An example of analogy used in popular science writing:
"But, if you are a freakishly organised person, you will wrap each string of [Christmas] lights around a piece of cardboard before storing them away. And your organisational acumen will be rewarded next Christmas when you take the lights out of he surprisingly small box you are able to use for storage. Not only did you save on loft space, you also will find that it's very easy go unwind the lights, none of the strands get tangled around each other or snapped, and you can access your one favourite bulb very easily.
The same process happens in our cells. DNA is not stored as a random bundle of scrunched-up genetic material. Instead it is wrapped around certain proteins.This stops the DNA getting tangled and broken, allows it to be squeezed in an orderly fashion into a small space, and also keeps it structured so that the cell can access different regions as necessary, in order to switch individual genes on or off.
The DNA in our cells is wrapped around particular called histones … Eight histone proteins – two each of four different types – form an octamer. DNA wraps around this octamer, like a skipping rope around eight tennis balls."
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.
