Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving was wonderful...I don't think I've eaten so much in such a short amount of time ever before! His grandmothers (they literally live next door to each other, so we split our time between their houses) made dishes especially for me, including a spinach souffle and cauliflower with cheese. All the food was delicious, and I got the recipe for a dessert called "Banana Split Dessert" which was just fabulous. Kevin and I made Rolo cookies (chocolate cookies with Rolo candy pieces baked into them) which were a hit with the family. I also wrote his grandmother a poem which she read to the entire group during Thanksgiving dinner. She started to tear up a bit while everyone laughed. Kevin said that I would be a success if I could make her cry. I think that's an odd way to impress, but apparently it worked :).

I finished my last class on Wednesday around 1:30 and Kev actually beat me to my apartment where he met me around 1:40. I quickly packed up my things and we headed out around 2. By 4:30 we were in Hope, Illinois (Hope is a really tiny town, of maybe 20 people where his grandparents, both sets, live. It's about 30 minutes from Urbana-Champaign, where the University of Illinois's flagship campus is, which itself is about 3 hours south/southwest from Chicago). We briefly met with Grandma James (maternal grandmother at whose house we stayed) then headed next door to Grandma Saullers for dinner. It was entirely vegetarian except for some ham. We chatted with them for a while then went back to James' to bake the cookies. The first of Kev's relatives came in around 1:15 a.m. from Indianapolis. We played gin rummy with his cousin Eric until about 3:30 in the morning. Perhaps not the best idea, since I was woken up by the chatter of more relatives around 7 before finally getting out of bed around 9:15 (after Kev attacked me). More people stopped by and visited and eventually Thanksgiving lunch was ready and served around 12. What a feast! After lunch Kev, his cousins, and I went out to play some croquet. It was fun, and thanks to Kev I managed to finish in second place. We came in to warm up and played some gin rummy. Later, we went out again to play basketball (my fingers were frozen!), then came in for some hot chocolate. Kevin, Eric, and I played the Game of Life which I won by a narrow margin. After that we grabbed some leftovers for dinner. We then headed next door to hang out with Grandma Saullers for a while and played some dice games that Kevin taught us. We tried to get to bed early, but instead stayed up rather late planning our shopping spree with maps and lists and everything. Eric's family had to leave early Friday morning and no one else was ready to go shopping, so it was only Kev and I.

We woke up early to go shopping in Champaign. The plan was to wake up around 3:15 and head out by 3:45, but we accidentally slept in a bit. I suddenly woke up at 4:30, checked my clock, and dashed out of my room to wake Kevin up. We left just after 5 after hurriedly getting dressed and waiting for the car to warm up. The temperature hovered around freezing (getting as low at 18), with wind chill, the entire time we were there. The crowds weren't as bad as we thought they might be, with Circuit City and Target having the longest lines outside. We made off with some great bargains everywhere we went. We both bought thermal underwear which will be very handy in the next couple of weeks. I also got a 50-pack of DVD-Rs for about $15, which is about a 75% discount.

We got back in around 10:30, exhausted but happy. I ate a quick breakfast of metal muffins and yogurt before taking a lovely 3 hour nap. Kev bought a king-size down comforter that he promptly wrapped in a duvet cover (my suggestion, he didn't know he should get one for it) and then took a nap under it. His landlord doesn't understand how to properly heat his building so Kev's room is often 59 degrees when he wakes up in the morning. Can you imagine?! After our naps, we ate some lunch (leftover Thanksgiving food), and then put up a Christmas tree. At 6 we went next door to his other grandma's for dinner and had grilled cheese with tomato soup. We said goodbye to them, then came back over to pack up our stuff and head out. We left around 7:15 and made it back to my place in really good time, just around 9:45. Kev helped me bring all my stuff up and then left for Evanston.

Now I have to get back to work. I've got lots of papers to read and a problem set to work on. All in all it was a wonderful Thanksgiving break, thanks to Kevin and his wonderful (yet admittedly slightly crazy) family!

Recap

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. Here's a quick recap of the last couple of weeks:

1. Halloween was rather laid back; we had candy set out but ended up eating most of it (read: all but one piece) since the tenants downstairs took care of all the trick-or-treaters. I saw a guy riding a bike in a chicken suit. No helmet.
2. I shadowed a team of medical residents on their clinical rounds in a pediatric oncology ward. More on that later.
3. Happy Diwali and Saal Mubarak!
4. Took another midterm (genetic analysis) that I didn't finish (I don't think anyone else did either), and handed in another midterm for cancer biology (take home!)
5. Happy birthday Mom!
6. I got a care package from home filled with Indian goodies. I had to fight with the post office to get it though. More on that later.
7. I was sick yet managed to remain almost asymptomatic the whole time. Weird.
8. One of my professors bought me coffee soon after I let him know he missed, for the first time in 15 years, his All-Stars session (a bi-weekly seminar for BioMed students where faculty present their research in hopes of recruiting grad students to their lab).
9. As I held the door for a gentlemen who was leaving the bank as I was entering, he countered my attempt with the line, "Oh no, beauty before age, beauty before age." It made me smile.
10. I baked cookies and made some Indian dishes.
11. I've got real Thanksgiving plans for the first time in years. I'll be heading to Hope, Illinois (near Urbana-Champaign) to spend the weekend with Kevin's family. It's going to be awesome!
12. It's cold. And dark...early. Welcome to Winter in the Windy City!

