Koch Foundation

Draper





  
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<p>
<a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/blogs/secretlife/health-science/eva-vertes/" title="Eva Vertes">
   Click here for Eva’s profile.
  </a>
</p>
<p>
  When you’ve been a prodigy—as Eva Vertes has—age matters a little more than it does to us non-prodigy types. And one of the great things about being part of the SLoS team is that, even though Eva’s videos only run a total of about eight minutes, we actually got to interview her for more than two hours.
 </p>

            <figure class="richtext-image full-width"><img alt="Powerful Motivation-evas_grandmother_300.jpg" class="richtext-image full-width" height="360" width="300"
            src="/wgbh/nova/media/images/evas_grandmother_300.width-800.jpg"/><figcaption>
  Eva’s grandmother in the lab (Courtesy Eva Vertes)
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            </figure>
            

<p>
  And while we were interviewing her, Eva told us stories relating to two specific ages—44 and 2.
 </p>
<p>
<strong>
   Story #1:
  </strong>
  Eva is named after her grandmother, also Eva Vertes, a chemist who worked in a diabetes research laboratory. Eva told us that her grandmother “was very passionate about her research…and my grandfather says that there are lots of similarities between her and me. But at 44, she died of cancer of the stomach, so I never got to meet her.” Eva didn’t originally think that she’d switched from Alzheimer’s to cancer research because of her feelings for her grandmother. But she now believes “there is a connection there—in a way, maybe I am doing this partly for her.”
 </p>
<p>
  Watch all four of Eva’s videos here at our site. Ask her your questions in the post below. And then be sure to check out her
  <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/eva_vertes_looks_to_the_future_of_medicine.html">
   TED talk
  </a>
  on her ideas about the future of medicine.
 </p>
</section>
</div>
  



Powerful Motivation





  
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<p>
<a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/blogs/secretlife/health-science/eva-vertes/" title="Eva Vertes">
   Click here for Eva’s Profile.
  </a>
</p>
<h2 style="color:#993300">
  Q: Gaby
 </h2>
<p>
  Why did you not go to medical school directly after college?
 </p>
<h2 style="color:#993300">
  A: Eva Vertes
 </h2>
<p>
  I decided to take two years between finishing undergraduate and beginning medical school to devote fully to medical research. I knew that I wanted to go to medical school during undergraduate, but I was also eager to get a significant amount of research experience.
 </p>
<hr/>
<h2 style="color:#993300">
  Q: Partrick MacCann
 </h2>
<p>
  Hi Eva – Why do scientists continue to think that one target/one drug will actually have an impact on cancer and other diseases. It is obvious from all the research over the decades and evidence from HAART and combination therapy that more than one drug is needed. Why don’t scientists do more to learn the systems of disease and try to modulate (up or down) multiple targets simultaneously. You will probably find that you can use “sub-therapeutic, sub-toxic ” doses of a five, ten, or a dozen drugs and get a much better response, no resistance, an limited toxicity.
 </p>
<h2 style="color:#993300">
  A: Eva Vertes
 </h2>
<p>
  There seems to be a trend towards the search for, and use of, combination therapies. It is becoming clear that many diseases – especially cancer – are highly complex and may respond better to a multi-drug approach which targets many different aspects of a disease process. Therefore, scientists are trying to unravel which combination of therapies may work best for treating a certain disease, rather than searching only for a single “magic bullet”.
 </p>
<hr/>
<h2 style="color:#993300">
  Q:Anne Sywilok
 </h2>
<p>
  Hi Eva, I’m trying to get my students interested in science careers by encouraging them to think about what they like to do now and could continue that as an adult in a science career. What were your interests as a child?
 </p>
<h2 style="color:#993300">
  A: Eva Vertes
 </h2>
<p>
  As a child, I was interested in animals (especially the “scary” ones such as sharks and snakes) and nature. When I was about 9 years old, I became very interested in the human body and diseases. In general, I was just curious about the world around me. I think that any sort of curiosity as a child is a good beginning to a career in science because science, at least to me, is a continuous exploration of the unknown.
 </p>
<hr/>
<h2 style="color:#993300">
  Q: Peter Byrne
 </h2>
<p>
  There are many studies showing that industrial and household chemicals cause cancer. Risks are not so much personal, as social and economic. Researching treatment is fine, but why is not more effort being made to implement prevention?
 </p>
<h2 style="color:#993300">
  A: Eva Vertes
 </h2>
<p>
  Prevention is a very important part of solving the problem of cancer. We are beginning to realize that many things play a role in the initiation and progress of cancer. Clear identification of what exactly causes or increases the chances of cancer are necessary to implement effective preventative measures.
 </p>
<hr/>
</section>
</div>
  



