{
  "id": 18161484,
  "title": "The DNA is backwards on The Selfish Gene’s cover – again",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/04/the-dna-is-backwards-on-the-selfish-genes-cover-again",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-11-04T18:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Scientist",
    "slug": "new-scientist",
    "url": "https://www.newscientist.com/article/2596758-the-dna-is-backwards-on-the-selfish-genes-cover-again/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The latest issue of Feedback brings attention to a peculiar cover design on the 50th anniversary edition of Richard Dawkins's The Selfish Gene. The \"I\" in \"SELFISH\" is replaced by a DNA double helix, but it is drawn left-handed, which is incorrect. Geneticist Simon Fisher pointed out this faux pas on Bluesky, stating that a gene is considered selfish when its DNA twists in the right direction. This misrepresentation has been present in at least a decade's worth of cover editions. Feedback also covers a bizarre case report from Cureus about a patient whose massive faecaloma (a large lump of impacted feces) was dissolved using Coca-Cola enemas. The authors attribute the success to Coca-Cola's mucolytic and effervescent properties. Other stories include Facebook's truncation of an obsolete aircraft design, tech-induced rudeness due to common email names, and the colloquial abbreviation of Trinity Hall as \"Tit\".",
  "summary": "Feedback notes with weary inevitability that a 50th anniversary edition of Richard Dawkins's classic work features a double-helix twisting the wrong way – not for the first time",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}