Science Rules

Science is important. Consequently, the funding and policy decisions that the United States government makes about science and technology are vital to the progression of global innovation and economic development. These exceedingly important aspects of governance are often overlooked, however, and have been particularly absent in the ongoing wrangling for position by the three remaining presidential candidates in the upcoming US presidential election.

A coalition of important medical, scientific, and technological academies, in concert with a large number of concerned citizens -- like myself -- think this is a real problem and have joined an initiative called Science Debate 2008. This is our statement of purpose:

"Given the many urgent scientific and technological challenges facing America and the rest of the world, the increasing need for accurate scientific information in political decision making, and the vital role scientific innovation plays in spurring economic growth and competitiveness, we call for a public debate in which the U.S. presidential candidates share their views on the issues of The Environment, Health and Medicine, and Science and Technology Policy."

I recommend that everyone head over to their website and affiliated YouTube page (I've also posted these links up on my delicious page) and take a look. Hopefully the politicians vying for our country's top executive position will take notice.

A brief aside

Looking out over the myriad possibilities of our lives in front of us, we look for symbols to grab on to.

We obviously don't know how things will turn out, and to assuage these deep-seated anxieties we often search out people, places, and things representative of the imagined characteristics of our future lives.

I observe this as a shared characteristic among my peers, but very likely holds true for many other demographics as well.

Abaco; Poem - Draft 1

Worn white coral slides between my toes, as the morning floats by;
this is an imprecise hourglass. The wind- and water-
swept scape hides invisible cities.

A giant sea turtle floats by, beckoning me
into the shallow water with her aged flippers.
Her voice is quiet but clear:
"Marco Polo never arrived on these shores. Ours is a fragile Empire."

I'm not sure what Marco Polo has to do with anything, but I keep
quiet.

In respectful silence, I slip my hands into my swimtrunk pockets
and stare out over the ocean. The modest waves lap my legs
in agreement, adding a few plain-spoken but strongly cautionary
words aboutthe destructive power
of tourism dollars and expensive boats.

How has this lovely turtle learned of nature's potential fate?
Can we make it up to her or is it already too late? She catches
her reflection in my cheap aviator sunglasses and takes off down the coast,
paddling strongly and slowly, her head held high.

The sky has volume here. Clouds building over the clear
aqua sea. Small handfulls of water become flying vapor fotresses,
barreling through.

post and run

This is the same old story about TB and HIV in Africa, this time in the the world's foremost medical journal. Never has a broken record approach been so important. This week's New England Journal article is entitled "Tuberculosis in Africa — Combating an HIV-Driven Crisis" (click for full text).

Tomorrow I'm off to Florida and then the Bahamas to see family and friends. I must admit, I'm very excited for SPRING BREAK!! I'll even have a better sense of the med school landscape when I return. I'm reluctant to let my parents open those admissions envelopes, but I imagine that's what will happen. I'll be sure holler on the flip side.

It's official.

I just realized that in the midst of assembling all of these blog posts, I forgot to share some big news: I'm headed to med school in the fall! I received my first full-fledged acceptance last week, and am still waiting to hear back from a few places. There will probably be some wait list watching in the coming months, but the pressure is absolutely off. It's a tremendous relief to be nearing the end of this process -- an ordeal that has lasted nearly a year at this point. And so ends a very difficult and surprisingly rewarding period in my life. And I'll be sure to let you know where I'm headed when I figure it all out. More soon.