Ask Eva Your Questions





  
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<p>
<a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/blogs/secretlife/health-science/mark-siddall/" title="Mark Siddall">
   Click here for Mark’s profile.
  </a>
</p>
<p>
  OK, so by now, you’ve probably watched our videos with Mark Siddall. And you know that he’s cooked and eaten some pretty weird stuff (that’s Mark with a glass of snake venom in the photo—he drinks it “shaken, not stirred” just like James Bond!).
 </p>

            <figure class="richtext-image full-width"><img alt="Eating Wild-mark_drinking_venom.jpg" class="richtext-image full-width" height="225" width="300"
            src="/wgbh/nova/media/images/mark_drinking_venom.width-800.jpg"/><figcaption>
  Bottoms Up (Courtesy Mark Siddall)
 <div class="credit"></div></figcaption>
            </figure>
            

<p>
  But Mark also, at least occasionally, cooks and eats foods that aren’t dangerous at all. He told us that he and his young daughter recently improvised a dish made of shrimp, sweet potatoes, onions, ginger, and garlic sauce rolled up in wonton wraps. And that sounds deliciously non-fatal to us. On our set, Mark described his cooking as “ephemeral” and said that each dish he makes “will never be done exactly the same way again” (that, of course, could have something to do with the whole drinking snake venom thing). Regardless, Mark is clearly just as passionate and creative with his cooking “secret life” as he is with his science. And we’d love to have him and his sous-chef/daughter cook us dinner sometime.
 </p>
</section>
</div>
  



