Snowy Day!

wish I could stay home
relax with cocoa and read a book.
Alas, no snow day for me.
Experiments call!

Are you sure he's not Jesus?

Obama's speech was so right on last night. I am still shocked to hear the term "President Obama". Did that really happen? Oh yeah, we elected THAT guy! Awesome! I really hope he can get most of his legislation to pass. I mean, a President who doesn't deny global warming? Who emphasizes the importance of education? Who tells you that dropping out of school is not an option? Woah! His intelligent yet understandable rhetoric on everything from diplamacy to the economy just rang so true to me. I know it will be a struggle, but I think he has some really great ideas. And I think YES WE CAN.
I also think that the Republican response sucked. I felt like Bobby Jindal was addressing the American people as if we were all 4 years old and stupid.

Weighing Heavy

We found out a couple weeks ago that my 21 year old cousin has melanoma in her eye. When she was born, she had a half blue/half brown eye. I always thought it was cool and cute, but apparently can be an indicator of cancer. So, she's had her eye checked about every 6 months or so to make sure it's all OK. As you can imagine, her last visit to the doctor didn't go so well. There was a shadow in her eye, indicating melanoma, and the tumor had been vascularized (meaning, it had directed blood vessels toward it to feed it). The doctor recommended removing the entire eye. Could you imagine? Having a glass eye at 21? Don't get me wrong, melanoma is really f-ing BAD. Melanoma originates from pigmented cells. These pigmented cells originated from a region of tissue in the embryo called the neural crest. Neural crest migrates throughout your body during development and is important in forming parts of the skin, the heart, the inner ears and the eyes (as well as many other things). The problem with these cells is that they already know how to move. And cancer is really bad when things start to move around (i.e. spread). Thankfully, her tests have come back negative for malignancy. She has been accepted into a clinic at UCSF that specializes in this particular type of cancer. And they have said they can perhaps save her eye. She will likely lose some of her vision, but not all of it. And she won't need a glass eye.
What's the moral here? Take care of what you've got. Because you have no idea how long you've got here. And it's worth it.
PS: also, quit tanning. seriously. it's stupid to expose yourself to UV rays. Yeah, the same UV rays us scientists use to mess up organisms. Duh!

Happy Birthday, Darwin!

Today marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, the writer of On the Origin of Species and the "Father of Evolutionary Theory". Very few scientists of modern day have changed the face of science like Darwin did. Although a reading of On the Origin of Species is quite dry, it lays the foundation for entire regions of modern day science practiced today. Darwin, in hismost famous voyage, travelled upon the ship the Beagle to such places as the Galapagos Islands, where he came up with ideas as to how species form and how particular traits can be selected for (called natural selection). For example, finches live on many of the Galapagos Islands, and some have thick beaks and some have thinner beaks. Where the thick beaked birds live, there are only nuts and hard shelled seeds to eat. Where the thin beaked birds live, the food is more diverse, with bugs and flowers serving as a source of food. One can imagine that as birds settled these islands, those with thicker beaks did fine on the islands with only nuts to eat, while the thinner beaked ones died off, as they were unable to eat the nuts (and thus, unable to survive and reproduce). These types of things happen daily, as certain areas see more or less precipitation, as invading species eat particular foods, as humans encroach more and more on habitat. Species adapt to their environments, a central idea in Darwin's theory (and one of very many). As you can probably tell, I am fervent defender of science education and I truly believe our education system needs to be improved in a multitude of ways. One of the most important battles we as scientist (and logical thinkers) have been fighting of late is the ridiculous idea of "Intelligent Design" - a thinly veiled attempt at teaching Creationism (and thus, religion) in our public schools. Don't get me wrong, I value religion and I find it definitely has it's place in society. I also value the study of religion and feel that children should be allowed to study different types of religions and their dogmas in school. I do not, however, condone the teaching of a fake idea like Intelligent Design alongside tried and tested scientific theories like Evolution. And, so, on this anniversary of Darwin's birth (apparently now referred to as "Darwin Day"), I would just like to remind you that we are fighting on in this battle that's been going on for 150 years now. We are fighting for the integrity of science, for the separation of church and state (as afforded in our Constitution), and for the intelligence of our children and our future. It's a battle that's been going on for centuries. And we're not about to quit now.

