On Science...

They wouldn't call it re-search if we found the answer the first time.
-L. J. Guerrero

Where To Begin

The world of scientific research can be a tricky place to be sometimes. I've often joked, "If we knew how things would turn out, it wouldn't be called an experiment." There's two ways to go about research too: one can either seek out something that someone else has done and apply it to one's own field of study or one can embark on new uncharted territory in hopes of developing a technique that nobody else has done but that others will likely seek out and apply to their own fields of study in the future. The former has the obvious advantage in that it's simpler, more elegant, and generally produces research that gets funded. The latter though is where science can be much more interesting. And much more frustrating.

You can probably guess where my work is currently leading me.

I don't mind that the work itself is frustrating. What I find more painful is when I'm told that certain things are "impossible". I must say, I loathe that word. Yes, the tasks before me are difficult. Yes, they will take a lot of thought, a lot of rethinking, and a lot of collaboration and advice from others. Yes, I will have to synthesize a protocol out of various bits and pieces from people that are working on things far outside of my intended targets. But that doesn't in any way equate "impossible" at this stage in the game and thus, "impossible" seems like entirely the wrong place to begin.

Right now, I have options. Another word for options is possibilities. Only after every single one of them is exhausted will I succumb to declaring the path before me "impossible". That might be where I end, but there's no way that's where I plan to begin.

St Baldrick's Year 2

Before:

After:

Thanks so much to Dan, dad and Tony for shaving their heads in support of Pediatric cancer research! This year's event was awesome and their team raised almost $1500! Thank you so much to everyone that donated on their behalf! You really are making a difference to children everywhere. If anyone is still willing/able to donate, the site will be up for a few more months. Click here for more information.

Random Part 2 (aka "I am not a drug dealer")

I'm kinda stymied with blog topics these days so here's another random gem that might make you laugh/smile a little if you're in a strange enough mood to find it funny.

I just found a scrap of paper on my desk at work with the following written on it:

FIX:
Meth 25
Acid 10
Concentrate 5
H2O to 50

Lest anyone think I'm a closet drug lord I should explain that it's a recipe for a gel fixative that we use for a procedure called silver staining. The ingredients are Methanol, Acetic Acid, a commercial fixative concentrate and water. Knowing me though, I could see using the back of this scrap of paper to jot down a phone number or something and then shoving it in my purse or pocket. Outside the lab I think notes like that could probably get me in trouble. ;)

St. Baldrick's Update

Getting Closer!

Hoping we can at least hit the halfway mark by the end of the month! (Donate Here) Thanks to all our awesome supporters thus far!

Help Fight Children's Cancer!

Many of you have heard by now about the fundraiser that I've gotten involved in to raise money for Pediatric Cancer Research (a field I've worked in for 5+ years). For those that are not in the loop, let me tell you about the St. Baldrick's Foundation. See like St. Patrick before him, St. Baldrick is an Irish saint but unlike the snakes that St. Patrick chased out of Ireland, St. Baldrick was responsible for ridding the Irish of their hair.... Okay so that's not at all true. St. Baldrick is a fictional character - a portmanteau combining St. Patrick and the word Bald - giving his saintly name to the Foundation that encourages volunteers to shave their heads in solidarity with the children who lose their hair to the harmful treatments for cancer.

Next month, two amazing men - my husband and father - are going under the razor and shaving their heads to raise money for this most noble charity! I am so proud of them and their willingness to make this sacrifice. Thank you so much for those that have already donated to their team (The BeeGees)! We are nearing the halfway point to our fundraising goal and if anyone is interested in contributing to the cause, every little bit helps! (Seriously, even if you can spare $10, $15 or $20 - the contributions really do add up!!) The online donation is really easy and you can click here to help out our team!

Meanwhile I thought I would post a little progress meter so that people can keep track of how close we are to the goal!



Act now to be the honored donor who pushes us over the $700 mark! ;)

Thanks again to everyone supporting us! I am so thankful to have six healthy nieces/nephews but I've seen up close the devastating effects that cancer has on individuals and families - especially when the patients are children. The cure for cancer lies not in harsher treatments but in research and the promise of new therapeutics. It really means a lot to me to have others contribute to this cause and make the statement that they believe in research and the work I do!

Thanks and blessings to all!

Night at the Museum

A Long Time Ago in A Science and Industry Museum Not To Far Away....

C3P0, Princess Lisa, Tony-Wan Kenobi and R2D2

More on Dr. W (or maybe moron Dr. W?)

