"Who comes up with these names" believe it or not there is actually a system for gene nomenclature (set by the HUGO gene nomenclature committee), just like there is for naming chemicals... thankfully we're never forced to learn the in's and outs of the HUGO system in biology class (poor oganic chemists!).
I think you've actually just given me a great idea for a blog post though :)
Thanks!
Shhhh I know that there are systems and stuff. But the names still suck :P
And don't remind me of my organic chemistry class. IUPAC sucks.
Haha, honestly they sound so random I can barely believe it takes a whole comittee what could be done with a random number generator!