She Blinded Me With Science

One of my sister-in-laws on my husband’s side, Marty/Martha/Myrtle the Turtle (don’t know why the family calls her that), is a real live scientist. Conjures up images of bad white hair, bubbling beakers, and stiff lab coats, huh? She's nothing like that. She lives in Santa Cruz with her sweet hubby and spends many hours of the days putting together proposals and giving presentations on scientific stuff that would blow your mind but more details on that in a minute. She also emails me on a regular basis which is nice because a) I’m getting to know her better, and b) she is full of good/interesting/supportive info. Just the other day she sent me the lyrics to this Bob Dylan song called “Lord, Protect My Child” and I wanted to share it with you, dear readers…

Lord, Protect My Child
Bob Dylan (1983)

For his age, he's wise
He's got his mother's eyes
There's gladness in his heart
He's young and he's wild
My only prayer is, if I can't be there,
Lord, protect my child

As his youth now unfolds
He is centuries old
Just to see him at play makes me smile
No matter what happens to me
No matter what my destiny
Lord, protect my child

While the world is asleep
You can look at it and weep
Few things you find are worthwhile
And though I don't ask for much
No material things to touch
Lord, protect my child

He's young and on fire
Full of hope and desire
In a world that's been raped, raped and defiled
If I fall along the way
And can't see another day
Lord, protect my child

Really resonated with me.

So, back to what she does. Right now she’s working on the immunological tolerance in a mouse model. She says understanding the tolerance is important for our existence. When it fails, certain diseases develop (MS, cancer cells escape detection, etc.) Also contributes to organ transplant rejection. They use engineered mice to study the tolerance using a skin grafting model. I know, it sounds cruel but necessary, right? Then the mice prepare a speech for the scientists about their experience with the grafting…what it felt like, how it messed with their fur appearance, what the other mice thought…no, I’m just kidding but honestly, this study is no laughing matter. She’s also waiting on approval from our frat boy president for a NASA project that will someday involve sending people to Mars (“Hey, let’s go pollute another planet!). NASA is interested in knowing exactly how ionizing radiation affects our genes, brains, and tissues. She wrote a proposal for it that involves newborn human foreskin (!), more of those mice with spare time on their hands, and ionizing radiation. Sci-fi, no? There’s more to it all. I’m just paraphrasing what she told me but it’s fascinating. And to remind you, I know a real live scientist.