Let's talk science.

Here's an interesting question:  How does research on gene regulation in plants relate to cancer in humans?

A lot.  But I won't go into it here.  I just got back from a meeting in California that was attended by the 1st and 3rd year awardees of the postdoc fellowship that funds my research.  One word: Amazing.  We were a group of scientists that seemingly would have had nothing in common:  immunologists, neurobiologists, geneticists, molecular biologists, biochemists, chemists, medical doctors, and embriologists.  Mouse people and worm people and plant people.  Different, except that we all had a pretty common purpose: a desire and now the means (thanks to the donors and the fellowship award committee) to address critical issues in (for lack of a better phrase) the fight against cancer.

And I had another opportunity that grew out of this opportunity (along with nine other fellows whose research seemed the most accessible to the general public) that not many scientists get... I got asked to give an interview where I spoke about my motivation in science, why I do what I do, what I do (in lay-terms), how I started, and what I hope to accomplish.  Eventually, the interview will be used to show donors to the foundation the kinds of research that their contribution helps to fund.  But, I'm going to preview the interview before I post a link (just to make sure it's all good).

And after I couldn't imagine it could get any better, afterward, Carol Dronsfield, a really immensely talented photographer, made me feel beautiful.  For close to an hour, she and I took pictures around this spookily cool ghost house on the premises of the Marconi Conference Center in Marshall, CA... overlooking an inlet of the Pacific Ocean that was surrounded by forested hills just beginning to turn to their fall colors.  If I get ahold of the pictures, I'll ask for her permission to post one or two.

So, last thing, being at the conference meant that I didn't have much time (or hardly any service) to check email and phone... but I did eat my first raw oyster ever.  Shucked it myself.  It tasted kind of limey (probably because of all the lime juice that I squeezed onto it).  Next time I'll try and taste it.

And in case you are still wondering how plant molecular biology relates to cancer... it turns out that nature does not like to reinvent the wheel.  Meaning, over the course of evolution, once living things figure out an elegant solution to a problem, it keeps using it over and over again (with a little refinement).  The toolbox for regulating genes in plants is pretty similar to the one in humans.  Thus, if you figure out what the tools are and how they work, you can maybe start to identify with your tomato plants on a whole new level.