Science Explorers!

Science Explorers! Making Discoveries in Our World

By Glenn Murphy | Illustrations by Lorna Murphy


Science Explorers! Making Discoveries in Our World


Contents 4 Introduction

8 How Do Flies Fly? - Dr. Laura Miller

13 How Taste Works - Dr. Kristin Scott

17 Biology in 3D - Dr. Bil Clemons

21 How Babies Grow - Dr. Louis Muglia

26 The Gene Hunter - Dr. Thomas Hudson

30 Punk Rock and Parasites - Dr. Pardis Sabeti

35 The Cat-Scratch Mystery - Dr. Jane Koehler

40 Bad Food and Gut-bugs - Dr. Erin Gaynor

45 Up Close with Ebola - Dr. Erica Saphire

50 The Ninja Virus - Dr. Michael Gale

55 Scientist Word Search

56 Science Crossword Puzzle

58 About the Author

59 About the Illustrator

60 About the NC Science Festival

61 About the Burroughs Wellcome Fund

62 Interview with Glenn Murphy

64 Puzzle Solutions

4 Science Explorers!

Introduction

When you hear the word Science, what do you think of?

Maybe you’re imagining a big, white, laboratory—stuffed

with glass bottles, plastic beakers, and strange, colored liquids

bubbling through tubes. Perhaps it’s a science lab at school—

where people mix chemicals, dissect frogs, blow things up,

and do experiments with electricity.

What about Scientist? What do you think of when you hear that?

If you’re like most people, you probably imagine a skinny,

bearded guy, wearing thick-rimmed spectacles and a white

lab coat. Perhaps he’s bald. Or perhaps he has big, crazy hair

that stands on end like he’s just been electrocuted. Maybe he’s

clever, but he’s also a little strange. Maybe he does important

things, but he never really has any fun. Right?

Wrong! The truth is, science is about a lot more than just

experiments and laboratories. It’s about exploring the universe

around us. It’s about discovering how things work—whether it’s

a star, a weather system, a living creature, a body part, or an

atom. And above all, it’s about using knowledge to make the

world better for everybody, everywhere.

As for the scientists, you might be surprised to find out who

they really are, too. For starters, many of the world’s greatest

scientists are women. Mothers, daughters, sisters, and nieces

who discover new galaxies, discover new species, and cure

rare diseases every year, all around the globe.

Of the scientists that are guys, some have beards, but many

don’t. Some wear specs, but others don’t. Some wear lab

coats, while others wear wet suits, business suits, or jungle gear!

And perhaps most importantly,

scientists are not boring, old

people. There are scientists from

every corner of the globe, from

Africa to Australia, from China

to Chile, from Portugal to Peru.

Scientists have families and hang

with friends. They watch movies

and TV. They play games and play

guitars. They live, work and play

just like you, me, or anyone else.


Scientists aren’t some strange breed

of person, born to solve the problems

of the universe. Scientists are

everyday people who do

extraordinary things for a living.

They are regular people who

love learning new things,

showing people how things

work, and using their discoveries to

improve our health, our lives, and our

planet.

So what has all that got to do with this book?

This book was written in celebration

of the 2012 North Carolina Science

Festival, which is a showcase of

science, scientists and all the

wonderful things they do.

The Festival is held every Spring, and celebrated across the

state of North Carolina, from Asheville in the west to the Outer

Banks in the east—and everywhere in between.

During the inaugural Festival in 2010, we launched weather

balloons in Boone, hiked the beaches of Wilmington, and

watched Adam & Jamie of Discovery Channel’s MythBusters

live on stage in Chapel Hill. In all, over 85,000 people took part

in over 400 events. And this year’s Festival looks to be even

bigger!

7Making Discoveries in Our World

During the 2012 Festival, you can attend a science talk or a live

science show. You can see special museum exhibits or visit a

special nature reserve. You can even tour a real research lab,

do experiments of your own, and be a scientist for a day!

But what’s it all for? Why all the events and stuff?

