An example of an analogy used in popular science writing:
"The proteins that bind to the expansion in the myotonic dystrophy messenger RNA are normally involved in regulating lots of other messenger RNA molecules. … But if these regulators are mopped up by the expansion in the myotonic dystrophy gene messenger RNA, they aren't available to do their normal job. …
Again an analogy may help. Imagine a city where every member of the police force is engaged in controlling a riot in a single location. There will be no officers left for normal policing, and burglars and car thieves may run amok elsewhere in the city. It's the same principle in the cells of people with the myotonic dystrophy mutation. The CTG repeat sequence expansion in a single gene – the myotonic dystrophy gene – ultimately leads to mis-regulation of a whole number of other genes in the cell."
Nessa Carey (2015) Junk DNA. A journey through the dark matter of the genome. London: Icon Books Ltd.
Read examples of scientific analogies
Many examples of science analogies are listed in 'Creative comparisons: Making science familiar through language. An illustrative catalogue of figurative comparisons and analogies for science concepts'. Free Download.