As cool as it was to meet and see a lecture by Dr. James Watson, I'm glad to have gone on the record as saying early on that as much as I admire his scientific research, I don't agree with his personal views. At his U of C lecture he made some very strong claims supporting atheism. Keeping in mind that U of C has one of the oldest, largest, and most prestigious divinity schools in the country this wasn't exactly a smart move, but few feathers were ruffled as it was not a University sanctioned lecture, but rather sponsored by a bookstore. I've since learned (as offal seems to have hit the proverbial fan) that Dr. Watson apparently enjoys making edgy, controversial and even inflammatory comments during his presentations. At Berkley a few years ago he angered audience members by giving a lecture that many students found offensive and sexist. And yesterday in the UK he topped that incident by delivering a talk that now has him labeled as a racist. It seems atheism is only one of his personal opinions that I find quite distasteful and I'm not the only one currently holding that view:

Berkeley genetics professor Thomas Cline said Watson's lecture "crossed over the line'' from being provocative to being irresponsible because the senior scientist failed to separate fact from conjecture.

"If he wants to give a talk like this in his living room, that's his business, but to give it in a setting where it's supposed to be scientific is wrong,'' Cline said, adding that listening to Watson at the podium was "more embarrassing than having a creation scientist up there.''

Ah yes, the creationist is not as embarrassing as a racist. Score one for Intelligent Design? I probably shouldn't joke about that, but the comment did amuse me. It just goes to show that there's more to being "smart" than just IQ and it seems even in the scientific world, intelligence stands for little without compassion, sensitivity and - you might go so far to say - the whisperings of the heart.

Lisa and the DNA Man

Call this a big time "Nerd Alert" if you like, but Monday night I got to meet James Watson! That name might not mean too much outside of biology class but he's one of the men who won the 1962 Nobel Prize for discovering the Double Helix structure of DNA. (If the names Watson & Crick sound familiar, he's THAT Watson). He was giving a lecture on a new book he wrote at the U of C campus so my coworkers and I decided to go see him. The cool part was that we got there early and he was just hanging out so we got to sit and chat with him for a while before the talk. And he signed a copy of his book for me!

He's a pretty funny guy too. The title of the book is Avoid Boring People - he goes on to explain that boring is both an adjective and a verb. When you're young, he told me, don't waste your time with people that aren't doing interesting work and when you're old he says to avoid being a bore by keeping yourself involved with the work young people are doing. Also cool was the fact that he held a Q&A session after his talk. It was weird because every other time I've been to a scientific lecture or conference one of the first few question askers usually says a quick thank you to the speaker (sometimes EVERY person asking a question thanks the speaker) but five or six people asked questions without thanking him so I got in line. I said something like "Dr. Watson, first off I'd just like to thank you for coming. It really is an honor to have you here. You mentioned that you always knew you wanted to go into science I'm curious about when you first decided to become a writer." (He's written eight or nine books now varying from biology texts to biographical work and some other stuff that's more stories from his labs.) Anyways, he went on and on in his answer and all my coworkers told me that I had the best question of the night. I think he was just happy to be thanked and I also figured it was maybe something that he didn't get asked a lot.

He had a lot of cool things to say and aside from one of his responses where he presented his EXTREMELY atheistic views on the importance of science over religion, I really enjoyed his talk. I'm not sure why so many top level researchers can't find a coexistence between faith and reason but the more time I spend in scientific circles the more I realize that following Christ places me in the minority among scientists. As much as that is a frustration, I also see it as something of a "reason why I'm here". As awesome as it is to explore pursuits of the mind, they mean little to me without the whisperings of my heart. :)

Again, this probably much cooler if you're a big nerd (like me) but it really was a great opportunity. Just take my word that James Watson is to Biology what Albert Einstein is to Physics!

Highlights

No not the kind you get in your hair. And not the children's magazine either (although I used to love the hidden pictures...) Rather I want to wrap up a lot of what's been going on without the time for full stories. Previously known as "Unplugged" I give you the highlights of the week.

• I'd be silly not to start with my grandmother's health. She was in the hospital for most of last week but is back at home and quite a bit better. It just goes to show that there really is power in a praying family.

• I'm also done with classes and am soon to receive my "Professional Development Certificate in Forensic Science". *cue the CSI theme song* Hard to believe thirty weeks have gone by just like that. I've learned an immense amount of information, met some amazing people that I might never cross paths with again, taken four exams and written a term paper. Will the experience change my future career path? No comment. Or should I say stay tuned...