In Defense of Octuplets Mother?

I watched part of the Dateline special last night on the new Octuplet mother, Nadya Suleman. I think this story is quite interesting because it touches on so many aspects of life that people are not comfortable with. Outright, I should admit that it IS irresposible for someone to have 14 children when they don't have a job and are living at home with their parents. However, I am curious what the reaction would be if she WAS married. Would there be such an uproar? I mean, there is a TV show on following the lives of a family (married man and woman) with 8 kids - how different is that? Look, I am not condoning what Suleman has done. I think it's practically immoral to bring 14 kids into this world without being able to provide for them. But, let's face it: as a society, we are uncomfortable with women reproducing on their own. This is such a big story because she used a spem donor, did not get pregnant the "old fashioned way", is single and making decisions to have children without a husband, and her decisions have resulted in her giving birth to a litter of kids instead of just one or two. Granted, I can't figure out the logistics of the whole thing. She's had 6 children, including 2 sets of twins. Which means that she has either been super-ovulated a lot (meaning, the give you BIG doses of hormones to make you ovulate multiple eggs at once) or something just isn't right here. Normally, once you've been superovulated, they collect the eggs and fertilize them with sperm, allow them to develop (meaning, the cells divide a few times). Any embryos that do not divide or that look abnormal are discarded, and only healthy embryos are frozen down or implanted in the mother. This means that she's been superovulated at least 4 times, implanting multiple embryos and that twice it resulted in a multiple birth. More that likely, she has undergone many more than 4 superovulations and has been implanted more than 4 times (to get her previous 6 kids). I mean, the chances of 6 embryos being implanted and all of them taking to the uterus and two of them dividing into monozygotic twins is remarkable. Either the doctor really knew what they were doing or some sort of freak occurrence happened. Anyways, the whole situation just kinda makes me sad. It's sad for the kids, since they'll be ridiculed for being her children. It's sad for the octuplets because they were born WAY too early and will likely have development problems and disablilites. And it's sad for the mom because I am pretty sure she has some sort of a mental illness. I just hope those kids can get the best care they deserve. Because, truthfully, we can't do anything about Suleman now, all we can do is hope she raises her kids well and that she turns out to be a good mom in the long run. And God know, we hope she's done with having kids and this leads to legislation regarding implantation of embryos. Only a maximun of 2-3 should be implanted at one time.

