Gaga Fern

Title:

Gaga Fern

Description:

In 2012, biology researchers from Duke’s Pryer & Windham Labs made headlines when they discovered a new genus of ferns—and named it after Lady Gaga. The ferns’ gametophytes resemble a costume Lady Gaga wore to the 2010 Grammy Awards, and their DNA sequences also spell out G-A-G-A. Professor Kathleen Pryer, the leader of the study and the director of the Duke Herbarium, explained that "[w]e wanted to name this genus for Lady Gaga because of her fervent defense of equality and individual expression.”

Rights:

CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 DEED

Date:

2012

Citation:

Bates, Karl Leif. "Nineteen Species of Fern Named for Lady Gaga." Duke Today. October 19, 2012. https://today.duke.edu/2012/10/gagafern

Alternative Text:

Photograph of blue fern, shaped liked a heart.

Keywords:

faculty; photographs

Display Date:

2012

Photograph of blue fern, shaped liked a heart.

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