Sorry Ma, It's in My DNA

In DNA Era, New Worries About Prejudice - New York Times

Today the New York Times published an article about the potentially worrisome implications that new scientific research cataloging the genetic differences between human populations may have. What troubles me, reading the comments of folks interviewed for the article or whose comments on blogs were gleaned as testimony, is how so many people have difficulties "accepting" these genetic findings as real and fraught with implications. Do you "accept" the law of gravity or the explanation for why the sky looks blue? Facts are facts regardless of one's opinion. The genetic differences are real, but the implications not necessarily as dire as predicted.

For instance, one point of contention is the link between genetics and intelligence and how certain populations seem to have different sets of "intelligence sequences/genes" than others. Say for example, genetics clusters A, B, and C seem to correlate with higher than average IQs. People of European descent whose DNA was tested have more of the A and B clusters than people of African descent who have few of the A or B clusters but many of the C clusters. Is this genetic proof that Europeans are inherently/innately smarter than Africans? First, look at the measure of intelligence used: IQ, the intelligence quotient. A person's IQ roughly relates their age to their mental skills, such that if two people, one who is 8 and the other 24, get 35/40 questions right on an IQ test, the 8 year-old is said to have a "higher IQ."

The important things to know are what questions were asked and the educational background of the test takers. If you've ever taken an IQ test, you know the kind of questions you can expect. "Which shape goes next?" "Which word does not belong?" "If this object were folded up, what shape would it look like?" ad nauseum. Are these the only criteria by which society measures intelligence? What about memorization skills? The ability to compute large sums without external aids? How about writing plays or composing operas? Note how none of these skills are tested on most IQ tests (for obvious logistical reasons), yet how often many are used to rate "intelligence" in people.

Whence comes this discrimination opportunity? The idea that, oh my goodness, race exists? That people are fundamentally different genetically (otherwise we'd all be identical clones of one another)? What does a genetic basis for race really change? We simply know the reason behind the fact we've known for ages. Does that change the fact in some fundamental way? Just because I know scientifically why the sky looks blue doesn't change its beauty for me.

If we want to avoid feeding discriminatory minds with genetic ammunition, then we need to make clear what our notions of "equality" are. People are not the same physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. People are not the same genetically. What then does "equal" mean for human beings? The the law should treat everyone the same. But what about people with valid mental illnesses who commit criminal actions when out of control ? Students should be put in classes according to age. But what if they're a prodigy and should be advanced several years? We should have rules and exceptions to each for special cases. If that's true, are we really being equal?

So many traits, like intelligence or outgoingness, are both genetic and environmental in nature. You could have all the "right" genes for intelligence, but if those abilities are not nurtured or supported, or if development is hampered by physical or emotional considerations, then a person who is "born smart" may very well score poorly on an IQ test or be considered average or even dumb by society. Conversely, a person "born with average intelligence" who grows up in a household where learning is nurtured and encouraged could become very bright and score brilliantly on such tests.

It's true that many traits are mostly genetic, such as skin or eye color (along with some diseases), and in those cases environment has little affect. That these "facts of life" are ever the basis for discrimination I find simply ridiculous. A person literally had no choice what skin color they were born with. To a large extent they can choose their behavior and what to make of the opportunities (no matter how few or many) open to them. People should be judged for things they have control over, and the more control the better.

In the end, it is our choices that we have control over, not our genetic inheritance, that truly make us who we are and how we interact with our society.

Halloween really is a scary day

I finished my CanBioI midterm yesterday and was looking forward to printing it out and handing it in this morning. When I open the file on the computer in the library, however, I see a bunch of gibberish sprawled across the Word document. The horror sinks in and I realize I saved my paper in MS Word 2007's new .docx file format that is incompatible with 2000. It's too late to dash back to my apartment to edit the file, so I fight panic and try a different set of computers in the BSLC (main building for my program). Sure that, despite the computers having Word 2003 installed, my file would be useless again, I started thinking of a story for my TA.: "I finished the midterm, I swear, I'm just an idiot and saved it in the wrong file format." Uh huh. That's a real likely story. To my extreme relief, I see "Microsoft Word is converting the file" scroll across the bottom and hold my breath. Sure enough, I see real words instead of Wingding symbols and I'm saved! Heart attack averted and lesson learned.

Who needs coffee when you've got adrenaline?

Today we got back the results of our Cell Biology midterm. Cue scary music and "Psycho" violins. I was rather surprised at the results. Out of a possible 150 points the class average was, drumroll please..........77. That's right. Approximately 51.33333333%. (Last year, the average was about 100, or about 66.666666%). Here's what perhaps more shocking. The highest score achieved was a 106. That's approximately 70.66666666%. Even the most studious student did no better than a C! (if 90-100 A's, 80-90 B's, etc). Standard deviation was 15 points. I'm not a statistics guru, but I think that means most people did pretty poorly and it was a really hard test. Does that sound right? Oh, and how did I fare? Let's just say it could have been a lot worse. It's comforting to know that this exam is but 30% of our grade, and that I've got 40% almost perfect with my weekly discussion write ups and awesome presentation. I do know, however, that I must study even more than a week ahead (and harder than ever) for our last exam. Just to think, some people believe I'm so smart...This is graduate school baby!

