Re: Never underestimate the power of stupid people in great numbers...suuleJanuary 29 2007, 23:57:53 UTC
In few years I'll be in the research business myself and I accepted that I will get little fame or appreciation from the public. Making world a better place isn't as profitable as making an ass out of yourself.
Re: Never underestimate the power of stupid people in great numbers...torakhanJanuary 30 2007, 00:03:30 UTC
yeah.. scientific research is anything but... glamorous. A friend of mine is a research scientist. She got a job out in Seattle where her duties included doing very terrible things to lab mice and the paperwork. ... it was very depressing to her, having to kill off dozens of mice just because they were born with the wrong "defect" or whatever, or snipping off parts, or whatever.
Now she's in a new place where she just does paperwork and a lot of the stress is off of her shoulders.
I've been looking around and most of the articles online seem to talk about theoretical concepts and analogies... but there must have been a scientific paper with results pros/cons, or something... but I can't seem to find anything... *goes looking*
"No trials have yet been undertaken in human patients, only in human cells outside the body-and the laboratory mainstay, rats-but officials remain hopeful." is an example of this not-quite-information that seems to surround this topic.
But like the college write says at the end of his article: "In the meantime, tell everyone you know and do your own research."
That article is opinion. And from what I know about academia and research, it probably is in a very early stage of development. Also, remember it's on the internet on a website most of us have never read.
I really wouldn't get too depressed. The person who wrote that article sounds pretty jaded. No profit? Bullshit. If a person manages to get a patent on this, they'd be rich. If it stays unpatented and has successful human testing, the researchers would be regarded as saviors and gods.
The human aspect is the most important part. The media (and the majority of the people that follow them) don't care about rats getting healthy. If this can prove successful on living, human subjects, you can bet the media will be all over it.
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A friend of mine is a research scientist. She got a job out in Seattle where her duties included doing very terrible things to lab mice and the paperwork.
... it was very depressing to her, having to kill off dozens of mice just because they were born with the wrong "defect" or whatever, or snipping off parts, or whatever.
Now she's in a new place where she just does paperwork and a lot of the stress is off of her shoulders.
Reply
"No trials have yet been undertaken in human patients, only in human cells outside the body-and the laboratory mainstay, rats-but officials remain hopeful." is an example of this not-quite-information that seems to surround this topic.
But like the college write says at the end of his article:
"In the meantime, tell everyone you know and do your own research."
some other sources:
www.newscientist.com Article
A site set up by the University of Alberta and the Alberta Cancer Board
And a sort of counter-point opinion article with actual references. But it too is an opinion paper ( ... )
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The human aspect is the most important part. The media (and the majority of the people that follow them) don't care about rats getting healthy. If this can prove successful on living, human subjects, you can bet the media will be all over it.
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