The Ancient Greeks called it episteme. Up until the 1840's, it was known as "natural philosophy." The contemporary world calls it science. It has had many names throughout its long history, but it will forever be my fascination. Science involves pure rational thought and is viewed as unbiased and unsentimental. Therefore, association with such a compelling emotion is only acceptable when viewed in terms of its prevalence, and indeed, science has been an important part of my life.
Raising me on her own and unable to afford a babysitter, my mother used to take me to her clinical laboratory whenever necessary. I remember hearing stories of how I was not quite tall enough as the lab counter and had to stand on my toes to get a better view of the PCR machine whenever she used it. I wasn't really interested in what it did, but rather, in the noise it made- a low, grumbling hum. Then, there was the fume hood, a glass and metal contraption that I thought was from another world entirely. It had multicolored valves that I didn't dare touch; although I will admit that I did have the urge to stick my head under the glass opening to look around. I had much around the lab to occupy myself, but my mother would sometimes work until ten or eleven o'clock at night. On these nights, I would simply pull together two leather chairs and doze off. The lab was really my second home.
Gladly, I have matured from merely vapid admiration. These instruments are no longer my means of entertainment, but rather, the medium through which I complete my own research projects. I now appreciate the kinds of tasks that those machines are able to accomplish. The PCR machine, for instance, allows me to recreate vast quantities of a specific chain of DNA, a feat that would be almost unheard of a mere fifty years ago. The possibilities are endless.
I dedicate entire summers to science research, to take advantage of such resources. Whenever I create a hypothesis, it seems there are always techniques that allow me to substantiate my claim. The extraordinarily complex processes of biology are then wonderfully simplified. But there will always be a degree of marvel associated with the human body, how the smallest of chemicals can manage to have the greatest of significance, how the weakest of electric impulses can move the strongest of muscles. Millions of different compounds are present in the body, each of them influencing numerous pathways and, seemingly, interlinked. Science is my passion, and I want it be my student's too.