• And then there's the Cubs. I'm starting to think a winning streak is harder to find than good shocks on a CTA bus. But just when you want to write them off for the season they do something crazy like play well against the Astros.

• Finished a great book called Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee. It's a really well written biography chronicling the life and times of Nelle Harper Lee author of To Kill A Mockingbird. Sort of makes me want to sit down and write a book that will change the world. Sort of.

• Also finally read Ptolemy's Gate, the last book in Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus Trilogy. Really excellent YA fiction - fantasy blended well with humor, adventure and politics if that makes any sense at all. One of those books with the perfect ending that has everything you didn't want to happen but would not be a good book if it ended any other way. (LibraryThing is down otherwise I'd add cool links.)

• Gearing up for a much needed vacation, too. It's going to involve a minimum of four states - more likely six or eight - and an undisclosed number of stops and sights. Hardest thing about spontaneous road trips? Not planning them.

I'm sure that's not all but it's enough for now. Smiles & sunshine!

A New Leaf

I've had a mini hiatus from blogging (never fear, I have returned...obviously) but I'm back on track with a lot of new stuff going on. I've officially left Northwestern with only a slight bittersweetness to the farewell. I'm now set up on the opposite side of town at the University of Chicago. Esentially the same job with a much more impressive title yet only a meagerly more impressive paycheck. The campus down here is really nice, though. In a sense I feel as if I'm back in college. At NU the atmosphere was much more big-city-posh-rockstar-lifestyle with Water Tower Place and Michigan Avenue and all that fun stuff. Now as the weather - if not the calendar - reflects the heart of summer, I find myself trading noontime shopping trips for lunchtime walks on the quad. Yes that's right, we have a quad! Complete with SAGE-loving quad squirrels! (SAGE as you'll recall was the unofficial U of I group: Students Against the Gluttony Of Squirrels - the E stands for "of squirrels".) Everything is very green and with plenty of ivy-covered stone edifices one could stare at the walls and almost imagine being at Wrigley Field... and one could also imagine up a much better season for the north-siders... but I digress. Overall it's looking to be a wonderful transition and I'm perfectly excited for the opportunities before me. Here's to a new place and a new leaf!

And now for something completely different...

Okay. So it's been a rough couple of weeks. But as my seven year old cousin Brian said (at his older brother's funeral), "I don't think Andy would want you to be sad." Beyond sweet, right? He also went on to explain that Andy's up in heaven right now and "he probably has super powers!" So we all agreed that now Andy can run super fast, fly and hopefully have all the super-cool moves of his favorite X-Men hero Colossus. *sigh* Out of the mouths of children. (That's a pic of Colossus/Andy at left for those non-comic geeks out there.)

But life has also been more than a little chaotic because my lab is gearing up to move at the end of the month. It's been craziness all around - I'll spare you the story of the four day old decomposing mouse flesh *ewww* - but things are especially nuts for me since I'm doing the job transition along with wrapping up my class work. I only have five more weeks of my Investigation of Death Scenes class and then I'll get my Forensics certificate. (Woohoo! Lord only knows what I'll do with it...) Overall, it's been a fun series of classes. I might actually miss the cool stuff we've been learning, but I will definitely NOT miss the very late nights.

Although last night - even with class - I was home in time to see the end of the Cubs game... that is, I was home in time to see innings 12, 13, 14, and 15 of the Cubs game. I shouldn't be surprised that they lost (of five extra inning games this year they've only won one) but with games like that you can't help holding on to hope. The highlight for me was when announcers Len Kasper and Bob Brenly decided to sing Take Me Out to the Ballgame as a 14th inning stretch. Some may argue that they're not the most insightful commentators out there, but you have to hand it to them that they know how to have fun.

Not much else to say at present. Had a great weekend - saw Spiderman 3 (Good flick - my only complaint was that there seemed to be too many conflicts for one movie: Superhero v. Supervillain ; Superhero v. Self ; Superhero v. Former Best Friend ; Superhero v. Alien Life Form. Still entertaining though and if you liked 1 and 2 you'll probably enjoy it.) Also went to a really fun Cinco de Mayo party at my sister's house. Margaritas, games and karaoke but perhaps those should be stories for another time.

Drink to your health - Literally!

The next time glasses are raised with a clink and a cry of "Salud"* we can all take the cheer much more literally. Turns out certain cocktails are not as much a vice as they were once thought to be. In fact, scientists have now shown that fruity drinks contain multiple health benefits (one more reason why I looove science). According to the study, "ethanol - the type of alcohol found in rum, vodka, tequila and other spirits -- boosted the antioxidant nutrients in strawberries and blackberries." And since we all want as much benefit from our antioxidant friends, skip the smoothies and go straight for the margaritas and the daquiris. Now that's my kind of health food!

