A Matter of Health

No itinerary for science but a sense of direction

By Ruth SoRelle, M.P.H.

Science is not really press conference material – particularly when it deals with the nitty gritty of advances and the tell-tales found within the confines of a cell. One of the most uncomfortable questions frequently comes at the end:

"Where do you go from here?"

If scientists knew that, there would be no point in the journey. It is easy to lose sight of the fact that science is in itself a voyage of discovery. Sometimes, like Columbus, scientists find themselves charting a path through country they did not even know existed. That is the beauty and mystery of a discipline that is perhaps best known for precision.

Biomedical sciences prove beauty

Nowhere is that more true than in the biomedical sciences. The cells, their interactions with other cells and the internal structures and activities of them remain a mystery to be unraveled. Yet that journey is already opening doors to better understanding of the human organism, what goes right and what goes wrong.

Explaining that kind of thing in a few minutes or less is virtually impossible. Often, the news of science is no more than the bullet points. When you sit down with the researchers, they can draw out the interactions and significance of what is happening.

An unfolding story

In many laboratories, the science is a story unfolding. Each tiny finding is a paragraph that advances the story. The direction each takes the tale is unknown until the final experiment is done and the analysis made.

Most laboratories have a set of interests. They set their goals and their desire to know. But the journey is a road trip that takes them to new landmarks and new understandings of the unknown. And sometimes, they arrive at a destination they had not expected – but always one with possibilities.