EDUCATIONALLY SPEAKING -- GAY GEISER-SANDOVAL

Wow, is it too late for a career change? Last Monday night’s

Ask-the-Scientist Night opened up whole new vistas for me.

First of all, the twelve scientists in attendance were in disguise. When

I was young, scientists were easy to spot. They were older, white males

in lab coats with pocket protectors and black-rimmed glasses. Flat tops

were the hairstyle of choice.

Things have sure changed. You could have never picked these scientists

out of a lineup. They were young, of different ethnicities, and half were

women. Nobody looked like a geek.

The next big change for me: these scientists spoke in English. Scientists

used to speak in their own special language, spouting formulas and Latin

words to throw the rest of us off the scientific track. These guys not

only made it understandable enough for seventh-graders, they made it so a

lawyer could understand. Their main focus wasn’t working on experiments

to blow up the lab. They were doing things that affect my life and yours.

I didn’t get to the civil and environmental engineer, studying

transportation systems, to find out how to shorten my morning commute. I

missed out on deep space and ocean currents. But, I did find out some

cool stuff.

For instance, Luis Mota-Bravo works in biological sciences in the

tropical rain forest. He collects leaves from plant species to study

viruses. I know about the flu virus and AIDS, so I assumed a virus was

something you tried to avoid at all costs. It turns out that you are

filled with viruses. Their studies in the rain forest led to the

conclusion we underestimated the amount of viruses in the world by half.

There are probably a million viruses out there. Most are benign, and are

in a symbiotic relationship with the host. However, some, are not.

That leads to certain questions. If you have a lot of good viruses in

you, do they help to keep the bad ones out? Are the harmful ones new

strains that haven’t gotten the relationship worked out yet? What role do

viruses play in plant life? Could they help in the world’s production of

food?

Dan Knauer is a biochemist who has spent 12 years looking at blood clots

and how to stop them. Blood clots are those pesky things that cause brain

attacks and other major body catastrophes.

Knauer likes being a scientist because he likes being his own boss, and

he gets to do what he wants to do, as long as he can get funding. That is

the hardest part, although it is getting easier. Four years ago, only one

in 20 requests were funded by the federal government. Now, it is funding

one in five.

Sue Bryant is studying the regeneration of limbs. Right now, she is

focused on salamanders because they have already figured out how to do

it. If they lose a tail or a leg, they just grow themselves a new one.

The trick is to find out what is expressed during regeneration that could

be duplicated to produce new limbs in humans or other animal species.

Christine Lofgren is the undergraduate psychology director at UCI and

teaches experimental psychology. She was busy taking somewhat hazy ideas

from students and suggesting ways to scientifically test the theories.

For instance, are people attracted to those with similar or different

hair color? Would people wash their hands more if a bathroom had a

picture of some really mean-looking cartoon germs?

David Gardiner is studying why so many frogs in North America have mutant

or extra legs. Is it caused by something new in the environment? Is the

waste that humans are dumping in our streams causing this phenomenon?

Will we be next? Sometimes I think it would be nice to have an extra pair

of hands, though.

Dennis Kelly’s specialty is marine biology and oceanography. He is

looking for sea horses, so if you see any, let him know. He said he did a

science fair project in junior high, and looking back, maybe that is what

got him more interested in science.

Heidi Theisen is originally from South Africa. When she was growing up,

she thought the only thing you could do with biology was be a doctor. She

attributes good science teachers in high school to starting her on her

way. Now, she is studying fruit flies to open up the secrets of genetics

and developmental biology. She is looking at signaling pathways in cells,

to figure out what events happen in the cell once they get a signal. At

that point, I was envisioning all of these little red and green lights

turning on and off in my body. I wondered if there were any traffic

officers on duty in me.

Debra Shaw handles interactive computer media design. When she does her

job, then you and I can understand the secrets of health, maps and

science. She is the concept person that pulls a team of specialists

together for the project. These can include 3-D animators, HTML

programmers, multimedia Web writers and more. I am a linear writer,

which means you read this column in a linear fashion. However, Web pages

are read up and down and all around. She gave lots of hints on how to

create a science fair poster that was more understandable to the reader.

Thanks to them all for making science an accessible career to our

district’s students. If you are interested in the science fair Web site,

e-mail me.

Dates to remember: At 7 p.m. today, Costa Mesa High Choirs for seventh

through 12th grades are performing at Christ Lutheran Church. At 7 p.m.

Tuesday, Newport Harbor High is hosting a town hall meeting on the

zero-tolerance policy at St. Andrews Church. Wednesday night, the

district parent computer night will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. at Costa

Mesa High School. Seven vendors will be there to offer great deals on

computers, software and Internet service.

* GAY GEISER-SANDOVAL is a Costa Mesa resident. Her column runs Mondays.

She can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] .