PerspectivesFromBiology PuttingaBioStudentUndertheMicroscope

Despitebeingtaskedwith havingahand insavingthe world,ourpeers inthesciencesdon’twearcapes. Theywearpants,and theyputthemon onelegata timelikethe restofus.Onedifference isthatsometimes thosepantsarewaterproof waders,andwe findourmaincharacter standingwaistdeep ina thirty-fourdegree rivertaking water samples.This happenedafew weeksago, andI hadthe pleasureof taggingalong, withtheadded benefitofstaying dry We willcirclebacktothat.

reports.“Ialsotakelittle powernapsinthe daytimeormakemyselftea andgetupand stretchalot whilestudying.So Ihaven’t crackedyet, butwe’re onlythree weeks in.”Selfcareisimportanty’all,don’tletthe Protestant WorkEthic makeyoufeelguilty forresting. Fromthere, it’sclasses and labswitha fewstudybreaks interspersed throughout.

Thedayscan easilyturninto 12hours ofwork. Aftergettinghome aroundsixto makeupa quickdinnerand washtheday offin theshower– “onethat isapproximatelythe temperaturethat Ithink Satanhimself wouldmaybetakea showerat,”according toGrace– nextcomes theevening’s task list. A quizorassignmentdue bymidnight isacommonoccurrence,andGrace has,on manyoccasions, spentthe lastfew wakinghours finishingit. We’veallbeenthere: it’sthefeelingof anytypicalactionmovie wherethemain characterdoesthe homerunslide undera closingsecurity gateat the lastmoment. Tellme it’snotjustme,right?

“I’mlearning whatmakes theuniverse tick.”

Towhich Ireplied, “somemight say that’sphysics.” thingsaresofascinating andbeautifulthat you’vegotto stickaroundand learnmore aboutit.”Itisperhaps astheFrenchchemistLouis Pasteuronce noted,that alittle bitofscience mayestrangea personfrom agod (orspirituality, asense ofwonder, whateveryourcupoftea maybe),butalot ofsciencebringsone backtothosedeeply humanfeelingsofawe.

Thelifeofa biologymajorisplenty relatabletomost ofus:late nightsstudying, densetextbooks, quizzesand tests,trying to maintaina semblanceof selfcare asbest we can,andmaybe, justmaybe, finding some timeto goout andtake ahike beforeswingingby ThreeDollarDewey’s onourway backintotown,just toletthesemester slip fromourmindsforan evening.

Entermy friendGrace, a24-year-old JuniorhereatUSM. Graceusesthey/them pronouns,andtheirreasonsfor thisarethat abinarysystem failstocapture thecomplexityofhumanexistenceand experience. Gracewoulddescribethemself asaperson firstand foremost.I wouldadd thatthey areapersonwith azestforlife andaclear passionfortheir chosen field.Grace’s day startsaround7 a.m.eachday. Withajob ontopofahefty courseloadandsomedifficultclasses,tendingto thefoundationsof mentalandphysical healtharecritical for keepingup. Morningmeditation anda good breakfastareafruitful waytostartthe day offonthe rightfoot.Grace thenarrivesat schoolaround9a.m. and findssomewhere cozytostudy, dohomework,or writelab

Pathophysiologyis Grace’smost challengingcoursethissemester.It isthestudy ofwhat goeswrong, whenthings dogo wrong,withahumanbody.“I’ve neverhad aclassthat’sso fastpaced,”theysay “I’m learningan astonishingamount, whichis great,butitislike tryingtosipwaterout of a firehose.”It’s oneofthose classesthatexpectsalotof prerequisiteknowledgewhich studentsdon’t alwayshave. Inthis case, studentsare expectedto havea working knowledgeofanatomy becausethecourse isalsoofferedto nursingstudents. Asabiologymajor,Graceis workingovertimeto catchup onthat end.Seldom canwe predict whatourhardestclass willbeina givensemester,andany wayyouslice it,beinga fulltimeSTEM majorontop ofworking toupkeepanapartmentin townisalotand thensome.

Asalayperson,when Ithinkofbiology, Ithinkofstudying plantsandcellsand the phrase Mitochondriais thepowerhouseof thecell comestomind reflexivelyfrommy highschooldays. Tomakematters worse, Ialsoimaginethat everythingisdonewith microscopeswhilewearingwhite labcoats. SoIaskedGrace howtheywoulddescribe theoverarching themeof whatthey are learning.Here’swhatIgot:

Towhich Graceretorted, “somemight saykissmya** Thomas.WhatI amlearning and why I study bio is that even the most simplethinginnatureisactually incredibly complexandreallybeautiful. Youjusthave totakethe timetolearn aboutthosemechanismsandyoucanhave yourmindblown.”

Gracecame tostudy biologythrough asortof happenstance.Likemany ofus, Gracehaschanged majorsafew timesnow. Thepandemic hadforced themto come homefroma studyabroadin Ireland,and onawhim,withnot muchelsetodo,Grace enrolledinan upper-levelbiologycourse. Despitebeingworriedthat itwouldbetoo difficultto jumpin, whatthey foundinstead wasatopic theybecameobsessed with.It washardwork, nodoubt,but thekindof glimpseintoa worldofintrigue thatone keepsshowingupfor. Citingthecomplexity,wonder,beauty,even theimprobability oflifeitself,Grace seesbiologyasa comfort:“It mademe coolwith beingalive. Sometimeslife ishard, butsometimes

Remarkingthat I find scienceexciting, Gracerecountsto methemost boringexperiencetheycan,whichwas thetimethey spentawhole daystaringinto amicroscope countingeverylittleorganismin slideafter slideofpondwater Itcan’tbeall funand games,andyou’ve gottoget throughthe hardpartstoenjoy thegoodparts.Such is life.PartofGrace’s workisinterningwith SharonMann,adoctoral candidatehereat USM.Mann’swork involvesthesampling indexsites. Theseindexsites areusedto takeasnapshot ofwaterquality andidentifythe organismsand backgroundDNA inthewater(referred toaseDNA,the “e” being“environmental”). Takingthesesnapshotsamplesonce amonthenables scientiststosee changesinthe environmentover time.Gatheringthe samplesisa bitofa frigidexperience inthe winterhowever Aftera shortwalk inthe snow,someone needs towadeinto themiddleof theriverwith emptybottlesfor sampling.Itwas atthis pointI thought,surely therewas someoversight–ajoke perhaps…themiddle ofthis freezingriver? Whynot graba samplefrom theshore? Asitturnsout,the middleofthe riveroffers thecleanest andmost consistent sample, and this type of small detail adds up tothebestsetsofdatathatourscientistscan gather Aftersampling comesthe tedious workof filtering,extracting, andprocessing theeDNA.If Iwereswimming upstream whilethe sampleswere taken,there isa goodchancetheywouldhave noticedback atthelab. ThiseDNA stuffiseverywhere though,notjust inbodiesof water,buton thegroundand intheair Itprovidesa great insightinto whatkinds oflife arearound us, howmuchofit,and ifmeasuredovertime, anychangesthataretaking place.