*"Salud" is Spanish for "health"

That's a lot of burning pj's!

I believe strongly in the potential for every person to be considered smart. Call it the theory of multiple intelligences if you will, but inside all individuals is some degree of knowledge waiting to be applied in a person's life. A person is smart.

People, however, are generally stupid.

Moreover, the unintelligent actions of an individual can generally go unnoticed on a planet of around 6 billion. When stupidity multiplies however, the result is rarely swept under a rug resulting more often than not in rolled eyes and utterances along the lines of "How dumb can you get?" Case in point (from Reuters today):

Candidates for British universities have been caught red-handed copying their applications from the Internet after hundreds mentioned "burning a hole in pajamas at age eight" on their online entrance forms. The phrase, taken from a Web site which provides examples of personal statements used by successful candidates, describes an early encounter with a chemistry set.

Did the potential students think "Gee, I'm the only person who would ever think of copying this!" Or were their plots hatched more with the thought of, "The Internet! Admissions directors will never look there!"? Either way, there's something a little bit hilarious in that not a handful or even dozens but rather "hundreds" used the same story. I have to wonder if a few tried to alter the example claiming to burn their bed sheets or perhaps tried to look advance by citing the incidence at age 6 instead.

I remember all too well the agonizing pressure of writing a personal statement for college admissions and mine centered around slime, rubber chicken bones and other lessons from science camp that influenced my pursuit into studying biological sciences (yes, my veins of nerd-dom run deep). It never occurred to me to try - or even to want - to lie about my story. But at the same time this type of thing probably happens quite frequently and sadly, is only noticed when the perpetrators are caught.

Call Me Ish.... Gargamel

I've been doing some unpleasant work in the lab lately. Nothing too disgusting but I've been working on a lot of protein blots and yesterday I had to make a new protein buffer that contains one of my least favorite lab chemicals ever. It's not anything noxious smelling, radioactive or toxic but it does have quite the crazy color. This oh-so-favorite compound of mine is called Bromophenol Blue. And yes, it is very Bromophenol and very, VERY Blue. It comes in a powdered format and a little goes a long way. No, let me rephrase that - an extremely little, an iota even, goes a long, LONG way. The true joy of this chemical though lies not in it's ability to turn solutions shades of cornflower to indigo, or in the fact that it reacts strongly to proteins (any proteins... including those on human skin, yes, my dear blog readers, this is called foreshadowing). You see, the true joy of Bromophenol Blue lies in the fact that as a powder it camouflages perfectly to the color of a standard lab bench. Needless to say the stray grain of it inevitably winds up where it is least expected - usually on the hands of the unsuspecting lab tech who removed her gloves after what she thought was a thorough cleaning of the counters. And really, is there anything more complementary to a long hard day at work than leaving the office with palms and fingers the color of blueberries? I seriously looked like I'd been running around all day squashing Smurfs with my bare hands. If I had the black robe and malicious kitty I could've done a great Gargamel impression because certainly my annoyance at the incident brought out a long suppressed evil Smurf-killing countenance that I didn't even know I had in me. After a dozen washings (and Smurf curses muttered under my breath) my hands had only faded to a dark cerulean shade and two days later, two days of excessive hand-washing later, my skin was still resembling a speckled robin's egg. And truthfully, if that was the worst of it, I could cope. But as it turns out as I got to work today - on the verge of regaining my normal-for-me bleached chalk skin tone - Bromo-Blue Buffer was back on my to-do list. Regardless of caution - double gloves, paper towels, triple cleanings - I once again am the not-so-proud bearer of six out of ten blue fingers. I'll get you Papa Smurf if it's the last thing I do!

At least it's not just me....

So things have been really crazy busy at work lately and today the PhD that I do most of my work with said to me, "I think we have a little too much on the table right now." Oddly enough, that frustration laden statment was perhaps the most affirming thing I've heard at work in quite some time because at least now I know: it's not just me.

High School and Naked Mole Rats

I felt really weird when I got to the train station this morning. It wasn't the start of a stomach flu or late season allergies. This was a weird feeling of the mental sort - one that I'm rarely, if ever, prone to feeling. I felt old.