And now for something completely different:

While walking back to my apartment today, my eyes randomly alit on a license plate cover that had the words "University North Ford" in a way that looked surprisingly familiar. Neither the design nor font were anything striking, but something says "North Carolina" and some Triangle resident more specifically. In the three seconds it took for me to think this through, I reached the bumper plate and, sure enough, saw the words "First in Flight" printed below the alphanumeric string. Two points for me! Call it some bizarre intuition, sheer luck, or magic (given the day of the year), I was quite pleased.

I kind of miss NC license plates. It's a silly thing to miss, but it's something that really gives one a sense of place. It reminded me of our road trip this summer. We passed through over a dozen states and saw only two NC plates in an entire month on the road. Where do North Carolinians go over the summer? Maine? New York? No one wants to see California? Utah? Idaho? Shame on them!

An Incendiary Corollary

Rethinking Fire Policy in the Tinderbox Zone - New York Times

So it appears my post last week about people not being able to prevent wildfires was surprisingly topical given the recent fires in southern California. What still remains distressing about the whole situation is how truly preventable it was, and how preventable future fires really are. These fires are only fought with such stringent measures because people and their property are in the danger zones. I don't want to sound heartless, and I do feel sorry for the families of those that lost their lives, but they really should have known better.

I think this line from the article sums up my frustration: "Many Californians say they want the best of both worlds — life in the danger zone and more fire protection — and are frustrated that they do not have it." Oh, really? It's like wanting all these great government programs and ridiculously low taxes at the same time. So they really want hundreds of overworked forest service men and women and firefighters risking their lives practically year-round to protect houses that should have been built elsewhere in the first place? Forget the houses, let's give a break to the firefighters and stop asking them to join a futile and foolish fight.

I said this before and here's some scientific validation:

"Fire-management experts like Professor Minnich, who has compared fire histories in San Diego County and Baja California in Mexico, say the message is clear: Mexico has smaller fires that burn out naturally, regularly clearing out combustible underbrush and causing relatively little destruction because the cycle is still natural. California has giant ones because its longtime policies of fire suppression — in which the government has kept fires from their normal cycle — has created huge pockets of fuel that erupt into conflagrations that must be fought." (emphasis my own)

So what's the solution? Change cannot happen overnight, but a strict change in policy should be enacted as soon as possible. If Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to fight these fires once and for all, then he must first call for housing restrictions in danger zone areas. I would also like to see a waiver for protection should things go awry (i.e. another raging blaze). If we can strip this expectation of senseless protection from people's minds, then maybe we can make them think twice of what they're about to do. If you know the cavalry won't be coming, it's a lot harder to start a fight you know you can't win on your own.

For a state that is traditionally so environmentally progressive (see automobile emissions requirements), it's rather shocking that these environmentally devastating policies are still on the books. Sometimes the best way for humans to make a positive impact on their environment is to just let Nature do all the hard work and stay out of her way.

A Nobel Experience with Dr. Craig Mello

I've posted about Nobel prizes quite recently, and now I can add another Nobel experience that was absolutely sublime.

On Thursday, the 25th of October, I came face-to-face with some real "Nobelity." Craig Mello, a researcher at the University of Massachusetts, won the Nobel Prize in Medicine/Physiology last year along with his friend and colleague, Andrew Fire, now at Stanford. They were recognized for their groundbreaking work in the roundworm C. elegans that uncovered RNAi, or RNA interference, a cellular defense mechanism that is conserved across species and offers a new and profound insight into the way genes are regulated and foreign pathogens are fought. The laboratory technique derived from this work is one I will quite likely be doing in the lab myself. It has virtually transformed expression studies around the world. Dr. Mello's lecture, titled "How a worm won five Nobel Prizes in Medicine," was quite entertaining and it was neat to see pictures from the Nobel ceremony. Some notes:

• He could not stress the importance of collaboration and communication in science enough. It may sound obvious, but the cutthroat competition to get published in major journals often becomes more of a priority for some scientists than sharing valuable results and information with fellow researchers
• Life exists on a cosmic timescale and in continuum---&> evolution; look for conservation and relationships between diverse species
• "Defective genes do not actually look like cheese puffs"- in response to a CBS 15-second spot attempting to explain how RNAi works
• Even his daughter, only 7 years old, can understand RNAi, so it's not a profoundly complex idea, but one with profound implications for medicine and such
• RNAi shows heritable, systemic, and amplified transmission
• It's an active/responsive mechanism that requires many genes but can respond faster than DNA mutation
• miRNA (microRNA) was not fully appreciated until entire genomes were sequenced and the level of homology between organisms recognized
• RNAi's implications for medicine: 1) better understanding of gene regulation (in cancer, for example), 2) identifying genetic pathways in disease, 3) developing drug platforms that directly target gene expression with minimal side effects, 4) personalized medicine
• His daughter is a Type-I diabetic who's alive and healthy today thanks to genetic engineering. I know that many people recoil at the thought of GMOs (genetically modified organisms), but I believe many do not appreciate how much good has been done thanks to them. Hardier crop strains, insulin from bacteria, etc.
• Winning a Nobel Prize makes your neighbors appreciate the work you do in worms more. They will actually listen to you.

