Science

After a very successful first semester in graduate school, I've fallen into the trap of thinking about scientific research as utterly predictable. I'm sure this is a consequence of concentrating solely on cancer research and specifically molecular mechanisms of cancer. In order to branch out and avoid an insular view of research strategies, I'm going to pick a couple topics and follow them as consistently as possible (which hopefully won't fall apart once the new semester starts up). Just thinking about what topics I should invest time in has gotten me excited about learning about and immersing myself in new phenomena. While science has always been worthwhile and enriching to me, learning something new rekindles that initial spark. Of course, it comes with the caveat that I better chose worthwhile topics if I'm going to invest time in it.

I'm considering some topics:

- Diseases with poor prognosis (pancreatic cancer)
- Something clinical instead of basic scientific research (I'm reticent of this because clinical research tends to be very derivative)
- Something completely out of the cell/molecular biology field (evolution, ecology, solar energy, nanotech, neurology, developmental bio?)
- Something purely for fun (no clue, probably will involve the former topic)

As I continue to read stuff I'll update with more ideas. I really want to establish 2-4 topics before the new year starts so I can easily track my progress over time.