Scientists rename 27 genes to stop Excel from misreading them as dates

Over the past year, 27 human genes have been renamed to stop Microsoft's Excel from misreading their alphanumeric symbols as dates. For instance, when a user inputs a gene's symbol into a spreadsheet, like MARCH1 (Membrane Associated Ring-CH-Type Finger 1), Excel automatically converts it into a date, "1-Mar". The HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee issued new naming guidelines to prevent this.