After the lecture (which, by the way, almost NO ONE attended despite press delivered to the entire scientific community of Chicago), I was lucky enough to get to meet Dr. Mello, have him forgive my fumbling attempt at asking a question and giving me a patient answer, get his autograph, and get my picture taken with him! A couple of other UC students were there (not from my program), and when they saw my camera they asked for a picture as well. I obliged and think I made a couple of guys extremely happy. I had a wicked midterm the next day to study for so I left for home right after the lecture (though of course I took some pictures of the inside and outside of the Field while leaving). See Facebook for the pictures.

I walked on air all the way home.

Coffee with Ken

As a graduate student in Cancer Biology here at the University of Chicago, I am required to complete two research rotations by the end of my first year. Each rotation lasts 10 weeks (one quarter) and is designed to help students choose a thesis advisor as well as improve their laboratory technique. The CanBio program is also sponsoring its second annual Student/Faculty Mentorship program for first-year students in which we're paired up with an advanced student and a faculty member who's there to help us with just about anything school/life related. My student mentor is Wei Xu, an absolutely wonderful person who was also my student host when I interviewed here in February. My faculty mentor is Kenan Onel, an MD/PhD (yeah, one of those really smart people) who got his degrees from Cornell and has been practicing pediatric oncology (specialty in hematology, i.e. leukemia and lymphoma) and doing amazing cancer research ever since.

We met at the Starbucks in the bookstore after my last class and had a wonderful conversation about research and all the exciting movements going on in the field right now. One of his colleagues also stopped by, so it was nice to chat with him and hear some interesting and amusing stories of how the expectations and the pace of research has changed so much in the last 15-20 years.

I interviewed with Ken back in February and he was the researcher I was most eager to meet. Unlike most of the people I've met in my program, I'm quite partial to cancer genetics and to the study of p53 in particular. I've also done some thinking about why cancer is something I'm so keen on researching and hoping to treat. It is a killer in predominantly wealthy and industrialized nations and some forms are quite preventable or easily treatable (e.g. cervical, skin, some types of lung and colon). It mostly affects people in their 50s and up, many of whom have already led full lives. It's not as sexy or seemingly noble as infectious diseases (malaria, TB, polio, HIV/AIDS) that are ravaging poor countries and that are getting a lot of attention from scientists and celebrities alike. And I'm a Capricorn. So what gives?

Cancer tugs at my heartstrings because so much of can't be prevented or transmitted. Don't want to be infected by HIV? Then don't: have sex with, share needles, or get blood/bodily fluids from an infected person. Sounds simple, right? In theory it is. HIV is viral, but it's also transmitted in a fairly restricted and specific way. You cannot just cough on someone and give them HIV. You cannot be bitten by mosquitoes and get it. Stop the spread, and within one generation you can stop HIV altogether. It's entirely in the hands of people. Cancer is quite a different story.

A person can do all the right things, eat right, not smoke/do drugs/drink alcohol, exercise, have a great immune system, not be exposed to pathogens, live in a clean environment, etc, and still get cancer. Why? They were, quite literally, born with it. It's in their genes. They had no say and no control. Cancer in children, which is mostly leukemia, is the saddest of these cases. They can tell you their age with just one hand. They know what chemotherapy is before they know how to ride a bike. They are spending what are supposed to be their most carefree years stuck in a hospital bed with i.v.'s dripping into them and test after test done. Their disease defines them instead of their charming antics. To bring an end to this tangent, I want to help these kids. It's not their fault they're sick. They didn't engage in stupid or misguided behavior. Instead of having the time of their lives they're fighting for lives that have just barely begun.

In short, I'm very excited about the work Ken is doing, and he's agreed to sign me on for a rotation over the summer. His friend joked that the person one picks for their summer rotation is the one they really want to work for. Maybe he's right.

Bonnie's Folks Visit

Bonnie, my roommate, had her parents over to visit from the 19th to the 22nd morning. They are absolutely wonderful people who very kindly took me out to dinner (back to Giordano's here in Hyde Park, but who am I to complain?) on Saturday. The food and conversation were wonderful. Molly actually attended UNC a while back so it was nice to be able to share campus memories with her. Mel had some experience with drug companies so I could talk intelligently with him too. For much of the weekend I had a lot of reading and studying to do (for a killer midterm, but more on that later) so I actually spent only a little time with them. Molly also kindly invited me to visit them in Syracuse anytime I wanted to. Not sure if I'll be able to take her up on that offer, but it was very sweet of her to make it.

Broomball in Evanston!

Now for Saturday, the 13th.

I spent the morning futilely trying to get some work done (I had a problem set due Monday that I hadn't worked much on), and then left for Evanston in the late afternoon. The El ride was long and boring, but at least I got some work, er, napping done.

Once there, I successfully navigated my way to my friend Kevin's house. That night, the Northwestern University The Graduate Broomball League (NUTGBBL) was having its inaugural match. Nearly 40 people signed up to play and Kevin cordially invited me. For those unfamiliar with the game (who isn't?), a few pointers:

Broomball is quite similar to ice hockey, except the sticks are different (literally brooms or plastic lookalikes), you play with a rubber ball instead of a puck, and you don't wear skates, just shoes (which can make things very interesting if the ice has been Zambonied. Fortunately, our ice was very rough).