In short, the North Carolina Science Festival shows us all the fun

side of science. The events help the people of N.C. understand

the impact of science and technology on their knowledge,

their well-being, and their everyday lives.

This book, made exclusively for the Festival by the Burroughs

Wellcome Fund, aims to do the very same thing. Throughout

the book, you’ll meet 10 scientists making amazing discoveries

right now, right here in the USA and Canada.

You’ll meet the dude who creates 3D computer graphics of

things so tiny that you can’t even see them with a microscope.

You’ll meet the girl who studies deadly diseases by day and

rocks out with her hipster band by night.

You’ll meet swimming flies, cat-scratch fevers, and a sneaky,

ninja virus. Now if that doesn’t sound like fun, then I don’t know

what is.

Ready?

Then let’s get to it...


What’s that?

Biologists study life and living things. Mathematicians use

numbers to study spaces, structures, and changes.

So mathematical biologists use numbers to study how living

things move, grow, and change.

Dr. Miller looks at animals like worms, jellyfish, and insects, and

uses clever math to figure out how they wriggle, swim, and

buzz around.

She uses special cameras and sensors to watch how cloudy

water moves around the body of a jellyfish or how dusty air

moves around the wings of a fly. Then she uses math and

computers to make 3D pictures (or models) of virtual jellyfish

and flies.

How Do Flies Fly? Dr. Laura Miller

Who is she?

Dr. Laura Miller

Where does she work?

University of North Carolina -

Chapel Hill

What does she work on?

Mathematical Biology


Why would she want to do that?

With a 3D computer model and numbers to tell her how and

where the water and air is moving, she can figure out exactly

how a jellyfish squidges its way through the water or how flies

zip and zigzag through the air so quickly.

But don’t we already know how jellyfish swim and how flies fly?

Not exactly, no. We know roughly

how jellyfish get about—they

squeeze rings of muscles in their

bell-shaped mantle, which pushes

water back (or downwards) and

propels the jellyfish forward (or

upwards).

The problem is, every time the jellyfish

inflates or opens up its mantle, water gets

sucked in, and the jellyfish moves backwards

a little. That’s great for eating tiny plankton—

which get sucked in along with the water. But it’s not much

good if the jellyfish wants to actually get anywhere.

For every inch the jellyfish jets forward, it gets pushed back by

the same distance a second later.

This is what Dr. Miller saw when she created her first virtual

jellyfish—an animal that squidges back and forth, and gets

nowhere.


But real jellyfish don’t do that, right?

Right. Somehow, real jellyfish squidge forward more than they

squidge back. So while they can’t move very fast (although

some can hit up to 40 mph, most have a top speed of around

5 mph) they still manage to move across entire oceans to feed

and breed.

Dr. Miller’s work helps us to understand what’s really going on

when a jellyfish swims—how water churns and sticks to the

jellyfish as it moves, how the animal squeezes its muscles in

waves to create forward motion, and more.

What about the flies, then?

Flying insects are even more of a mystery to biologists than

swimming jellyfish. When you do all the math, it doesn’t look like

flies (and many other insects) should be able to fly at all.


Unlike birds and bats, their wings seem too small to hold them

up and too thin and flimsy to let them hover, buzz, and zigzag

through the air the way they do.

For a long time, scientists have guessed that perhaps these

insects’ small size has something to do with it. Since flies are so

much smaller than bats and birds, the air around their wings

seems thicker—more like a gloopy syrup than a wafting gas.

Dr. Miller’s work helps us to understand that flies and other

flying insects don’t really flap and soar like tiny sparrows and

eagles. Instead, they “swim” and “paddle” their wings through

the air like tiny swimmers and row-boats.

Weird. So what use is it, knowing that?

Besides understanding a little more about the natural world,

discoveries like this could help engineers design crazy, new

types of submarines and aircraft.