Eating Wild





  
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 <p>
  <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/blogs/secretlife/earth-science/alexandrea-bowman/" title="Alexandrea Bowman">
   Click here for Alexandrea’s Profile.
  </a>
 </p>
 <hr/>
 <h2 style="color:#993300">
  Q: Jackenson Durand
 </h2>
 <p>
  Do you think that Earth magnetic field has been contributing to our biodiversities creation and evolution?
 </p>
 <h2 style="color:#993300">
  A: Alexandrea Bowman
 </h2>
 <p>
  Hi Jackenson,
  <br/>
  From what I have read the Earth’s magnetic field does protect life from harmful rays. I do not know enough about it to say whether or not it has contributed to biodiversity on a large scale. However, given that the Earth’s magnetism has created a protective shield and really helped prevent water and oxygen from leaving the Earth’s surface, I would have to say that life in general would not be possible on Earth without a magnetic field. I do not know how that has affected DNA / RNA, or if it had any impact on evolution.
 </p>
 <p>
  Sincerely,
  <br/>
  Alexandrea
 </p>
 <hr/>
 <h2 style="color:#993300">
  Q: Ken
 </h2>
 <p>
  Subject: Geology and American Indian books
  <br/>
  Alexandrea:
  <br/>
  Hello. I have three questions for you:
  <br/>
  I recently finished “Reading the Rocks” by Marcia Bjornerud. I also enjoy watching “How the Earth was Made” on the History Channel. I have also read “Rising From the Plains” by John McPhee.
 </p>
 <p>
  I am currently reading “One Vast Winter Count” by Colin G. Calloway. Last year I finished “1491” by Charles C. Mann who mentioned the “Winter Count” book. I also enjoyed the Ken Burns series “The West”.
 </p>
 <ol>
  <li>
   <p>
    What would be a good geology book to read next?
   </p>
  </li>
  <li>
   What would be a good American Indian book to read next? You can include fictional stories, too. But, I would like a history book recommendation.
  </li>
  <li>
   I have heard and read that “American Indian” is commonly used by the people who are descended from the people who were here in North America before Europeans to describe themselves – which is why I used it. Maybe you can also comment on your feelings about this. I like the term “First Nations” the best. It is used in Canada. What do you think?
  </li>
 </ol>
 <p>
  Sincerely,
  <br/>
  Ken Andrews
 </p>
 <p>
  P.S.
  <br/>
  Thanks for sharing your story here. I found it posted on Facebook because I am a fan of NOVA.
 </p>
 <h2 style="color:#993300">
  A: Alexandrea Bowman
 </h2>
 <p>
  Hi Ken,
 </p>
 <p>
  A good geology book to read – As I have read mostly geology texts – I am not sure about. If you are looking for just a regular book, I can do some research and look for one. As far as regular books go I really enjoyed “The Desert Smells Like Rain” by Gary Paul Nabhan, and of course there is Charles Darwin, “The Voyage of the HMS Beagle” – They both have some mention of geology in them. The first also describes Native American Culture along the Texas-Mexico border. The second book is Charles Darwin’s diary from the HMS Beagle. If you are interested in environmental books, “Collapse” and “Silent Spring” would be my top 2 suggestions.
 </p>
 <p>
  For Native American books there is a long list of my favorites: “Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee”, “Black Elk Speaks”, and “Lakota Woman” are all considered history / biography books. For fiction: “American Indian Myths and Legends” is my all time favorite. And then there is “Spider Womans Granddaughter’s”, which is a collection of contemporary short stories.
 </p>
 <p>
  What each Native American chooses to be called is an extremely personal choice. I prefer Native American, but a friend of mine prefers “Red Skin” for himself, other friends of mine use First American or “Skin” or “Indian”.
 </p>
 <p>
  You are quite welcome, I had a great time being on NOVA.
 </p>
 <p>
  Sincerely,
  <br/>
  Alexandrea
 </p>
 <hr/>
 <h2 style="color:#993300">
  Q: Joseph Connolly
 </h2>
 <p>
  Subject: Native People in Science
 </p>
 <p>
  Hello,
  <br/>
  It was fantastic getting to listen to your story. I am Native, Onondaga, and working the the field of Aerospace Engineering. I just wanted to say thanks for getting the younger kids involved, you are a true inspiration for them. I do some work with the American Indian Science and Engineering Society and it would be wonderful if you had the time to come and inspire these kids as well. I just got back from the National American Indian Science and Engineer Fair that they host. It is a wonderful event. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.
 </p>
 <p>
  Nyawenh ha’
 </p>
 <h2 style="color:#993300">
  A: Alexandrea Bowman
 </h2>
 <p>
  Hi Joseph,
 </p>
 <p>
  I would love to get involved. It is so great to hear from another Native American who is in a “scientific” field. I am a member of AISES, I have not had the time to make it to a conference though. I can find out if there is anyway for us to get in touch outside of this website.
 </p>
 <p>
  Thank you. For so long I have been saying how important it is for the younger generations to be interested in topics like this and our culture too. And role models are hard to find.
 </p>
 <p>
  Sincerely,
  <br/>
  Alexandrea
 </p>
 <hr/>
 <h2 style="color:#993300">
  Q: Sue Sylvester
 </h2>
 <p>
  ALI!!! Congratulations!!! WOW! This is awesome!
 </p>
 <p>
  We didn’t know that we were N.A. when we were growing up, either. But my French grandfather used to get drunk and talk about our family having the connection. Years later – in fact, seven years ago, my uncle told my sister and I that he’d done the research and we were N.A.! We are of the Algonquin Nation, through our French ancestors who came through Canada. But he threw it all out! (He was kinda eccentric…)
 </p>
 <p>
  I’m still looking into it, when I have time away from job hunting. How were you DNA tested? I heard it’s expensive.
 </p>
 <p>
  Best wishes,
  <br/>
  Sue
 </p>
 <h2 style="color:#993300">
  A: Alexandrea Bowman
 </h2>
 <p>
  Hi Sue,
 </p>
 <p>
  DNA testing has gone down in price. I think my test was $110. And the only reason why I did take it was because they promised they could link family members through the DNA test. My cousin had taken it and I figured let’s see how good they are. And in fact they did link us as relatives and even sent us eachothers e-mail address (which of course we had). All I had to do was order the test, swab the inside of my mouth and send it in. I also had the choice to add the result to the research project that National Geographic did. It was definately worth it. You can e-mail me and we can certainly talk more about this.
 </p>
 <p>
  Sincerely,
  <br/>
  Alex
 </p>
 <hr/>
</section>
</div>
  



