their logo to celebrate "holidays". Today they celebrated the 50th anniversary of the discovery of DNA by deftly replacing the "oo" with a double helix. Back in February, I commented on the article in Nature that discussed how the image of DNA's double helix has become an integral part of our cultural iconography. I guess there's no stronger endorsement of a cultural icon's pervasiveness than making it as part of a Google logo.
It's likely that this version of the logo will no longer be on display when you're reading this. It should be archived somewhere on this page. There's also a link to an interesting article about Dennis Hwang, the artist who has been "drawing the face of Google for almost two years".
"Understandably, the "O" and the "L" are the easiest to deal with. The "O" has become a Halloween pumpkin, a Nobel Prize medal, the Korean flag symbol and the planet earth. The "L" has been used as a flagpole, the Olympic flame cauldron or a snow ski. The first "G" is the most difficult to deal with, and I don't think the "E" has gotten much action because of its location."