The Adventures of SciMom and Beebofog » science

Germ Theory and the Miracle of Science

beebofog — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 20:15:35 +0000

Today BeeBoDad is sick. It is quite sad…he vomited and lost fluids from other orifices all night as I peacefully slept in bed, half-wondering if he had fallen asleep on the couch. Being a lover of microbes and a “trained virologist” (meaning that I know how to play with the little buggers in the lab), I suspected a virus, probably Mr. Norwalk, or one of his wretched cousins. Not much we could do but ride out the “storm.” Fortunately, I was able to deliver him to the doctor this morning and she provided him with an anti-vomiting suppository (that looks like a silver bullet), which was dutifully picked up by the BeeBoFog and me at the pharmacy. So BeeBoDad is gradually recovering and managing to keep down some gatorade and pedialyte pops, probably because of said silver bullet and I have diligently bleached all suspect surfaces so the cruise ship will be prepared to debark ASAP.

During my zen-like bleach-aromatherapy cleaning frenzy, I thought about how blessed I was to live in an age when we usually know what makes us sick. Thousands, even hundreds, of years ago, these illnesses were thought to be caused by evil spirits, and some people even believe that your karma is responsible for these outcomes. I don’t believe in disparagingkarmic thinking and deride its own sacredness to its believers, but I love the fact that I know an unthinking multitude of viruses (or viri?) are muddling around in BeeBoDad’s unpleasantly surprised organs and tissues, but that’s okay since his defenses have been alerted and are moving in, and all the while, the viruses are closing up shop, hoping to have found another victim on the way (don’t you dare! I have a gallon of bleach!!) I don’t live in fear. I thank God that BBD has such a brief, while very unpleasant illness, and don’t see it as a source of punishment. I also think of how awful it would be if little BeeBo caught the bug, but we would have a much better chance of getting through it than if we lived in Mali or Sudan or Bangladesh.

I also thank Robert Koch and others for their scientific endeavors surrounding the development of Germ Theory allowing us to bravely identify our microscopic adversaries.

Please check out this beautifully simple list of germ criteria, also known as Koch’s Postulates.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koch%27s_Postulates

Sciencehysteria

beebofog — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 13:42:53 +0000

“We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology.”–Carl Sagan

This issue bothers me on a daily basis. Since I was in elementary school I have considered science and a source of fascination and a subject worth toiling over. I did not think it was too hard or too uncool or not meant for girls to learn. The more I learned about biology, physics and chemistry, the more I realized that every moment of my life is bathed in the wonders of science. Therefore, I have never lived in fear of science, and I have never considered mainstream news a good source scientific information. I think that actually orginates with my high school track coach/history teacher who emphasized the importance of using “primary sources.”

This brings me to a recent subject of “sciencehysteria” in the news and why Carl Sagan’s quote is uncomfortably appropriate. There is no more vulnerable news-listening public than fear-stricken new parents who comtemplate every miniscule decision that they make. A recent newspiece that I heard on the radio, read on my mommy listserv, and saw in the newspaper discussed an upcoming meeting of expert scientist that will review the potential health hazards of bisphenol A, a chemical widely used in plastic (polycarbonate) production and found in, gasp(!), baby bottles!!!! And not just cheap baby bottles, no, the real fancy brands that the said fear-stricken parents have begrudgingly selected because breastfeeding 24/7 is not a viable option! Fortunately, the purpose behind this newspiece was the scheduled meeting of a panel of expert scientists to discuss the potential hazards about this chemical. Does any member of the average news-observing public stop to check the facts? I really do try!

First stop for me on any science-based news story is Pubmed, one of my favorite sites:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=PubMed”

Since many articles in Pubmed require pricey subscriptions that only Universities can afford, check out the
Public Libary of Science or the Directory of Open Access Journals for completely free scientific articles.

http://www.plos.org
http://www.doaj.org

Talk to your local friendly scientists, enlist the help of your curious children! Don’t be a science chump and get the facts!