The Philly Auto Show

Yesterday, Alex and I partook in the Philly Auto Show, a yearly tradition at the Convention Center. We had a good time walking around displays, checking out new cars. I was disappointed they didn't have the new Chevy Volt - apparently it had to make a visit to Washington, D.C. but there were tons of hybrids and "low emissions cars" and a few fun designs. Some of the more interesting things? Well, hybrid does not necessarily mean lower emissions. The Chevy Malibu hybrid comes off the lot with a higher "Smog number" than most other new vehicles. Strange, you might say? Well, it appears that, with all the room you have to make for both an electric engine and a gasoline engine, in the same size car, you have to make some cuts on the gas engine's clean and efficiency factors. Weird, right? And they're coming out with some new hybrid trucks. Alex and I were under the impression that hybrids in trucks were just not a good idea yet since the electric engine doesn't produce enough force (torque?) to carry/pull loads like trucks are expected to do. But there they were on their little rotating pedestals, claiming hybrid efficiency and better gas mileage. Yeah, you know what your big gain in gas mileage is? From 19mpg to 21mpg I shit you not. WTF, right?
I think a lot of the show was just kinda sad. It's sad to see American industries that had been at the top of their game in the golden years slowly and surely die away as European and Asian car companies have obviously prepared for the inevitable end of the gasoline era much better. To see Chevy and Chrysler asking for bailout money, desperate to keep factories open while producing arguably sub-standard cars is really kinda sad. My Dad's an old car enthusiast. He loves any and all old cars, even rust buckets and falling apart chassis. I think a lot of it is nostalgia. A bygone era, before WWII, when the country was a little bit more innocent. When people could start their own car companies and produce cars in their own backyards (you'd be surprised how often this happened). When American innovation and technology was coveted around the world. Now, we're just stuck in some black hole of horrible labor relations, pensions that have been mismanaged or are nonexistent, CEOs flying in private jets around the country while the regular workers are struggling to put food on the table. I am pretty sure the unemployment rate in Michigan is close to 50% (ghastly, isn't it?). All of these things were flying through my head as we checked out the displays.
And then we stumbled upon a display from some local museums, showing off some cherry looking beautiful old brass era cars as well as some old T-birds, a great old Maxwell and a beautiful Packard. Man, were those cars amazing! Some took me back, picturing Al Capone and his gangsters rum running around Chicago. Others made me think of elegant women, wrapped in furs, climbing into these cars and riding around in the dead of winter (remember, no windows and often no roofs!). Some just cracked me up, like the long nosed Jaguar with only one seat or the Dodge Charger with the giant wing on back (made for racing). These cars spanned lifetimes and eras, and I was so grateful to the owners for preserving this (mostly American) valuable history. There was even a '77 Lincoln Continental, the car my Dad threatened to purchase for me upon my turning 16 so I could not possibly hurt myself while driving thru the 'Nard. Thankfully I ended up with the fancy Mitsubishi Expo so it wasn't quite as cool as the Lincoln.
I'm not quite sure how this turned into a commentary on all things auto, but it did. The auto show is a good afternoon, if you enjoy cars. And it may be one of the last given by some of our Detroit hangers on.

Tough Week Haiku Friday

Man! What a tough week
committee meeting and and an
hour long talk Whew!

***

Worked so hard on both
feeling exhausted and beat
Brain totally fried.

***

Everyone said I
did a great job. How I love
positive feedback!

Dear PETA,

I must admit I am an animal lover. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not out to needlessly harm any animal or creature. I believe they all have the right to live a peaceful, dignified life. I was, at one point in my life, a vegetarian. I am no longer, but I try to eat vegetarian at least once a week and generally succeed in several times a week veg. I am a scientist and I work with animals. I can guarantee that we take the best possible care of the animals we have in captivity. Granted, we do need to sacrifice animals. Sacrifice is carried out in the most humane manner. Several independent agencies oversee our work on animals to ensure we are operating under the most stringent and ethical of conditions. I own pets and have taken the best care of them, giving them routine health care, surgeries and proper medication. When my animals feel bad, I feel horrible. When I went to India and saw bears and monkeys chained up and forced to perform for money and entertainment, I cried. I don't believe in zoos or circuses or canned hunts or any of these cruel acts. What I don't understand, PETA, is why you torment me with the most horrible of ads on several websites I regularly read (like the New York Times). These ads depict a dog attacking a bear in a ruthless manner and ask me to donate to your cause. For one, I refuse to donate to a cause that supports the Animal Liberation Front. I don't believe that research animals should be released into the wild. I do not believe research should be thrown away or professors' houses fire-bombed or researcher's lives destroyed. I do not believe most research animals could live outside of captivity. And I would love to meet one person, just ONE person who would be willing to volunteer their life and well-being to test treatments or drugs for effectiveness or efficacy (terminal patients notwithstanding). Are you willing to give untested drugs or treatments to your family, your children? Are you willing to live without medical treatments, without vaccines, without preventative medicine? I doubt that. And by the way, PETA, I eat meat. I think I likely always will. I dislike slaughterhouses and I support work by Temple Grandin and others who try to make the worst possible situation better for animals facing the end of their lives. I think the best case scenario is to make life for these animals as good as it can be for the short time they're here. Realistically, you are not going to convince to entire US to become veg, even with your "too racy for the super bowl, masturbating with vegetables" advertisement. Your agenda is too extreme, your ads are too offensive to ever convince people of the "ethical treatment of animals". I refuse to support your agenda and I am surprised that websites like the New York Times would allow such ridiculous violent animal ads on their website. For most of us, we are doing the best we can with what we can. Get over yourselves PETA, and try to make realistic changes to our society that will have long term benefits. I support the Humane Society and they passed Prop2 in CA! What legislature have you passed lately?

