My dad was a scientist, and so was my uncle; my uncle achieved international eminence, and my father too published papers but on a more specialised level. They both worked at the lab-bench of science, with all the equipment and paraphernalia of science labs, that particular smell, the long brown lab coats they both had great success and frustrating failure.
There seems to be an interest today, not in science itself, but in ‘what scientists say’… and usually it is a news item which makes some bizarre and occasionally worrying claim that something is a danger to us. Often the claim is contradictory. Coffee/red wine/beer/exercise/sun/etc is good/bad/, harmful/healthy, life extending/life shortening. Some people reading such things change their lives on what I suspect might be spurious or exaggerated reports; maybe it is the scientists at fault or more likely the media has taken the research out of context and blown it up to make a so-called good story.
I read today that pet owners are at risk from contracting TB from their cats…
A study at University of Edinburgh found that the disease, which is caused by a bacterial infection, is more common among domestic cats than previously thought. Experts estimated that up to 100 out of every 100,000 cats could be infected with Mycobacteria, which include those that can cause tuberculosis, with around a fifth of these being the bacterium found in cattle and badgers.
More common – what is more common – thirty cats have it instead of 3? 30,000 cats have it instead of 30? Previously thought by whom? Experts estimate – which experts? On what do they base their estimation? The sentences I quote says could be infected not are infected, and can cause TB, not does cause TB.
How many poor lonely old people are now looking askance at pussy and anxious that their companion might be a danger to them?
Lois Elsden 
Hi Lois
I had the pleasure of working in the same Section as your Dad in Cambridge and in Bristol for a short period until I migrated to Australia in 1969.
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Hi Don, I do remember your name! Where are you in Australia, we have friends in Brisbane and hope to visit Tasmania in a few years!
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Lois, we live in Sydney. Actually, we are in the Blue Mountains area on the outskirts which is about 100km from the Sydney city centre.
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Hi again Don, I’d love you to email me so we can reminisce.
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My email address is donbowen@ihug.com.au. I will drop you a line within the next couple of days.
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I’ll drop you a line, Don then you’ll have my everyday email address!
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I was once considered to be a ‘scientist’ but gave it up to writing at an early age. However, I learned enough to be very worried when a scientist says “there is absolutely no danger …”, as a day or two ago when commenting on the latest manipulation of embryos at Newcastle. This wasn’t the media misreporting, it was on tv direct from the horse’s mouth. The best a scientist can ever say truthfully is that he/she/nobody has yet been able to prove that it is unsafe. Hopefully I shall be long gone before the potential disaster brought about by GM food hits us; as so often, it’s about money for the chemical giants not food shortages – which for now could be overcome by stopping the waste of a third of the food currently produced.
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You’re so right (as usual!) so much research is contaminated by money and greed
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Science in the news is about headlines. I take it all with a pinch of salt (which they say is bad for me).
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Lois, I am probably stupid but is this the email address I use to exchange emails?
Don
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You’re right!
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