We were divided up into 4 teams such that two were on and two off at any given time. Kevin and I were of course on the same team and boy was that a good idea! A bad idea was making me goalkeeper when our good goalkeeper got tired and had to sit out for a bit. I did manage to make some impressive saves, but alas, two got by. One was not my fault since I saw a blur of green before finding myself sprawled onto the ice knees first (the bruises lasted for days) and heard the ball hit the net behind me. I was incapacitated by my own defender! The second goal was my fault and I should have stopped it. Oh well.

Back to the good stuff. In our second game to determine 3rd place, Kevin and I were on offense. The ice was relatively open to the goal and I was "skating" along the right side while Kevin was up the middle. As I chased down a loose ball, Kevin called for a pass. I centered it to him surprisingly ably, and then slapshot--score! Right into the back of the net! I have to say it was arguably the best (at least most coordinated) offensive play of the night. And I got an assist! Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway), we won that game 2-0 :).

Back at the house, we were hungry so we ordered two large Giordano's deep dish pizzas. They took a while to get in, so Kevin and I uploaded the pictures and video I took (you can see them on Facebook), and worked on the league's website (go to "Pictures" to see the ones I took). The quotes are Kevin-originals. The pizza was delicious and afterwards Kev and I played some "Heroes" before going to bed. We're going to get the green knight eventually!

The next morning was Sunday brunch and I was able to contribute a bit by making pancakes: plain, chocolate chip, cinnamon, take your pick! After brunch I headed back to Hyde Park to finish up my problem set (which took all day!) and get ready for the next week of classes. All in all, it was a wonderful weekend.

Class Antics

The last two weeks have been both exhausting and exhilarating, so let me begin with the 12th of October.

For my Cell Biology course, we are required to read a pithy paper once a week that will be discussed in depth as a class on Friday. We're assigned two papers (+2 reviews) for every day of class anyway (M and W), but this "discussion" paper is the most important for the week. In addition to reading the paper, we must also write a one page summary/analysis. Students are also required to get into groups of 3 or 4 and put together a presentation on a discussion paper once during the quarter (in lieu of the written analysis). Friday was my group's turn, and I must say I think we did a fabulous job. My teammates were my CanBio classmates and fortunately understood the paper much better than I did. So how did I contribute? I put together the powerpoint using the new Office 2007 Powerpoint. This program is such an improvement over Office 2003!! I'm actually excited to learn all the new features of Word and Excel too. So I know that sounds really dorky, but when the professor comes up to you afterwards and says, "You did a good job. I can see you put a lot of work into your presentation," it makes all the work totally worth it!

NO, YOU CANNOT PREVENT WILDFIRES

SmokeyBear.com - ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT WILDFIRES.

Bottled water may still be "the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people", but I would like to throw in another contender for delusional marketing, this time on the part of the US government's most recent administration.

For decades (stretching back to the 1940s) Smokey the Bear has been a well-advertised icon for forest preservation. His chubby, furry cheeks and forest ranger hat are recognizable across generations throughout the nation. Never before, however, has dear old Smokey been such a perpetrator of lies.
"Remember, only YOU can prevent forest fires" used to be the old tagline. This statement was relatively innocuous given its ambiguity. The understanding was that Smokey was referring to man-made fires started by camping accidents or, more sinisterly and thankfully rarely, arson. People, of course, cannot prevent all forest fires since many are natural and caused by unpreventable events like lightning strikes or volcanic eruptions.

Concurrent with a change in the Oval Office, Smokey's line changed. Substitute "wildfires" for "forest fires" and you get an ill-developed, economically selfish, and scientifically illogical ploy to protect precious human property at the expense of some of our dearest natural treasures.

PEOPLE CANNOT PREVENT WILDFIRES. THEY ARE BY DEFINITION "WILD" OR PART OF THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT.

People can, however, stop themselves from building valuable property in valuable and fire-prone forests. We don't stamp out forest fires to save the trees or wildlife. Sorry Bambi, we do it to save houses.
The administration's solution to protecting property while reducing the incidence of wildfires? Cut down more trees! If there's less forest to burn, then there won't be as many fires and those that do start will be less severe. Logical, right? Unfortunately, trees that are logged for lumber are not the whole problem. It's the brush, something a particular Bush should learn some more about before he supports more misguided policy.

Forests are complex communities of varied plant and animal life. Some key floral aspects are the undergrowth and brush that lies close to the ground, young trees that are not so big and tall, old trees that are big, tall, and strong, and dead trees that are still standing. Wildfires clear out the undergrowth, brush, and dead trees, fertilize the soil with ashes, and create room for new growth, all without harming the big and tall trees at their areas of growth (their tops), also known as the crown. [Yes, trees keep growing at the top, not at the bottom. That's why if you carve your love's initials into a tree four feet off the ground, they will still be just four feet up 20 years later.] By fighting wildfires, more undergrowth and brush is allowed to persist, thus creating bigger stockpiles of highly flammable fuel. Guess what happens next?

When the next wildfire starts, it burns hotter and faster than normal due to the excessive fuel. As a result, the precious crown is burnt as well, and since these are trees have rich, hard wood, they burn very well for a much longer time than brush. Thus we get "raging wildfires" that burn for days and days and defy attempts to stamp them out. By interrupting a natural process that has gone on for millennia, to the point that some species have adapted to the fires such that their seeds only germinate after exposure to extreme heat, the current administration has created acres of tinderboxes around the country that are just waiting for the next spark (natural or man-made) during a dry summer to burst into flames.