Dear Snowboots Haiku Friday

Dear snowboots you are
the best purchase I have made
in the offseason.

***

Snow turned into ice
in a blink. The entire
city skating rink.

***

Also shout out to
Yax Tracks for unwavering
slippage protection.

CSI: Reality

I don't really watch much TV. Cable here is really expensive and I haven't got the time. I'd much rather delve into a book or Vanity Fair than watch some lame TV shows. However, I did take in one recent episode of CSI and I've got to tell you: wow, is that show terrible! I'm a big fan of reality - don't really buy too much into science fiction. Sometimes I am able to suspend disbelief (like, in the case of Harry Potter), but usually I am a stickler for details. I didn't love Spiderman because they showed a spider biting him and then the spider's DNA intercalating with Peter's DNA and that's how he became Spiderman. From a scientific point of view, I can't even tell you how many wrong things there are with that picture....
Anyways, I get off topic easily. Back to CSI. In it, there is a crime committed, the people in the lab examine some inconsequential piece of evidence (rapidly, I might add) and discover the true identity of the killer. While some of the things they do on CSI are plausible (for example, you can extract DNA from smaller and smaller pieces of tissue left behind - but the results are neither rapid nor without fallicy) most of the things they present cannot and do not happen. Trust me, you CANNOT look in a microscope and be able to tell whether DNA is human or animal. DNA is DNA is DNA. You also cannot look at a drop of blood under the microscope and tell what species it comes from. Sequencing DNA is a long and arduous process, we don't put some tubes in a machine and have a read-out right away. The truth is that police departments around the nation are strapped for cash. Unless a crime committed is unusual or involves a celebrity or rich person, there are not enough resources to do all the things that are done on a case in CSI. While I hope the majority of people realize this, it can lead to a serious problem.
I served on a jury over a year ago. It was a really interesting experience, and I highly recommend it if you can do it. The suspect was charged with possesion and intent to distribute crack cocaine. The only witnesses were cops on a stakeout who both observed the suspect opening the door to a known crackhouse and busted the suspect in the crackhouse later on. A large amount of cash was found on the suspect. Drug paraphernelia and the drugs themselves were found at the house. The jury ended up being a hung jury (for several reasons, really) but we kept coming back to the fact that NOTHING had been fingerprinted. Wouldn't that have sealed the case if the suspects fingerprints were on the bag of drugs? If they were on the paraphernelia? We kept talking about it, saying we had seen it on TV, why couldn't they have done something so simple? Well, the truth of the matter is that the Philadelphia police department is hard up for money, just like every other place in the country. They can't afford to run tests like fingerprinting, DNA tests, etc. These tests cost tons of money. Take it from me, I could blow a grand in a day buying reagents for my experiments. It concerns me that we can't afford to pay for simple lab tests to proporly prosecute criminals. It also concerns me that innocent people could be convicted of crimes they did not commit because of circumstantial evidence. I can only hope that the future will bring cheaper, faster lab tests to be used in law enforcement. And that people take everything they see on CSI with a grain (or perhaps a bag) of salt.

That's my cousin!

This Might Get Uncomfortable...

