Keeping it going

By Ruth SoRelle, M.P.H.

Science is a lot like the U.S. Postal Service. Come rain, snow, sleet – or even Ike, it has to go on.

Fortunately, Hurricane Ike, whose onslaught derailed much of the power in the Houston area and devastated Galveston, left power in the Texas Medical Center pretty much untouched. However, the interruption of regular schedules could have damaged many of the ongoing experiments, particularly those involving animals and cell cultures.

How did the scientists handle it? At Baylor College of Medicine, as at most of the local institutions, they did it with the kind of devotion that most of those people involved in science usually show.

Green badges

For example, at BCM, the shiny green badges issued to the appropriate laboratory staff enabled them to come into the building, "feed" their cell cultures and insure that things were going well. BCM's dedicated staff in comparative medicine made sure that the mice, rats and other animals were fed and well cared for, even while the winds raged outside.

Members of the College's facilities team dealt with the physical plant problems that occur when wind and water merge into a raging storm, sleeping in the building and patrolling it constantly.

No time off

Disease does not take a vacation or time off for the weather. Neither can science nor the people who make it possible.