In mammals, the most important may be the Sonic hedgehog gene, named after the Sega videogame character by scientists in the Harvard laboratory of Clifford Tabin in 1993.

FORBES: The Curious Case of The One-Eyed Sheep

Cyclopamine, it turns out, blocks the function of a gene called Sonic hedgehog that is essential for embryonic development but also plays a lead role in causing deadly cancers of the pancreas, skin, prostate and esophagus.

FORBES: The Curious Case of The One-Eyed Sheep