• Question: What Interests You In The Topic You Do IIn Science And Why?

    Asked by taahir to Daniel, Jon, Louise, Sharon, Zoe on 21 Jun 2010 in Categories: . This question was also asked by temeka27, xxkatiexx, abiarun.
    • Photo: Sharon Sneddon

      Sharon Sneddon answered on 18 Jun 2010:

      I am fascinated by how early embryos grow and divide. It’s a really complicated process and lots of things can go wrong so by studying this topic, we can try and work out ways to fix problems. I also love looking at things under the microscope, so I spend a lot of my time doing that!!
      I like the idea that things I am doing in the lab will hopefully go towards helping people with diseases like cancer get better quicker and that is really why I wanted to be a scientist!

    • Photo: Jon Copley

      Jon Copley answered on 20 Jun 2010:

      The science that I do tries to answer questions that I find fascinating:

      – how does our planet work (specifically, what are the geological processes that actually shape our world, for example the undersea eruptions that create the huge plates of the Earth’s crust as they move around)?

      – what is the pattern of life in our planet’s largest habitat (the deep ocean), and why? And how can we use the understanding of that pattern of life to live sustainably on our planet, without causing species to go extinct?

      – how can the new species that we find in the deep ocean benefit us, for example by giving us clues to new medical treatments for diseases such as some types of cancer?

      – and some of the really “big” unanswered questions in science: did life on Earth begin around similar undersea volcanoes, and might there be life around similar undersea volcanoes elsewhere in our Solar System, for example in the ocean that might be lurking beneath the ice of Jupiter’s moon Europa?

      That’s enough to keep me interested, anyway! 🙂

    • Photo: Louise Dash

      Louise Dash answered on 20 Jun 2010:

      I work in quite an abstract area (theoretical physics) which often seems like it doesn’t have any direct relevance to our daily lives. But the work my colleagues and I are doing is actually quite practical, and hopefully will lead to new, smaller, more efficient electronic devices in the future. I like this combination of “purity” – I work with mathematical equations and turn them into computer code, and practicality – I feel like I’m doing something that hopefully will be of use to society!

    • Photo: Zoe Duck

      Zoe Duck answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      Being able to discover new things is always exciting. I liked my topic because bubonic plague has caused such destruction over the years and new strains are appearing that are resistant to the antibiotics we use on them. I would like to help us better understand how Yersinia pestis causes the plague which hopefully will help us to develop new ways of treating it

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