Scientists in Korea have already built a full-sized robotic jellyfish

that swims just like the real thing. While these probably won’t

be much use for carrying passengers or cargo, robotic jelly-

subs like this could be useful for cleaning boat hulls, repairing

the legs of deep-water oil rigs, or cleaning up dangerous oil

spills at sea.

Better yet, engineers are also busy building tiny aircraft called

Micro Aerial Vehicles or MAVs that hover and buzz around

like flies. Again, these probably wouldn’t be much use for

carrying people. But with tiny video cameras attached, they

can be used for spy missions, rescue missions, or even space

exploration.


Seriously?!

Seriously. On planets and moons with thicker atmospheres

or weaker gravity, MAVs could be a great way to explore the

landscape. Who knows, in a few years’ time, four-wheeled Mars

Rovers could be replaced by four-winged Mars Mosquitoes

and Jupiter Junebugs!

Sweet!

When she was younger, Dr. Miller found it hard to decide which area she wanted to study. So she did them all.

Which do you think?

All three.

Which do you think?

All three.


What’s that?

Neuroscience is the study of the nervous system—the “wiring”

that sends lightning-fast signals between different parts of an

animal’s body. In humans, the nervous system includes the

brain, the spinal cord, and a huge, spidery web of nerves or

neurons. This, of course, is where neuroscience gets it name.

Dr. Scott studies how animals (including human beings) sense

things using their nervous systems. In particular, she looks at

how flies taste the things they land on—whether it’s a sugary

donut, a rotten apple, or a day-old piece of dog poo...

How Taste Works Dr. Kristin Scott

Who is she?

Dr. Kristin Scott


University of California -

Berkeley


Neuroscience


Ewww! Gross! Can flies even tell the difference between those things?

Absolutely. As you may have

noticed, flies love sweet things.

That’s why you see them buzzing

around half eaten candy bars and

sugary soft drinks at every outdoor

picnic. But they hate bitter-tasting things like lemons and

eucalyptus leaves.

Human beings taste things by putting them on their tongues.

But flies do it a little differently. They simply touch their food

with their feet!

No way! That can’t be right. How would the taste get from its feet to its brain?

The same way taste signals travel in all animals—through

nerves or neurons.

All complex animals—everything from frogs, insects and fish to

cats, crocodiles, and human beings—have neurons. These run

to and from the brain, connecting the whole body together

into a network. In a way, neurons create a little internet inside

your body.

There are three basic types of neurons in your body. Motor

neurons connect your brain to your muscles and organs.

They carry signals that control, among other things, how you

breathe, swallow, cough, and move your body around.


Sensory neurons connect the brain to your eyes, ears, nose,

tongue, and skin. They turn sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and

feelings into messages which are carried back to the brain. This

is how your brain knows what’s going on in the world around you.

Interneurons connect different parts of your brain to each

other. Different animals have different amounts of these in their

brains. Sponge brains have none. Snail brains contain about

11,000. And human brains contain over 100 billion!

What about flies?

Fly brains contain about 100,000 interneurons, making them

smarter than you might think. They also have sensory neurons

that run from special taste receptors in their feet to the tiny

brains in their heads. So whatever they land on, they can taste.

For a person, it’d be a bit like having a tongue on every toe!

Weird. Hmmmm. I’m not sure I’d want to taste everything I stepped on.

Me, either! And this brings us back to Dr. Scott and her work...

By studying flies and their nervous systems, Dr. Scott figured

out that flies have about 60 types of taste receptors, and can

detect hundreds of different tastes. She also found a way of

labeling fly neurons, so that different tastes show up as different

patterns of color in a fly’s brain.

Cool. But what use is that?

For starters, it might help us come up with better fly sprays that

repel flies with bitter tastes instead of choking them with toxic

chemicals.


Dr. Scott was inspired to become a scientist after reading ‘The Double Helix’ about the discovery of DNA when she was 12 years old.

But the real reason for Dr. Scott’s work is to figure out not just

how flies sense things, but how humans sense things, too.

