• Question: do you think your work will impact the future in any way and how?

    Asked by cupcakes5000 to Adam, Joanna, Louise S, Louise W, Marcus on 12 Nov 2012.
    • Photo: Adam Paige

      Adam Paige answered on 12 Nov 2012:

      I gave this answer to a similar question from someone else – so apologies for the repetition.

      I am not sure if my work will affect the future in a big way (like Newton or Einstein for example). But all science is based upon lots of people each making small discoveries and new understandings that build together into big changes. When we discover something new we publish that work in scientific journal magazines. Other scientists read this and it gives them new ideas for their own work. Which they publish and is read by someone else…and so on. I know people have used some of the information I have discovered in their own research – which is really exciting for me. So I know that I have contributed to the future of science, even though I have not (yet!) produced a big discovery. Science should be about working together like that – sharing ideas.

    • Photo: Joanna Giles

      Joanna Giles answered on 13 Nov 2012:

      Me too! Sorry for the repetition 🙂

      My work is looking at how tiny differences in genes in the blood proteins can cause a big effect on how the immune system works.

      Specifically it looks to be able to predict whether people will get arthritis or other autoimmune diseases (like Alzheimers disease or Muscular Sclerosis).

      If we can predict whether people are pre-disposed to a disease it will be so much easier to treat them or even prevent disease in the future. This will take a lot of hard work and a long time, but it is the end goal for scientists working in the same area as me 🙂

    • Photo: Louise Walkin

      Louise Walkin answered on 13 Nov 2012:

      I think everyone’s work will have an impact whether you make a big discovery or not. In science you need to look at it from every angle and we need to know what isn’t important as well as what is important in health and disease. Then when we know what isn’t important we can move onto something else – which could lead to the big discoveries! One thing about science is that it can take many many years for the work we do to actually have an impact on a patient, but we must always remember that the things we do are all important 🙂

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