Ask Alexandrea Your Questions





  
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 <p>
  <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/blogs/secretlife/earth-science/adrienne-block/" title="Adrienne Block">
   Click here for Adrienne’s profile.
  </a>
 </p>
 <p>
  When you do your research at the South Pole, you have to make some sacrifices. Two of the things Adrienne Block always misses while doing her research are jeans and her bassoon. She told us that you don’t wear jeans at the South Pole because wool inevitably wins out over cotton in the Antarctic freeze. Likewise, Adrienne doesn’t take her bassoon to the bottom of the earth since she fears the weather would crack it in two. (She did take a harmonica on one trip… but it wasn’t the same.) Adrienne actually also harbors a fear that the weather may crack
  <em>
   her
  </em>
  in two (“I hate cold—I’m cold when I go to the movie theatre!”) So why does she keep going back? Adrienne explains:
 </p>
 
            <figure class="richtext-image full-width"><img alt="Turn Up the Heat-adrienne_515-4.jpg" class="richtext-image full-width" height="344" width="515"
            src="/wgbh/nova/media/images/adrienne_515-4_l0tYT9Z.width-800.jpg"/><figcaption>
  Our friend Adrienne Block outside a movie theatre in Antarctica
 <div class="credit"></div></figcaption>
            </figure>
            
 <p>
  “The thing that helps me get over how cold it is… is that Antarctica has so many great unknowns—so many questions that no one has any idea about, just because no one’s ever been there before, or no one’s ever collected data there before, or no one’s collected enough data. And I think it’s the fact that you can go there and be an expert–instantly be the person that knows the most about an area—just because you were there for two months.”
 </p>
 <p>
  Two
  <em>
   months
  </em>
  ??
 </p>
 <p>
  Stay warm, Adrienne.
 </p>
</section>
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Turn Up the Heat





  
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 <p>
  <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/blogs/secretlife/earth-science/adrienne-block/" title="Adrienne Block">
   Click here for Adrienne’s profile.
  </a>
 </p>
 <p>
  You asked, Adrienne answered!
 </p>
 <hr/>
 <h2 style="color:#993300">
  Q: Donavier Mosley
 </h2>
 <p>
  Hi there! I play the baritone and bassoon. One question how do you play the high notes so well?
 </p>
 <hr/>
 <h2 style="color:#993300">
  A: Adrienne
 </h2>
 <p>
  HA! I never expected anyone would compliment my playing! I consider myself a sturdy second bassoon. I think the high notes are all about airspeed. My teacher taught me to “sizzle” the air passed the embouchure. The more you listen to bassoon the better you’ll know what you want your sound to be. Getting to that sound is the hard part because there are so many factors… never underestimate the importance of the reed!
 </p>
 <hr/>
 <h2 style="color:#993300">
  Q: Sid Halsband
 </h2>
 <p>
  Your most important mission (my thoughts) is to get out in schools to help inspire young minds what can be possible for anyone who has the desire, and the courage to make not only their lives better but also all our lives better.
 </p>
 <h2 style="color:#993300">
  A: Adrienne
 </h2>
 <p>
  Sid-you’ll be happy to know that I do regularly volunteer in school and other groups like the girl scouts. Right now, I spend one day a week teaching statistics to high school students at the Frederick Douglass Academy in Harlem. This week, they will be combining what they’ve learned about linear regression and standard deviation in a lesson that has them looking for significantly bright spots under the ice sheet– i.e. places where there may be water!! I get questions about how many years you have to be in school to become a doctor and getting a master’s degree…. It is great to see these students are thinking that far ahead. If there were 8 days a week, I’d spend 2 of them in schools! Best ~Adrienne
 </p>
 <hr/>
 <h2 style="color:#993300">
  Q: fjdbassplayer
 </h2>
 <p>
  How do you keep your lips from freezing ??
 </p>
 <h2 style="color:#993300">
  A: Adrienne
 </h2>
 <p>
  This is a relevant question even if not playing bassoon in East Antarctica!! Even when it is -27 deg F, your biggest enemy is the wind. Add to that, you have your nose constantly dumping moisture on your upper lip. I wore a neck cozy all the time that I would pull up over my lips. There were times at South Pole I didn’t need my parka… just a fleece and the neck cozy. Very essential!
 </p>
 <hr/>
 <h2 style="color:#993300">
  Q: Heather
 </h2>
 <p>
  Hi, Adrienne, I grew up in Canton/Massillon, and I’m finishing my DMA in bassoon at Eastman. I remember you from various Ohio State bassoon things. Hi! Congratulations on all your accomplishments! Nice to see a fellow bassoonist and Ohioan, and I appreciate that sense of wonderment you mention.
  <br/>
  Bravo!
 </p>
 <h2 style="color:#993300">
  A: Adrienne
 </h2>
 <p>
  Hi Heather! Thanks!
 </p>
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Ask Adrienne Your Questions