See, as I walked up to the platform past the familiar three-piece-suits and Starbucks junkies, there was a new crowd waiting for my 7:40: twenty to thirty high schoolers - from my old high school - taking a field trip. Their jackets and sweatshirts were proudly bearing the bright orange N that flooded me with a rush of teenage nostalgia. And sure, they seemed much younger and much less cool than I remember thinking myself to be, when as a junior or senior certain classes got the privilege of train-to-Chicago field trips, but that's not what made me feel old. Rather as I watched them gathering around their teacher, eagerly calling out "here" as he took attendance, I recognized the teacher. I didn't say hello because he wasn't a teacher that I ever had, but he was certainly a teacher that all students knew, or at least knew of. He was The Cool Teacher. The hip, young, ponytail-sporting social-studies teacher that was talked about in all the hallways in sentences usually consisting of little more than "He's SOOO cool!!!" But today he didn't have his trademark ponytail. His hair was shorter with gray strands around the temples. His characteristic John Lennon glasses were replaced with larger frames, likely bifocals. Not to say that there's anything wrong with these outward signs of aging, but the largest contrast between "The Cool Teacher" I remember and this authoritative leader of high school students at the train station was a lack of fun. No smile graced his goateed face, no laughter echoed from the crowd around him. Perhaps there was just a certain element of field trip stress that tuned down a normally jovial attitude, but maybe it was something else. And what was worse, I saw the same drudgerous lack of joy in my own morning. That's what made me feel old more than anything. I'm reminded of a quote that says "We don't stop playing because we grow up, we grow up because we stop playing."

As I got on the train I was pondering this all and I couldn't help but think about the whole idea of growing up and aging in general. It made me stop and think about naked mole rats. Random, right? I'll explain. Let's look at two things that as a culture or society Americans are generally obsessed with - Youth and Beauty. If anyone wants to doubt the truth of that overly generalized claim, go down to your local drug store and peruse the aisles upon aisles of anti-aging and anti-wrinkle creams, masks, supplements, etc. etc. etc. If that doesn't convince you, all I have to say is Botox - the fact that in the name of beauty and less wrinkles Americans will go so far as to have someone subcutaneously inject them with the world's deadliest toxin is saying something for sure.

But back to the mole rats. Ugly little suckers aren't they? A biology friend of mine from college used to say "Awww, they're so ugly, they're cute!!" That's debatable, but I digress. Naked mole rats are one of the animals most commonly used in studies of aging and age related illnesses. They're from the rodent family, just as the common mouse is, but unlike the three year life-span of the mouse, naked mole rats live for an average of 28 years. So perhaps as Americans we fear our similarity to these critters and would rather have three beautiful years as a cute fuzzy little mouse than 28 years growing into a wrinkly naked mole rat.

But seriously, what's so bad about aging? Like the quote above says, we don't have to "grow up" just because our prime numbered birthdays get farther and farther apart. Heck with wrinkle-creams and Botox, you want an anti-aging solution? Have fun! Enjoy each day for all it's worth! Every year that passes doesn't have to mean fear of gray hairs and dreading the need for reading glasses, rather every new year is an opportunity to learn more, see more, do more, play more and be more. Perhaps the last two in the list are the hardest yet most important of the bunch.

Classtime

I started my Intro to Forensic Science Class last night. As if the hands-on part wasn't awesome enough (running field test screenings for marijuana, heroin and methamphetamines) the teacher - a forensic chemist with the DEA - is a pretty funny guy. The quote of the night was regarding our textbook, authored by Richard Saferstein:

"I used to work with Dr. Saferstein so I know that this is a good reference text, but you won't want to miss any of the lectures because the guest speakers will teach you more than this book ever could. You're not going to get near as much information from just the readings. Do any of you know Dr. Saferstein? (students shake heads) Good, then you can't tell him what I just said!"

It's gonna be a great class.

Because Insects Are Cool.

This post comes with a shoutout to all my U of I Entomology buddies. (Reasons why the class rocked: Taught by Tom Hanks's brother; good friends to "study" with; fun bug collecting excursions; lunches at Murphy's after class; etc. etc. etc.)

Being the nerd that I am, I routinely check out headlines from ScienceDaily.com and I thought this article was an interesting study of insect behavior (sarcasm free here: this stuff fascinates me!). Plus it's kind of funny because the headline itself belongs in the "Well, Duh!" department:

Male Praying Mantids Prefer Not To Be Victims Of Sexual Cannibalism

See, you really do learn something new every day.

Beer, Wine or *hic* Algae?

A couple of posts ago I mentioned a funny article about lovesick swans. It was thoroughly bizarre and I found myself asking, "Lovesick swans? What's next drunken pelicans?"

This article just goes to show, be careful what you wish for.