Everything we taste, smell, touch, hear, or see gets turned into

a brain signal, carried by neurons. So if we can figure out

exactly how neurons work, we may be able to help people

who have lost their sense of vision or hearing because of a

stroke, a brain tumor, or brain damage.

All this, from a study of bug brains and fly feet.

Isn’t science great?


What’s that?

Biologists (as we’ve already seen) study life and living

things. Molecular biologists study the tiny bits and pieces, or

molecules, that make life possible. These include sugars, lipids

(fats and oils), DNA, and perhaps, most importantly, proteins.

Dr. Clemons is an expert in how proteins are put together. He

looks inside living cells and studies the places within the cell

where proteins are built. Then he tries to work out how and why

they’re made that way.

This is not an easy thing to do, as proteins are so small that you

can’t actually see them, even with a microscope!

Biology in 3D Dr. Bil Clemons

Who is he?

Dr. William “Bil” Clemons

Where does he work?

California Institute of Technology

What does he work on?

Molecular Biology


What’s so important about cells and proteins?

As you probably know, all living things are made of cells.

Bacteria, the simplest forms of life, are just single cells that eat,

grow, divide and (sometimes) move around a little. The bodies

of plants, fungi, and animals (including human beings) are

made up of hundreds, thousands, millions, or trillions of cells all

working together.

Cells are like little factories, which turn food into energy, work,

movement, and growth. They do this largely by building copies

of themselves, taking in simple molecules, and churning out

more interesting ones.

In plants and animals, cells assemble themselves into tissues

and organs. They work together to move muscles, pump

blood, digest food, see, hear, smell, think, and more. Muscle

cells form muscles. Brain cells form brains. And so on.

But to do all this, cells need two things: energy, and building

blocks. That’s where the molecules of life come in.

Sugars are converted into energy to power cells and also help

form the gloopy, sugary matrix that holds tissues together. Fats

and oils are used to make cell membranes, which surround

and protect cells to help keep them in one, working piece.

Proteins are so important because they do pretty much

everything else. Cells need proteins to read the information

in a cell’s DNA and translate it into useful actions. Then other

proteins carry out those actions. These include processing

energy, building new cells, assembling tissues and organs,


carrying oxygen and

nutrients, fighting off

bacteria and viruses,

and much, much more.

In short, life without proteins would be

impossible. That’s really why Dr. Clemons

looks at proteins. To figure out more

about how life works.

But if proteins are too small to see, how does he look at them?

He shines X-rays into big clumps of

proteins taken from inside cells and

looks at the patterns of X-rays that bounce

off them.

The pattern made by the reflected X-rays will depend on the

way the proteins clump together (or crystallize). And how

proteins clump together depends on the shape and structure

of the proteins in the clump.

Knowing this, Dr. Clemons can look at the X-ray patterns and

figure out what the shapes and structures of the proteins might

be—even if you can’t actually see them! With this done, he

then uses a computer to create 3D models of cell proteins that

he and other scientists can easily look at.


3D computer pictures? Like in the movies?

Something like that, yes. Only without the silly glasses...

The important thing is that by studying these 3D models,

Dr. Clemons and his coworkers have discovered a lot about

how proteins are made inside cells.

Since proteins do pretty much everything inside living bodies,

knowing how they’re made gives us new chances at curing

allergies, diseases, growth problems, and all kinds of other

things that are caused by faulty proteins.

With his 3D proteins, Dr. Clemons is adding whole new

dimensions to biology. Beat that, Disney movies!


What’s that?

Pediatrics is a branch of medicine that focuses on kids and

childhood diseases. Pediatricians specialize in caring for

babies, infants, and children of all ages—all the way up to

teenaged kids.

Dr. Muglia has spent many years working with sick babies and

children. But he also works with pregnant mothers, to try to

understand why their babies are sometimes born too early.

But while the children he works with are human, the mothers

he works with are mice!

How Babies Grow Dr. Louis Muglia

Who is he?

Dr. Louis Muglia

Where does he work?