  
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 <p>
  <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/blogs/secretlife/entertainment/erika-ebbel/" title="Erika Ebbel">
   Click here for Erika’s profile.
  </a>
 </p>
 <p>
  Erika Ebbel is going to answer your questions while curing several diseases and executing a perfect pageant-queen wave!
 </p>
 <hr/>
 <h2 style="color:#993300">
  Q: Maytha Frankford
 </h2>
 <p>
  Do you think that researchers will be able to find cures for neurological diseases? Are they “coming close” in their efforts? I am personnally interested in Multple Sclerosis.
  <br/>
  Thanks,
  <br/>
  Maytha
 </p>
 <h2 style="color:#993300">
  A: Erika
 </h2>
 <p>
  Hi Maytha,
  <br/>
  I hope that researchers will be able to find cures for neurological diseases. What makes it difficult is that, we are still learning about the diseases themselves. Researchers are gradually making progress understanding the disease mechanisms behind ALS, MS, Huntington’s Disease, etc. Still, much is unknown. Once these diseases are more fully understood, I think that we will be closer to finding “cures.”
 </p>
 <hr/>
 <h2 style="color:#993300">
  Q: Jackenson Durand
 </h2>
 <p>
  I understand that the first beauty pageant objective would be the competition winner.
  <br/>
  – What always is your second wishing after each of your competition?
  <br/>
  – Does a biochemist have been scheduling a deadline time frame on any kind of case study research?
 </p>
 <h2 style="color:#993300">
  A: Erika
 </h2>
 <p>
  Hi Jackenson,
  <br/>
  It is true that it is nice to be the competition winner. However, I think it was always more important for me to learn and improve from the experience I was going through. Hence, each time I competed I tried to improve myself in some capacity. I would say this was really the most important focus.
 </p>
 <p>
  Regarding your second question, which is about deadlines; it depends on the study. Some samples are time sensitive, meaning that once you start working with them you have to complete the project in a certain amount of time before the samples are ruined. In general, planning out experiments so that you are able to finish all steps of a particular portion of your research at once means that you lessen your chance of introducing confounding factors such as contamination, deterioration of samples over time, etc. Also, it is nice to feel like you are making progress, so at least in my case, I like to get as much work done as possible when I have the chance!
 </p>
 <hr/>
 <h2 style="color:#993300">
  Q: Roy
 </h2>
 <p>
  How interested are you in Theoretical Quantum Physics?
 </p>
 <h2 style="color:#993300">
  A: Erika
 </h2>
 <p>
  Hi Roy,
  <br/>
  I’m interested, but this is not my field of expertise. It is always fun to learn about new things when time permits!
 </p>
 <hr/>
 <h2 style="color:#993300">
  Q: Riyan Mendonsa
 </h2>
 <p>
  Subject: Treatment vs. Cure
  <br/>
  Hi Erika,
 </p>
 <p>
  You mentioned that you are studying the difference in composition of a healthy sample to a diseased one in hopes of finding the difference and a way to correct that as a treatment.Will this method be useful in the long run in finding a cure or will that require much more work to find the root cause and correct it at that level?In your view is there a big difference between a “cure” and a “treatment”?
 </p>
 <h2 style="color:#993300">
  A: Erika
 </h2>
 <p>
  Hi Riyan,
  <br/>
  We think that in order to discover a cure, one first needs to fully understand the disease itself. Hence, comparing healthy versus diseased samples essentially allows one to determine biochemical differences between the samples. Once one understands the differences he/she is able to hypothesize what biochemical pathways may be disturbed in diseased patients. Understanding this helps to further understand the mechanism of the disease itself. After the mechanism is understood, it is easier to come up with potential treatments, because one knows what it is that he/she is trying to “cure”.
 </p>
 <p>
  In my opinion there is a difference between a “cure” and a “treatment”. In the case of a “treatment” you are essentially treating “symptoms”. Symptoms, however, can be caused by downstream pathways affected by the disease. Thus, the patient could be diseased long before any symptom is ever seen. Just like when you have the flu, you take decongestants. These decongestants do not necessary help to kill the virus, instead they help you to breathe easier (congestion being a symptom of the viral infection). A cure is much more complicated, because it requires addressing the factor causing the disease.
 </p>
 <p>
  Hence, finding the underlying cause of the disease is very important.
 </p>
 <hr/>
</section>
</div>
  



Tom Miller