I've been paying more attention to TV and radio lately. Probably because of the election and all the drama surrounding it. I stayed home yesterday to take in the inauguration of our first African American President. I thought it was great - the spectacle, the drama, the "peaceful transition of power". Sometimes I forget how lucky we are to have been born where we were. With all our problems and issues, I am not sure I could live anywhere else. However, we do have our issues, right? One of them being race. I live in Philly, a city that's over 60% African American. I live in a mostly white, mostly upper class neighborhood, but just a few blocks away (actually, like a block) is a mostly black neighborhood. Surrounding my school are mostly black neighborhoods. Obviously, Philly is a mostly black city surrounded by richer, more white neighborhoods. We most likely have more "ethnic" advertisments and TV shows on our local networks - for example, there are always McDonald's commercials starring an African American athlete (that is a "safe" stereotype, right?) or a young Latina soccer player. TV shows like Tyler Perry's House of Payne that comes on after the news or your token Indian dude on House. I know that minority stereotypes are slowly (very slowly, to me) being shattered, but I recently realized that since the election of Obama (and perhaps before that), I have noticed a marked increase in the number of ethnic minorities on TV. For example, there's a Crest commerical out there starring an African American female dentist, talking about the benefits of healthy teeth. She is commenting to another African American consumer woman. Woah! Two stereotypes down! Way to go, Crest! It's true, African Americans can be doctors and doctors can be women. It seems minority news reporters are on the rise too. Yesterday, the anchors were interviewing each other, asking Lester Holt what this inauguration means to him. Having our local TV reporter, Kristen Welker down at the Inaugural Balls. I think it's cool but I guess I also think it's so obvious.
Why is it now that we decide to emphasize how tolerant we are? Why does it take the unbelievable election of a black man to the presidency for kids to realize they can go anywhere and do anything? I know these may seem counterintuitive, and don't get me wrong, I am not unhappy with the exposure and emphasis on minorities. I think it's long overdue. And if Obama can encourage us to be more tolerant and to embrace our similarities rather than our differences, I am all for it.
I just worry that everyone will jump on the bandwagon to be "cool" but progress won't be made. I guess I'll just have to wait and see...

It's Finally Here!

I must admit, it almost feels like Christmas today. People are partying all over the world because of our choice in leadership. How great is that? I am home today, watching all the festivities and taking in all the hoopla to hopefully one day tell my kids about the day we inaugurated the first African American president! Yay! I'm not sure what changes Obama will make. I can't know how much worse things will get before they get better. I can only have HOPE for the future. And I can only HOPE that this President will bring us together, weigh decisions with a intellect our previous president has not demonstrated and restore our standing in the world. I also hope that Obama promotes equality and education, promotes environmental causes and gets us the hell out of Iraq.

Yay! Here's to new beginnings!

PS: and I love Michelle Obama - finally! a career woman in the White House!

Ode to Andrew Wyeth Haiku Friday

Master Bedroom by Andrew Wyeth

He passed on today,
Ripe old age of ninety-one.
Prolific artist.

***

Caught a lecture by
his granddaughter here at Penn.
Painted till he died.

***

Captures the spirit
of the Brandywine River
both surreal and real.

Thursday Book Report

When I read The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, I was so moved and enthralled about a book told from the point of view of a dead little girl. I loved that it was set in the Philly suburbs and I loved the characters, how richly they were developed. Even though the subject matter dealt with violent and scary situations, I still felt like the book was akin to a dense piece of chocolate cake - so good, I wanted to savor every moment. I received this book for Christmas (thanks, Mom!) and I literally could not put it down. Lucky is a memoir of Sebold's own rape her freshman year at Syracuse University. I must admit, this book is not what I would term an "easy" read. The book opens with violence and ends almost sadly, with this woman being forever altered from events that she had no control over. It was hard to read about her violent rape and the alienation perhaps most victims feel. She describes events in her life in an almost poetic manner. And quite like a train wreck, it's hard to look away. I have never (knock wood) experienced violence or crime like she has and I hope I never will. She writes in an almost detached manner, very journalistic to describe the rape. I would imagine that's the only way you can describe it since allowing emotions to enter into the act would somehow cloud it. Sebold clearly has a strength that most other characters in her book do not, and I admire her for it. However, she is not writing for sympathy or for people to identify with her. She is writing from her heart about events she had little to no control over. And the story is not summed up in the end in a miraculous ending that erases the rape from her mind. She will always be a rape victim. After struggling to put everything behind her, she realizes, years later, that she is still affected by the rape and it will always be a part of her. This book is a miraculous story told by a brave and open woman. I am so grateful to have experienced this memoir; it has put a clarity in my head on how different experiences can shape our lives. But they don't have to rule them.

One week to go...