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital

Medical Center


Pediatrics

Wait—I’m confused. Is he a doctor or a scientist?

Actually, he’s both. Some doctors are scientists too. They spend

part of their time healing sick people, and part of their time

exploring how and why they get sick in the first place.

Many scientist-doctors study rare, tropical diseases. They spend

several months each year in remote parts of Africa or South

America, where there are no doctors or hospitals at all. There,

they care for people sickened by disease and, at the same

time, study their patients for clues as to where the disease

comes from and how it develops.

Dr. Muglia is a little bit different. He spends part of his time working

with child patients at a university hospital. The rest, he spends

teaching, organizing classes, and working with mice in his own

laboratory.



Why mice?

Because in many ways, mice have babies just like we do.

They’re mammals, which means they give birth to live young

that grow and develop inside their bodies (rather than eggs).

But unlike humans, it doesn’t take nine months of growing and

developing before a mouse baby is born. Instead, it takes

just three weeks. So by looking at mouse-mothers rather than

people, scientists can study 12 times as many pregnancies and

births in the same 36-week stretch!

Mice, of course, are also a lot easier to feed, keep, and

experiment with. You couldn’t keep human mothers caged

up and feed them different diets or medicines to see what

happens! So by working with mice, Dr. Muglia can get more

information—and different types of information—than he ever

could just studying his human patients.

So what is he looking for?

Dr. Muglia is especially interested in hormones—the chemical

messengers inside the body that, among other things, speed

up and slow down growth, development and birth. In both

mice and humans, certain types of hormones cause babies to

be born sooner, rather than later.


Why is that so important?

Because babies that are born too soon tend not to be so

healthy, and sometimes they do not survive at all. There’s a

reason why human babies stay in the womb for nine months

before they’re born. That’s more or less how long it takes for

their bodies to develop to the point where

they can breathe air, digest food, and

fight off simple infections without help.

When babies are born more than

a few weeks early, they often

have breathing problems, heart

problems, or problems fighting

off disease. With too little time

to grow, their hearts, lungs and

immune systems fail to develop (or

mature) fully before they’re pushed

out into the big, bad world.

When this sort of birth occurs, doctors and

nurses have to place the early (or premature) babies in

special, sealed chambers to help them breathe and keep out

nasty bacteria and viruses. Some premature babies even need

emergency surgery to fix their underdeveloped hearts or lungs.

So how can Dr. Muglia and his mice help with all that?

By comparing mice to people, Dr. Muglia has already figured

out that one or two types of hormones, controlled by one or

two of the mother’s genes, can shorten a pregnancy and lead

to early births (and sickly babies). He’s now trying to find these

genes and figure out exactly what they look like.

If he finds them, then it will help doctors everywhere to predict

which mothers are most likely to give birth early. Better yet,

it could help scientists create new medicines that delay

childbirth in these “early” mothers, so that they give birth later

and have fully-grown, healthier babies.

So on the one hand, Dr. Muglia is caring for the sick children of

today. On the other, he’s caring for the children of tomorrow—

the next generation of babies who could be born healthier

and happier thanks to his hard work.

Wow. He’s quite a guy!

Oh, yeah, and he also plays a mean guitar. He was in a jazz

band at school, a punk band in college, and still rocks out

at weekends when he’s not busy saving the

world. So rock on, Doc!

Dr. ‘Multi-tasking’ Muglia: children’s doctor, scientist, teacher, guitar-player.


What’s that?

Immunology is the study of the immune system in humans

and animals. Your immune system defends your body against

attacks from harmful viruses and bacteria.

It includes organs such as your skin, tonsils, and spleen;

immune cells, which recognize invaders in your gut, lungs and

bloodstream; and antibody proteins, which surround invading

nasties and tag them for destruction.

When your immune system is working well, it keeps you healthy

and free of infectious diseases. When it’s not working well, you

become open to attacks by bacteria and viruses, and you’re

more likely to develop bacterial and viral diseases.

