Zoom Opportunities

 With the pandemic many talks and presentations that would have been behind closed doors are open and accessible to everyone.  Even better they are often being recorded.  This can seem like just another demand, but it can also be inspirational.  On Wednesday I attended at talk by Micheal Levin.  His lab is performing work with bioelectricity that might seem magical to some.  From regenerating limbs on frogs to two headed flatworms his work is visiually stunning.  More importantly, impressively, and profoundly all this happens without genetic manipulation!  His lab just uses bioelectrical signals to inform the target cells as to the pattern which they should take, and when to start and stop growing.  

What is most inspirational to me is that it shows how curiosity and interest can pay off.  I am an applied math major, but by the time I transfer I will also have taken all the introductory courses for biology, chemistry, and physics.  In a world where we are encouraged to specialize I seem to be putting myself through a lot of unnecessary work and stress, but I am just fascinated by the explanations for how the world operates.  

Could this be a research topic? Why not!

Attending such talks reminds me that it is ok to break the mold and follow ones curiosity as the world is amazing wherever we look and if you can maintain the passion and curiosity you can enjoy however narrow or broad of a slice of it as you want.  (to see just how much this can happen check this out, of the things L. Mahadevan has studied he provided the definitive explanation of the “Cheerios effect” — the propensity of breakfast cereals suspended in milk to clump together or cling to the bowl. 

I would also encourage this short read, Watching Paint Dry,inspired by the following quote by Samuel Johnson:

“Vulgar and inactive minds confound familiarity with knowledge .... The scientist, who is not content with superficial views, harasses himself with fruitless curiosity; and still, as he inquires more, perceives only that he knows less...”

On my own research for the semester, in another meeting I found out a microbiologist is working on the exact protocols I need for devising a method of getting samples into the ballon payload and retrieving them!  I will have more on that next week.