CAT 125 Essay - part 1
This post is part of an on-going series on my CAT 125 project.
Check the introductory post here for more details.
(to be continued...)
[1] A jar with insides coated with diluted honey or vegetable oil inverted over crushed bananas makes a cheap and effective solution to trap escaped flies.
Posts from the CAT 125 Series
- Written Abstract
- Visual Abstract
- Essay part 1
- Essay part 2
- Essay part 3
- Essay part 4
- Essay part 5 (end)
Check the introductory post here for more details.
Rise and Fall – The Journey of a Scientist
or where I see myself in 30 years time
or where I see myself in 30 years time
Bonner Hall must have been an imposing building to the throngs of undergraduates milling to and from Revelle College when it was first completed 40 years ago. This “state-of-the-art” 4-storey tall building has the capacity to house over 300 scientists in 20 biomedical research laboratories, including 5 conferences rooms for hosting scientific collaborations, 3 undergraduate teaching labs for upper division biology classes and a fly food preparation facility to support the many labs working with Drosophila melanogaster, the ever popular (and ever stinking) fruit fly.
And Bonner Hall is where the story developed about a year ago. I found myself that Monday afternoon standing silently in front of the glass doors leading into the north-east wing of Bonner Hall 4th floor, staring but not seeing the few wandering fruit flies on the other side of the door. The flies circled aimlessly for their escape from the building, where the acrid smell of fly food mingled with the sickly sweet smell of sticky death traps[1]. My thoughts drifted briefly to the possible fates of a fruit fly born and bred in a laboratory. Unwillingly trapped in fly heaven from birth (or fly hell, depending on how you look at it), these flies are supplied with endless food, deprived of ever knowing what a spider (its natural predator) looks like, and simply live out its natural life cycle eating and mating. Occasionally though, they might be irradiated with UV, treated with chemical mutagens, mated with less-than-ideal partners, dissected for observation, or more often than not, simply gassed and discarded with our everyday trash. Our common fruit fly – a species dedicated to research for the betterment of mankind. But the significance (and irony) of the deaths of millions of their pesky kin paled in comparison to the awkward situation I unwittingly set myself up into. As I gazed down the empty corridor that led to Prof Q’s office, I racked my mind for the most respectful, least embarrassing, and most roundabout way to inform Prof Q that I simply did not wish to start work in his lab anymore.
And Bonner Hall is where the story developed about a year ago. I found myself that Monday afternoon standing silently in front of the glass doors leading into the north-east wing of Bonner Hall 4th floor, staring but not seeing the few wandering fruit flies on the other side of the door. The flies circled aimlessly for their escape from the building, where the acrid smell of fly food mingled with the sickly sweet smell of sticky death traps[1]. My thoughts drifted briefly to the possible fates of a fruit fly born and bred in a laboratory. Unwillingly trapped in fly heaven from birth (or fly hell, depending on how you look at it), these flies are supplied with endless food, deprived of ever knowing what a spider (its natural predator) looks like, and simply live out its natural life cycle eating and mating. Occasionally though, they might be irradiated with UV, treated with chemical mutagens, mated with less-than-ideal partners, dissected for observation, or more often than not, simply gassed and discarded with our everyday trash. Our common fruit fly – a species dedicated to research for the betterment of mankind. But the significance (and irony) of the deaths of millions of their pesky kin paled in comparison to the awkward situation I unwittingly set myself up into. As I gazed down the empty corridor that led to Prof Q’s office, I racked my mind for the most respectful, least embarrassing, and most roundabout way to inform Prof Q that I simply did not wish to start work in his lab anymore.
(to be continued...)
[1] A jar with insides coated with diluted honey or vegetable oil inverted over crushed bananas makes a cheap and effective solution to trap escaped flies.
Posts from the CAT 125 Series
- Written Abstract
- Visual Abstract
- Essay part 1
- Essay part 2
- Essay part 3
- Essay part 4
- Essay part 5 (end)
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