The Gene Hunter Dr. Thomas Hudson

Who is he?

Dr. Thomas Hudson

Where does he work?

University of Toronto


Immunology


Yikes! It’s pretty important then?

I would say so, yes. Every type of infectious disease—from

chickenpox and common colds to AIDS and influenza—

involves the immune system in some way.

Vaccines (or immunizations) work because they help your

immune system to recognize certain viruses and bacteria.

When you become immune to a disease, it’s because your

immune cells now remember a previous bacterial or viral

attack, and they’re ready to jump into action if they meet the

same bug again.

What’s more, if your immune system doesn’t develop correctly,

it can lead to other problems like asthma, allergies and

diabetes.

But aren’t you just born with those things?

For the most part, yes, you are. But you’re not really born with

these diseases. You’re born with genes that make faulty proteins.

These bad boys, in turn, mess up your immune system and cause

asthma, allergies, and diabetes to develop later on.

How does that happen?

As we learned earlier, proteins do all the really useful and

interesting stuff inside the body. Genes are simply instructions

for building proteins. These coded instructions are written in

long chains of DNA, copies of which are stored in the center of

(almost) every cell in your body.


Genes are passed down from parents to children within the

sperm and eggs that fuse to make a baby. But over generations,

genes change (or mutate) and the coded instructions get

garbled. If you receive a garbled gene like this, then you’ll end

up building garbled proteins, which may or may not work as

they’re supposed to.

The genes that cause asthma, for example, build garbled

proteins that make your immune cells overreact to dust, cat

hairs, or other harmless things. So when you inhale dust or cat

hair, your body reacts as if it’s being attacked. Your throat

swells, your airways close, and it becomes difficult to breathe.

All this, from a few garbled genes.

So what can we do about it?

This is where Dr. Hudson and his work come in. Dr. Hudson is a

gene hunter. He studies the genes and proteins of hundreds

of asthma sufferers, and looks for the faulty genes they have

in common. When he sees the same faulty versions of a gene

crop up again and again in different patients, he knows that

those genes are probably one of the causes of the disease.

The trouble is, with complex diseases like asthma and diabetes,

there are usually lots of genes involved, rather than just one


or two. So it takes a long time, and a lot of effort, to find them

all and figure out what they do. But already, Dr. Hudson has

gathered lots of information about asthma genes, and is busily

sharing that info with other scientists.

What will they do with it?

Knowing which genes are involved in asthma could help other

scientists make new medicines that replace the faulty proteins,

change how the faulty proteins work, or simply block the reaction

that leads to an asthma attack. But all that depends upon

Dr. Hudson, and the treasure he digs up from his patients’ DNA.

He’s like the Indiana Jones of Immunology!

Dr. Hudson finally locates the code that would defeat the Mutants.


What’s that?

Evolutionary biology is the study of how and why living things

change and evolve.

As you probably know, all living species evolve—changing in

response to their surroundings or simply developing into new

shapes and forms over time.

Turtles evolved thick shells because thin-shelled or shell-less

turtles failed to survive and have babies. Polar bears evolved

white fur because brown-furred bears were less successful at

stalking seals in the white, snowy plains of the Arctic.

But Dr. Sabeti doesn’t look at turtles or polar bears. She’s more

interested in humans and human diseases.

Punk Rock and Parasites Dr. Pardis Sabeti

Who is she?

Dr. Pardis Sabeti


Harvard University


Evolutionary Biology


Humans are still evolving?

Yes, we are. Although we may not be changing too much on

the outside, on the inside, we’re still changing in response to

diet and dangerous disease.

Even over the last 150 years, the average height of Americans,

Europeans and Australians has increased by about 10

centimeters (4 inches). This change is partly because, since

1850, children in those places have been eating more (and

more protein-rich) food. In places where the diet has stayed

the same, people have stayed more or less the same size.

Many thousands of years ago, early humans evolved different

skin tones and degrees of hairiness in response to how sunny

and warm our homelands were. And throughout human

history, our bodies and blood types have been shaped by the

diseases that evolved all around us.