In one sense, maybe we really are the only ones who can prevent wildfires. We can start by taking a burning Bush out of office and the rest of his deluded disciples.

Lots of Hot Air...On the Radio

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta (actual website)

This is one of the many reasons why I love National Public Radio. I came across this story featured on Weekend Edition Sunday while submitting my answer for the Sunday Puzzle:

Last Sunday, the 16th of October, Albuquerque, NM held the International Balloon Fiesta, a celebration of hot-air balloons from all over the world. Please click on the link above to view some incredible creations. Why did this story catch my eye in the first place? Because Darth Vader won the competition! As you can probably tell, I've been on a Star Wars kick recently and this little segment just fit right in. Enjoy!

Another Nobel!

Roger Myerson wins 2007 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics

Looks like this is my year for Nobel connections!

Just this morning, a University of Chicago economist and professor, Dr. Roger Myerson, was awarded the 2007 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, making him the 24th UC faculty or alum to win a Nobel Prize, including five sitting winners (all in economics, by the way). Dr. Myerson, along with Leonid Hurwicz of the University of Minnesota and Eric Maskin of the Institute for Advanced Study, won the prize for their work on "mechanism design theory" which "allows for people to distinguish situations in which markets work well from those in which they do not." It apparently helps economists "identify efficient trading mechanisms, regulation schemes and voting procedures" and currently "plays a central role in many areas of economics and parts of political science."

Congratulations Dr. Myerson! Looks like they'll have to add another name to the t-shirt the bookstore sells listing all the UC Nobel Prize winners (they represent more fields than just economics though the econ folk vastly outnumber the rest). Yes, my school really is that geeky...and I'm proud of it!

Star Wars in Chicago!

MSI Chicago - Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination | Exhibit Overview

And not the missile defense system either.

This is one of the many reasons why I was so excited to move to a big city like Chicago from Cary, NC. Raleigh has some nice museums, but nothing like what the Field and Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) can attract, much less the high quality art and history museums Chicago can boast of.

As a lifelong fan of Star Wars (my sibs and I practically grew up on the original trilogy) I can't wait to see the science of this fabulous science fiction.

Also, would anyone mind lending me about $4,000 for the X-wing fighter replica signed by George Lucas? Or I would just love it as a birthday present...good for life :).

UNC PROFESSOR WINS NOBEL PRIZE!!!!

UNC News release -- Oliver Smithies wins Nobel Prize

That's right, Dr. Oliver Smithies of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, my beloved alma mater, just won the Nobel Prize in Medicine/Physiology this morning in Sweden. He will share the Prize with Mario R. Capecchi of the University of Utah’s Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Sir Martin J. Evans of the United Kingdom for "their discoveries of principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells."

I was fortunate enough to hear a talk given by Dr. Smithies while at UNC. I knew at the time he was a Nobel-favorite and felt honored to be in the same room with him. I'll never forget what he said describing differentiating stem cells in a petri dish:

(paraphrased, my apologies): "When you look into the microscope and see a tiny bit of heart tissue beating, no matter what faith or creed you belong to, the unanimous response is 'oh my god!'"

Congratulations Dr. Smithies!! You've made the university and the entire scientific community proud.

Attack of the Gray Squirrels

The Squirrel Wars from the New York Times (it's a big long, but quite a lark).

America doesn't need to drag Britain into a war in Iraq to royally piss them off. It just needs to wildly praise a little creature that we all know and (mostly) adore: the gray squirrel.

Why read this article? Here's an excerpt (that took place in the British House of Lords):

"[Lord Redesdale] continued: “One of the problems in the public perception is that gray squirrels are the only squirrels they see. They see them in parks and gardens, and they are sociable and friendly animals. Yesterday, I walked through St. James’s Park and watched tourists feeding gray squirrels crisps by hand. In Regent’s Park, a gray squirrel came up to my son and me and actually climbed up my leg to look in my pocket.”

Lord Hoyle soon cut off Redesdale: “My Lords, perhaps they are friendlier in Regent’s Park than they are in St. James’s Park. One that ran up my leg bit me.”"

Any memories, Naman? :)

Stanford Upsets #2 USC in Stunning Match

ESPN - Stanford brings USC's 35-game home win streak to end - NCAA College Football Recap

I'll admit I'm not the most ardent fan of college football. I know when my team (UNC, but not even UC!) plays, but seldom against whom unless my parents or local alumni club tell me. I do, however, know a huge game when I see one or hear about it.

The University of Southern California, better known simply as USC, is one of the most formidable clubs in all of college football. For years they dominate the rankings. Their stadium in considered one of the toughest for a visiting team to play in. A recent star, Reggie Bush, won the Heisman Trophy (highest honor in college football) and went on to start a great career with the New Orleans Saints. USC hasn't lost a home game in 6 years. Guess who beat them last?

Stanford! Please read the article for the rest of the drama in the game. It's really quite astonishing. Almost, almost as good as Appalachian State beating Michigan earlier this year. Just read both articles and give a cheer to the underdogs.

Facebook=Fakebook?

The Fakebook Generation - New York Times

A postgraduate perspective on Facebook from someone, like myself, who started using Facebook when it first came out my freshman year and has seen it evolve into something much more than a way to "friend" (such a dubious verb!) dead celebrities and create funny groups for your friends.

