Making science a laughing matter

After placing third last year at the American Society for Cell Biology Cell Slam variety show in Washington D.C., Stanley Cohn, biology department chair was at it again. The competition took place Dec. 16 at San Francisco's Moscone Center. The crowd was made up of nearly a thousand of the world's leading cell biologists, including two Nobel Prize winners who discovered a genetically expressed green fluorescent protein now widely used in cellular imaging.Following the presentation of their life's work, the atmosphere shifted to one of laughter as the emcee introduced the competitors that reminded the crowd that cell biologists have a comical side.


The competition included a stand-up routine about preventing prostate cancer, the implications of bone biology, a dance about the three steps of neuronal development, a song about getting tenure, and an Eminem-style rap about the stresses of earning a Ph.D. by a Princeton graduate student that had placed second the previous year.


Most DePaul students know Cohn for his short stature, questionably funny jokes and difficult midterms. Upon taking the stage in a Blue Demons sweatshirt and jumping to adjust the microphone, Cohn announced that he would perform the "G-Protein Samba." This love song, about two binding proteins in a signaling pathway, was accompanied by only a finger clicker to the melody of Bésame Mucho, a classical jazz tune. The crowd erupted into laughter as Cohn substituted biological jargon for the actual lyrics, which included "Remember our first date, you taught me to phosphorylate."


A panel of 10 judges from various prestigious institutions then deliberated for several minutes and announced Cohn as the winner. After asking how he felt about winning, he replied, "I really enjoyed getting my picture taken with two Nobel Prize winners."

The lyrics to the tune that Cohn cooked up

The G Protein Samba
(to the tune of Besame Mucho - Lyrics by Stanley Cohn)

Come to me my little G Protein
Come to me, cling to me, sing to me all through the night
Come to me my darling G Protein
I've washed off my ions and have a nice clean binding site

Come to me my little G Protein
You know I am nothing without you right here by my side
Come to me my little G Protein
You know how I get when I look at your nucleotide

Leave that old receptor you've been playing with
He'll just excite you then shove you away
Together we'll wander the wonders of the membrane face
And we'll make little second messengers night and day

Come to me my little G Protein
You know that without you I feel so alone and bereft
Come to me my little G Protein
'Cause I want to nuzzle some epitopes next to your cleft

Remember our first date, you taught me to phosphorylate
And now I know that our love will never fail
I want to slowly remove your outer subunits
Get rid of beta and gamma, cause I'm just an alpha male

Come to me my little G Protein
You know that my sites always active when you turn me on
Come to me my little G Protein
'Cause my greatest wish can't you see
Is to hydrolyze your GTP
Just leave all the others and come....

Come to me!