Refrigerator Microbes

Dear Mrs. Newton,

I met my roommate, Laurie, at her workplace, a hospital lab, because we planned to go straight to the movies from her downtown location. She asked if I could wait a few minutes because she was finishing up a project. I said "no problem" and she offered me a soda while I waited. I accepted. She walked to a refrigerator down from her lab bench, opened the door and selected a Diet Coke. Before the door closed behind her, I got an eye full of the other stuff in the refrigerator. EeeeeeeeUuuuuuu. I made a production of yanking the ring off the Coke, but I wasn't going to drink from that can if my life depended on it. I thought about wiping the top off after running water over it in sink near Laurie's workstation, but realized immediately that wiping wasn't gonna do it for me, and who knows what else had been in that sink. Yuck!As we were leaving, I slipped the full can of pop into the trash. How can she eat and drink stuff that has been sitting in the same space as her specimens?

Grossed Out Girlfriend

 

Dear Grossed Out,

Okay, perhaps keeping food in the lab fridge isn't the best of solutions for the afternoon munchies, but the point is your roomy knows about the invisible world of germs. She understands how they move around and how to keep them from getting somewhere where they are not wanted. She probably laughs secretly at you when you make a big production of washing your hands in the restroom, only to grasp the door handle on your way out and rub your face a second later. The coke is okay. But knowing something is clean in your rational mind isn't going to do anything about your sensibilities. You aren't going to be able to erase the picture of those little specimen bottles or Petri dishes, so don't feel guilty about wasting the Coke. Scientists have foibles too. I know one who eats the food on his plate sequentially – all the peas, then all the potatoes, then all the meat. And another who eats his hamburgers in a circle. If she starts storing strange biological samples picked up from her hiking trip in the refrigerator you share at home, put your foot down. Roommates have to compromise about the spaces they share. Tell her to buy one of those little bar units.

Introductions Among Scientists

Dear Mrs. Newton,

I have a public relations job at a new company. It is my first experience working for a technical company. Last Friday night, before leaving work, I attended the monthly beer bash in the cafeteria. I joined a group which contained one of the few people in the R & D department I have met so far. He and I were in the same orientation put on by human resources to review the company's benefits package. As I juggled my Coors Lite, he introduced himself to the other scientists in the circle by telling them where he went to school and where he did his post-doctoral studies. He mentioned that he had he worked in the laboratory of a Professor Herman Schultz. Up to that point, the other guys in the circle were fidgeting or scanning the crowd for prospective dates. Suddenly, my new acquaintance had everybody's attention. You would have thought he was about to read out the lottery numbers for the Mega-Millions jackpot. When I am introducing myself to scientists should I mention the names of my journalism professors? I studied with some real heavyweights.

Mystified Margaret

Dear Margaret,

Just as you don't know who Dr. Schultz is, your scientific colleagues are unlikely to recognize the names of your accomplished professors. We live in a very specialized world. However, within a particular specialization, the stars are known to all. Your colleague was informing the other scientists that he had studied with an important professor, someone who had made significant contributions to their field. The other people in the circle had probably heard Dr. Schultz give a paper at an important meeting or, at the very least, read some of his published work. In the scientific disciplines, mentioning key professors and mentors is an efficient way of letting others know about your specialized knowledge and training. It is helpful shorthand. I would not try copying this behavior, because, in your case, with your background in a completely different sphere, it would not serve the same purpose. I suggest you Google Professor Schultz and learn why he is famous. Don't be frustrated if you can't figure it out right off the bat. Oftentimes, profound scientific contributions are subtle or even obscure to lay people. Ask your new friend to translate for you. Chances are, he'll be happy to oblige and a bit flattered as well.