• Question: Have you always liked science or did you begin to like it for a certain reason?

    Asked by dior101 to Christine, Edd, Jess, Nicolas, Zara on 14 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Zara Gladman

      Zara Gladman answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      I think I have always been naturally interested in science BUT certain things have definitely inspired me and made me like it even more.

      Going on an expedition to Trinidad, an island in the Caribbean, was definitely one of the most inspring experiences of my life. I was there for three months, studying frogs. As well as many kinds of frogs, I went to the rainforest and saw monkeys, bats, parrots… you name it! I saw baby leatherback turtles on the beach. I studied an amazing species of snail in which the females can reproduce on their own (without males). There were animals and plants everywhere, and I wanted to learn about ALL of them! It was really overwhelming. I’d love to go back some day.

      A lot of my interest in science has grown because of some of the great teachers I’ve had. At school, I had a biology teacher who used to sing a song about photosynthesis, which I thought was a very creative way to get us interested! At university, I had a lecturer called David Houston who talked like David Attenborugh and gave some of the most fascinating lectures I’ve ever been to (NOBODY missed David’s lectures!). In one lecture, he brought in a hawk and flew it around the room – we were in awe! Jo Smith, a frog expert who led the expedition to Trinidad was also a fantastic teacher to me – she was the main person who encouraged me to become a scientist and do a PhD, and I’m very grateful to her!

    • Photo: Edward Codling

      Edward Codling answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      I have always liked science. I have always been curious about the world around me and used to ask my parents and teachers why things looked like they did or why they worked in the way that they did. It probably drove them mad but it is definitely good to be curious about things and ask questions!

      What I do now in my research is the same thing – I ask questions but now there usually aren’t any answers and I have to find out why something works like it does myself! It can be frustrating when I can’t understand something but it is very satisfying when I get it to make sense!

    • Photo: Nicolas Biber

      Nicolas Biber answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      I have liked science for as long as I can remember, and this is probably because I grew up in a very ‘sciency’ environment. My dad took us to places where he was doing research, and I was exposed to science and scientists all the time when I was a kid. I guess this made me feel comfortable with science and scientists 🙂

    • Photo: Jessica Chu

      Jessica Chu answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      I have always liked science but also many other things. But it was not until choosing for my A Levels where I have fewer choices that I wanted to continue with science!
      Relating to my work.. I began enjoy learning about cancer because I found them really interesting after having just 2 modules in my final year of uni and I guess the reasons for me is because the cancer cell biology is so interesting and also I have known people who have suffered and died from this disease and others that became better after treatment!
      And I want to contribute to this!

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