So... recently. I asked someone about their research & they answered "cell"
I have also recently asked a fellow staff member why one might be reluctant to discuss their research; and it was explained to me that the field is so competitive that researchers prefer to keep information under wraps for fear of being out-published. In a world where work published and discovered is the foundation for reference to ones credit. One is either remembered or revered as an "Einstein" or not. Not that my layman ears would put anyone at such risk. I think it's likely that such people do not feel the need to 'explain' and that it can be frusterating continiously doing so for the curiously ignorant. Like myself.
Nonetheless, I found this distressing. How can progression flow unburdened, if the burden is the progression?
Not coincidently, I also recently inquired with a professor into their work. The reply was an exuberant explanation of the particular health study; being sensitive to the above advice regarding researchers concerns with losing credit- I have the sense to not explain further. ;) But, loved it and refuse to stop asking due to this encouragement.
**Update 4.2.09
So, today, I received an email from a co-worker whom I am social with. The email was subject lined "Swooped" and was about a researcher whose work was recently "swooped" by another scientist that got access or awareness of the work and published with his own data. Quicker. Ouch!
**Back
But, on to the subject at hand. The original discourse of someone telling me 'cell' when asked for the "cliff notes" of their research.
Cell. What is a cell. Off hand, with no reading and only an inkling from high school Biology, which I barely mastered, I think of transportation. That cells operate as the transporter of energy. They bring oxygen throughout the body as well as nutrients and water. And, they are mobile. That's essentially it, other than a vague recollection of a cell 'cake' in which candy replications of the cells inner structure were edible. hmmm. not the most impressive education.
Cells are transporters. It turns out they can also be their own living creature. They are like little organisms. Complete with an outer skin called a membrane; an instruction providing nucleus; Lysosome(s) to digest.. and the comparison's go on and on. For a beautifully thorough explanation of cells, click here.
Distracted as usual, I got lost in the following sentence "The components of cells are molecules, nonliving structures formed by the union of atoms." Wow. So, my mind wanders through my recent exploration of atoms, atomic structure and molecules- to the term 'nonliving structures' clarifying some truth about life (that I question) to 'union of atoms' -how harmonic. Quite an intriguing sentence to read.
After reading (and planning to re-read) the above linked article, I can do no explanation of a cell, better justice. And as such, I leave it at that. Cells transport, live, breed, compute information, manipulate molecule's, digest and process, move, interact and die. They are a feat of the universe, of atoms and of energy utility.
KAS
A non-hard-science mind, who loves explaining, writing, teaching, and most of all, understanding.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I've Thought...
03.09 ~ I am but human, in my thoughts and desires- in my inconsistencies. It makes my opposing decisions no less real, no less quantitative... confusion is but the eye of truth, beckoning reason. ~ 03.12 ~ Time. It's existence is action progression, regression, reflection and projection. What in time is solidified and carried to another time is my choice. In one choice you lose all others; as an atom appreciates when the observer decides. It's a blue ocean of intrigue and a wave of contentment- that I am lost in, whilst, carried by. ~ 03.23 ~ That we are all part of one pulsing energy of life.. ~ 3.28 ~ There is no greater power, than the power of words. In speech we pass each other in halls, ride in elevators and embark in the great adventure that are words - with all of their beauty and intrigue. There are no wrong words spoken, only wrong interpretations and implications. Honest words are organic, true and expressions of what we are; existing autonomously and innocently, regardless of what others may think of them. 3.30 ~ That, the more I learn, the more I realize how little I know. It certainly doesn't help being in the company of those who have succeeded in accumulating far more knowledge than I. Is the differentiation between intelligence and knowledge simply the accumulation verses the ability to learn/understand? Or, are the two interchangeable. I feel as though time is passing faster than my ability to accumulate... do other people share this conundrum, I wonder... 4.02 ~ That, "It is what it is" isn't exactly accurate. "It is what I make it" is more so... 4.08 ~ That, "it's not time that matters... it's that mattering is what makes time." 4.12 ~ I watch and wonder... think and ponder... about it. Should I find that I have analyzed to much, to little; or that the quandary was all for not, I'll not know till the applicable time has passed.I hereby instill time as my guide, innocently and fully without disposition and without angst. (4.17) ~ Though random, we should not ignore paths crossed. Just as, we should not entirely exclude emotion from our conclusions. (4.26) ~ That I dispise my lack of control over my own intentions and wonder why I am so weak in this regard. (4.27) ~ That I have opened doors, I wished to open, while simultaniously putting other doors at risk of closing. It's not with resistance I contemplate, it's with anxiety. (4.28) That, I should take a break. Time to simply be, for a bit. (5.01) Its hunger drives decent of rational, a battle of wit and need. Like rain pouring down, wisped by winds, settled by gravity, I’m drawn to it ~ KAS
No comments:
Post a Comment