I listened to parts of Bush's last press conference yesterday. I am pretty sure he used the word "misunderestimate" on referring to the US federal response to Katrina. In honor of only one week until our exciting and historic inauguration of an actual literate and intelligent president, I thought it might be funny to reflect on some "Bush-isms". This website had me cracking up for quite a bit today. Have fun!

Every Morning...

I walk by this coffee shop that just opened in my neighborhood. It's called Karma Cafe and it's in the site of an old video store which contained one angry man and one wee little angry dog. I walk by this coffee shop every day since they've closed the South Street Bridge. I've never gone in, but it looks nice. There are always people in there on their laptops, typing away. And it always reminds me of the Family Guy episode where there are two guys in Starbucks and they talk about how they can only write in public places where other people are watching them. It kinda cracks me up every day.

Reminiscin'

I grew up an only child, surrounded by kids my age in the neighborhood, but never any siblings of my own. I am not sure whether it's because of this or just because I'm weird, but I invented imaginary friends for myself at a very young age. My parents jumped on board and my Mom would tell me stories every night about my imaginary friends. At first, there were just two little boys, Took and Poonah (look, I was, like 2 years old!) who were brothers and seemed to always be approximately my age at the time. A little later on came Chrissie and Sarah, who were best friends, not sisters and they lived in a tree house in a forest. Took and Poonah lived across the clearing from them. As my little world grew, so did my imaginary one. It came to include the Seven Dwarves (although not Snow White, interestingly), the Three Bears, the Smurfs and Care Bears, as well as Took and Poonah's cousins Pook and Toonah (along with their dogs, Luke, Duke and Hook). I'm not sure why my Mom and I started talking about my bedtime stories while I was home on break this past Christmas, but remembering all this stuff just cracked me up. I added an 8th dwarf, named Chocolatey (my love of chocolate began early, clearly) and I was always adding friends or scenarios. The stories my Mom told me at bedtime were as much mine as they were hers. The characters were often found in some sort of benign scenario, such as a rainstorm or something like that. Chrissie and Sarah would always come to the rescue, since they lived in a treehouse (which was essentially immune to flooding, much unlike the forest floor). Took and Poonah would use Took's Uncle's army cookbook in order to make some cookies for everyone (they always made too much). Everyone would gather at the treehouse to sleep on the floor and wait the storm out. These characters became a part of my life, much like friends and family were a part of my life. Since I was "in touch" with them every night, I felt like they were with me most of the time. It's so funny to reflect back on these stories and to think of the things I came up with. I hope before long, my Mom and I can write some of the stories down. I remember them so fondly, I would love to share them with my kids one day.

Haiku Chilly Friday

It's official now:
middle of winter has come.
Freezing my ass off.

***

Starting the new year
off right. Longer walk to work,
have more yoga soon.

***
Working this weekend
Gotta get 'er done before
the thesis meeting.

Back into It - the dilemma

I went to this wedding this past August. Alex and I flew to CA, got a car and a hotel room for a weekend and got to see my friends from college. We had a great time. Alex fit in with "the boys", as the husbands are called, and I got to see my girls and have a blast catching up. Here's the dilemma. I have yet to receive a thank you note for either the bridal shower gift that I sent for the shower, or the wedding gift I sent before the wedding. While I am assuming that all things were delivered, I would like some acknowledgment of the gifts that I sent. I am sure she has my address, because we received the wedding invite in the mail in her writing. I think mostly I am annoyed at how dumb this whole thing is. We spent hundreds of dollars on short notice to get to her wedding and to be there with her when she married her husband. I even dragged Alex to all of this, on his birthday, nonetheless. While I realize that the small gesture of a thank you card cannot possibly "pay us back" for the amount of time and effort we put into coming to her wedding, it's a nice gesture that acknowledges all that we did and all the hoops we jumped through to get to her wedding. And to have not sent anything for over four months after the wedding, it just seems a little rude. I know that etiquette says to wait six months, but I just think it's likely not it the mail and will not be in the mail. Advice to all you planning parties, weddings, etc: appreciate your guests and the sacrifices they've made to make it to your parties. And send prompt thank you notes.
And this concludes my thoughts for today :)