Graduate Students Eating (and drinking) for Free

As everyone affiliated with graduate programs knows, graduate students often have to eke out an existence with a lot of work and not so much money. If you're responsible and don't go on shopping sprees or spend your stipend frivolously, you can get by fairly well with money left over for that savings account. Food, however, is a perpetual cloud waiting to rain disappoint and dissatisfaction on your already paper-cluttered mind. Here at the University of Chicago, the Biomedical Sciences Cluster has developed a means of combating such disappointment and saving us grad students some money in the process.

Twice a week, every week (except midterms and finals), we are served a delicious lunch catered by a local establishment. On Tuesday we had ravioli, pasta, salad, and bread; on Thursday Giordano's Chicago-style deep dish and thin crust pizza. To top it off, every 1st and 3rd Monday of the month is a student presentation seminar for CanBio student at which food is also served. What I ate this Monday: Indian food! (Mutter paneer and paratha) And, every Friday at 4 p.m. a graduate student organization hosts what are known as "Liver Rounds" in the Biological Sciences Division (BSD) student lounge. Free food and beer are served and it's a chance for students to mingle and sometimes enjoy entertainment provided by fellow students.

I knew going into this program that food would be one of my chief expenses. I thank UC for saving me money for more important things. Like a bike. Or some really-hot-leather-boots-I've-been-eyeing-for-about-five-years. You know, the usual.

A Misdirected Birthday Call

Yesterday, October 1st, was Bonnie's (my roommate) birthday. Happy birthday Bonnie! Friends and family had been calling her periodically all day to wish her a happy one. One such call was quite memorable:

It's later in the evening, around 8:30. I'm watching "Heroes" (a study break, I swear!) while Bonnie's on my computer catching up on "Grey's Anatomy" with headphones on (long story, but in short we're both out late on Thursdays and have to miss our favorite shows...thank you online videos!) The phone rings and of course I pick it up. This is what I hear:

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Bonnie, happy birthday to you!" Beautiful harmony, but all for the wrong person! No preface of "hello" or anything! I try to squeak out that I'm not Bonnie, but to no avail. The song ends, and I manage to say that I am in fact not Bonnie but will put her on shortly. On the other end, I hear a man's voice (turns out it's Jeffrey's, Bonnie's fiance, dad) say "I don't think that's Bonnie" while the woman (his wife) says, "No, I think it is." Shortly thereafter, I hand the phone to Bonnie and proceed to laugh very merrily. She told me later they said I should save that song for whenever my birthday really is (Dec 28). That was so sweet of them, and it's certainly a call I won't forget soon. Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Green!!

Interesting NYT article about Indian-Americans

Yes, Indian-Americans like myself, not American-Indians who owned this country long before Europeans ever did.

In Jews, Indian-Americans See a Role Model in Activism - New York Times

Nice Animation of the Middle East

An elegant animation depicting the empires and nationalities that have ruled in the Middle East over millenia:

Middle East Animation

Sunday Times

Sunday is the day for New York Times editorial big-wigs to strut their stuff. Here's what Thomas Friedman (of The World is Flat in case you don't know who he is) has to say about how America's changed since September 11, 2001:


9/11 Is Over - New York Times

Hans Rosling gapminder 'gapcasts'

Public health data like you've never it before

http://infosthetics.com/archives/2007/09/gapminder_video_webcast_gapcasts.html

- Saket

Singing in the Streets

Have you ever felt like just bursting into song in public? Well,
here's a musical project with an eponymous title that went on in New
York City:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/29/theater/29sing.html

Enjoy!

Oncology, the Musical, in the Park

My day so far:

Woke up early (9:20!) to score a nice rolling office chair, three rugs, and a sweet UC bag all for $20 at a yard sale...

Ate some delicious tofu stir-fry for lunch...

Read my cancer book in a nearby (i.e. across the street) park while watching a father/son pair play baseball and listening to live jazz music from a block away...

It's been a good day so far.

Brief Recap

Instead of haranguing you with a series of short, presumably witty, posts spanning the last few weeks, I shall instead present you with a short and decidedly witty highlights in the time-honored list format:

1. Family fled Tuesday to arrive at home hours past planned trip time...See what I did there?
2. Went to a GAA (General Alumni Association of UNC) sponsored meet&greet in Linkin Park
3. Interviewed for a lab rotation with a pharmacogeneticist at UC. Meeting went well; I'm guaranteed a spot in her lab coterie
4. Visited Kevin in Evanston and met him for lunch a few times in town
5. Went seeking in Hyde Park (my new neighborhood).
6. Took lots of pictures (see Facebook for the best)
7. Baked cookies (chocolate chip with mini-M&M's!), cooked Indian dishes, made lasagna, and other tasty treats
8. Got oriented with UC's BSD, including going to the Field Museum to watch my group get drunk, dance, and sing karaoke
9. Picked apples in Wisconsin and celebrated Oktoberfest in September in Milwaukee...Prost!
10. Got paid and started classes.

For more details, see Facebook or do it the old-fashioned way. Talk to me. Write to me. Send me a letter.