Diseases evolve, too?

Yes. Or rather, the things that

cause infectious diseases evolve.

This includes viruses, bacteria,

and other types of disease-

causing parasites.

Parasites need to invade

our bodies to survive and

reproduce. But to do that,

they have to get around our

immune systems.


Think of it this way—turtles and polar bears evolved shells and

camouflage to protect and hide themselves. The ones that

survived best were the ones with the hardest shells and the

whitest fur. Well, the parasites that survive best are the ones

that develop ways of protecting and hiding themselves from

our antibodies and immune cells. Yes, parasites evolve, too.

How do they do that?

Like us, parasites have genes inside their cells, which give

coded instructions to build proteins. Some of these are “coat”

proteins which help the parasite to disguise itself. Others are

“key” proteins which help parasites get inside body cells,

as if they’re opening locked doors. Once they have them,

parasites can use these keys and disguises to slip into our

bodies unnoticed, multiply to enormous numbers, and make

us deathly ill before the “guards” of the immune system can

catch them.

So what’s stopped them from wiping us out completely?

Thankfully, our bodies and immune systems have been

evolving, too. While parasites have been busy evolving ways

of hiding and invading our bodies, our immune systems have

been evolving ways of finding them and keeping them out. It’s

an ongoing battle or arms race between two evolving armies.

Sadly, though, this is a losing battle for us, as parasites

reproduce (and evolve) much faster than we do. That’s why

we need medicines to help us fight off nasty infections.


Is that what all this work is for then? Making new medicines?

Partly, yes. The more we understand about how parasites

attack us, the easier it is to create drugs that help us fend off

those attacks.

Dr. Sabeti looks at the genes of people and the parasites that

infect them (in countries throughout the world). She looks for

tiny changes in their DNA which are common in people from

one particular region. If a particular disease is common in

that region, then there’s a good chance that these changes

happened in response to that disease.

Often, these changes will make people at least partly immune

to a particular disease-causing parasite. In Central Africa, for

example, many people have a tiny change in their DNA which

alters the shape of their blood cells. About half of their red blood

cells end up crescent or sickle-shaped, which makes it harder

for the Plasmodium parasite that causes malaria to get inside.

Changes like this give Dr. Sabeti clues as to which “keys” and

“disguises” the parasites are using to gain entry to our bodies.

This helps other scientists design drugs and vaccines that will

help our immune systems to spot these keys and disguises and

launch a counterattack against these sneaky invaders.

Cool!

These DNA changes also give clues as to where people lived

in the ancient or prehistoric past. Dr. Sabeti uses these clues to

trace the movements of tribes and peoples thousands of years

back through time.


healthy cell

malarial cell

sickle cell

Super-cool!

...and when she’s not doing that, she also plays bass guitar and

sings in an alternative rock band. Her band, Thousand Days, has

recorded three albums, and they rock out regularly in and

around the city of Boston. She also makes online music videos

with top scientists to get high school student interested in science.

Whoa! How cool can this scientist get?!


What’s that?

Where biologists study life, microbiologists study life on a tiny

scale. For the most part, that means single-celled bacteria,

which can only be seen with the aid of a microscope.

For this reason, microbiologists tend to spend most of their time

in a laboratory. They grow bacteria on plastic plates covered

with a sugary gel, peer at them under the microscope to

identify which species are present, and test their reactions to

various chemicals and antibiotics.

It isn’t all about the bacteria, though. Microbiology also includes

the study of microscopic plants, fungi and protists (which are

single-celled creatures that sit somewhere between bacteria

and animals on the great web of life).

The Cat-Scratch Mystery Dr. Jane Koehler

Who is she?

Dr. Jane Koehler


University of California -

San Francisco


Medical Microbiology


Some microbiologists also study viruses, which are neither alive

nor microscopic. (Most are so small, you need an electron

microscope to spot them). Together, all of these microscale

organisms are known as microbes.

