• Question: is there anything that has ever put you off your scientific work

    Asked by rmat1298 to Alan, Damian, Emma, Liam, Luca on 18 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Liam Bagley

      Liam Bagley answered on 18 Jun 2013:

      Hi rmat1298,

      I think I’d be lying if I said I love everything all of the time, who does?! But I love my job, so the amazing times far far outweigh any times when I’m tired or getting frustrated.
      Science is all about trial and error and if you get something wrong, you just need to pick yourself up again and try something new, if you don’t you’ll be no good at this job! One time I ran an experiment to look for a certain type of hormone in a blood sample I’d taken, I was so nervous I made a mess of the entire thing. But luckily, the team around me showed me how to do it, I re-did it and got the results I needed. So my best advice is to keep going if something puts you off, you’ll get there in the end! A career in science is brilliant like that!

      Liam

    • Photo: Damian Bailey

      Damian Bailey answered on 18 Jun 2013:

      I’m interested in understanding how the human brain copes or indeed doesn’t by extremes of oxygen. One approach is to take people to high-altitude where the air is thin and oxygen levels are much lower. As a result, some people get sick, suffering with a condition known as acute mountain sickness (AMS). We don’t know exactly what causes AMS but we think it’s caused by not enough oxygen in dcertain parts of the brain. Having AMS is awful, because it’s basically a really bad headache, a bit like a migraine except you’re still trying to climb a mountain! And guess what; I get really severe AMS when I do these experiments and that part is not fun! But as scientists we learn to suffer in silence and it’s good to experience the condition that you are trying to understand!

    • Photo: Alan Richardson

      Alan Richardson answered on 18 Jun 2013:

      I am not put off by the science itself but things in the world of science do make me question why I am doing it. There is a great deal of money and pride in science and people get very protective over the things they study as they would like to win the big research grants or get their papers published in the best journals.

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