A Busy First Day

2 Sep

A fairly early start got us into town and to my new place at 10:30 a.m. After a brief greeting (we’d all met before, fortunately) we wasted little time in unloading the van and hauling stuff up. Hindsight tells me that we should have spent a little bit more time just saying hello and such, but oh well. Thanks to the super athletic Bonnie and Jeff and my family, we managed to get everything, and I mean everything (except what I forgot in the hidden storage compartment) up two flights in fewer than twenty minutes! I had anticipated a bit longer…

If getting things up took no time at all, arranging things and setting up stuff (the bed, A/C) definitely took some time. Thanks to my “measuring” and my innate genius, I managed to bring the wrong size bed frame. As if that wasn’t bad enough, I made Saket and Dad unload almost the entire van once just to make room for them! Alas, I truly was not cut out to be an engineer. Or an architect. Or anything involving basic tape measure skills. Jeffrey was a HUGE help in setting up the A/C since none of us had ever done it before the and the directions given weren’t exactly the clearest. He knew exactly what he was doing and I shall give him all the credit for the ensuing coolness. As you can see from the pictures on my Facebook account, I still haven’t arranged or unpacked everything, but it’s a work in progress.

We left the condo around 1:30 to head into the city and Devon Street. Devon Street, which is actually Devon Avenue, is basically Chicago's Little India/Little Pakistan. The street has been given two additional names, depending on which part you’re on: Gandhi Marg (the India
side, translates as Gandhi Road) and Mohammed Ali Jinnah Way (the Pakistan side). The street is full of sweet shops, restaurants, clothing stores, saree stores, electronics shops, jewelry stores, and VHS/DVD/VCD/CD stores. The sights, smells, and sounds are just like Mumbai. Even the trashy sidewalks, unfortunately. We wandered along this tantalizing thoroughfare looking for a place to eat chaat, or fast food. We tried a place that was pretty good, and then went exploring for more. We ended up at a spot named, quite appropriately, “Swati” which is, of course, my mother’s name. The food there was delicious and we filled up on some excellent junk food. While we ate, I got in touch with Kevin to see about a visit soon since my folks decided that they could really just leave the next day instead of leaving on Tuesday. Kev was free, so we went to Evanston and Northwestern’s campus after leaving Devon Avenue.

It was great to see him again, and we drove over to downtown Evanston for some coffee and ice cream (the ice cream being, of course, Kev’s idea). After a lovely and amusing chat, we dropped him off on campus and headed south to Chandrika aunty’s house. She is a childhood friend of my mother’s who is visiting her two sons who live here in Chicago. They are right near the heart of downtown and a mere 20 minutes from my place. They made us a lovely South Indian dinner and we enjoyed talking with them and watching a sky diving video of one of the son’s. We ended up leaving around 11 and unfortunately got back after B&J had already gone to sleep. This was most unfortunate seeing as Jeffrey was leaving the next day for India where he will be for the next nine months. They are so sweet, though, that they made up the sofa sleeper outside so nicely and left the light and fans on. I’ve really lucked out this time.

Going to Chicago...all things know, all things grow...

1 Sep

Today we left for Chicago! Call it nerves or some coffee at an unfortunate time, for I didn’t sleep above 2 hours last night. As a result, I was mostly unconscious on and off through North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and some of Ohio. I managed to wake up fully in Ohio and took over for most o the last several hours to Indiana. We stopped in Lafayette, home to Purdue University and, several years ago, to our beloved Henderson family, for the night at a pretty nice motel. We could have technically pushed it all the way to Chicago that night (just two hours more), but we felt it would be rude to intrude on Bonnie and Jeff (my new roomie and her fiancé) so late at night, so we decided to just stop at a reasonable hour.

Saket and I tuned into ESPN long enough to watch some of the Cal/Tenn game and see that Georgia Tech routed Notre Dame. Normally, I’m happy for any ACC victory (except for Duke, of course), but this victory was especially sweet giving the deplorable treatment GT received the week before this game as a rival of America’s darling ND. NBC, that bastion of fairness, advertised the game with a HUGE picture of ND’s logo covering half the screen and opposite it……..”vs. Georgia Tech” in what appeared to be roughly size 4 font. What the hell? It is not the fracking “Notre Dame game” but the “Georgia Tech vs. Notre Dame game.” Saket and I were both royally pissed off by this ploy and equally pleased that Georgia Tech, to pu it mildly, beat the hell out of Notre Dame. Go Yellowjackets!!

The Adventure Begins...Again

Greetings loyal followers, dear friends and family, or anyone who happened to stumble upon this blog.

If you're interested in finding out how I spent the spring semester of my junior year in college abroad at King's College in London, please read the posts dating from January through April. If you're more keen to find out what I'm doing now, please read on.

I have some catching up to do since I'm updating this blog just over three weeks after arriving in the Windy City. I shall begin the chronicle of "Sapana in Chicagoland" with our mini-roadtrip up here from Cary, North Carolina. Per the example of my siblings, I will attempt to keep the entries brief yet pithy. Giving my propensity towards verbosity, however, such an endeavor may prove to be more challenging than it would initially appear. Nonetheless, I pledge to prevail.

On a second note, these entries will not be merely bogged down with stories about school and classes. That would be entirely too dull. Instead, look for some personal commentary (frequently informed thought not guaranteed so) on a wide range of topics from the important to the inane, or just the irrelevant.

I hope that is preface enough. Without further ado, welcome to Sapana in Chicagoland. Enjoy.