Medical microbiologists like Dr. Koehler study microbes that

cause human disease, such as the Vibrio cholerae bacteria

that cause cholera, or the Influenza viruses that cause (you

guessed it) the ‘flu.

So which microbe does she work with?

Dr. Koehler looks at bacteria. In particular, she studies the

species of bacteria that cause a disease called cat-scratch fever.

Ooooooo. Sounds nasty. What’s that?

It’s a disease caused by infection with Bartonella bacteria,

which affects up to 24,000 Americans every year. You get it

when cat scratches or insect bites break the skin, allowing

Bartonella bacteria carried by an animal or insect to enter

your body.

Your skin forms your body’s first line of defense against

harmful microbes. It creates a solid, unbroken, waterproof

shield around your tissues and organs, preventing the trillions

of bacteria in the earth, air and water all around us from

infecting our bodies and causing us harm.

When the skin is broken by a scratch, bite or other type of

wound, the shield becomes cracked and microbes slip in

through the gap. Inside, they meet the body’s second line of

defense—the microbe-hunting cells and antibodies of the

immune system.


Among these cells are lymphocytes. These are a type of

white blood cell which are produced in your bone marrow,

spleen and thymus. They move through your body tissues

and bloodstream, searching for bacteria and other harmful

microbes. When they find one, they stick to it and signal for

reinforcements. In response, more lymphocytes arrive, and

together they surround, envelop and destroy the intruder.

When a healthy person is infected with Bartonella, the lymph

nodes in their neck or armpits swell up. (Lymph nodes are

small, ball-shaped organs spread throughout the body.

Lymphocytes lurk and cluster there, attacking microbes that

drain into them through lymph vessels). But that’s about it. They

might also feel a bit tired and a little sore around the area of

the scratch or bite. But for most people, cat-scratch fever is just

a minor inconvenience—like catching a cold.

Dr. Koehler on another mission against the Bartonella.


That doesn’t sound so serious.

For most people, it isn’t. But for people already suffering with

AIDS, it can be deadly.

As you probably know, Acquired Immune Deficiency

Syndrome (AIDS) is the result of an infection with the Human

Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). This particularly nasty virus

attacks the very lymphocytes sent to destroy it, crippling the

immune system and leaving the infected person vulnerable to

other infections.

So while a healthy person can easily fight off the bugs that

cause cat-scratch fever, AIDS sufferers often cannot. For AIDS

patients, a simple scratch or bite can be lethal.

So how does Dr. Koehler fit into all this?

Dr. Koehler was the first person to prove that Bartonella

bacteria were the cause of cat-scratch fever AND the cause of

severe infections in so many unfortunate AIDS patients.

Through her work, she discovered that two bacterial species—

Bartonella henselae and Bartonella quintana—were actually

causing cat-scratch fever.

She proved that the henselae species caused the mild version

of cat-scratch fever seen everywhere and the lethal version

of cat-scratch fever seen in AIDS patients. Later, she proved

that the quintana species was causing the disease in AIDS

patients who didn’t own cats. This species was carried by body

lice, rather than cats. She also figured out a great deal about

how the Bartonella bacteria infects cells and hides from the

immune system.


Dr. Koehler’s work solved the mystery of where cat-scratch

fever disease came from and saved the lives of thousands of

AIDS sufferers, who now know to be careful about keeping cats.

Scientists and doctors were so grateful for her work that in 1999,

when microbiologists discovered a whole new species of cat-

dwelling bacterium, they named it Bartonella koehlerae in her

honor!

It’s not everybody that can say they have an entire species

named after them!

When she was in the 6th grade, Dr. Koehler bred mice to see how they inherited their fur color (till her parents told her to stop).


What’s that?

It’s the study of the tiny molecules—usually DNA and protein

molecules—that allow microbes to live, thrive, survive, infect

their hosts, and cause diseases.

In particular, Dr. Gaynor looks at a type of bacterium called

Campylobacter, which is a very common cause of food

poisoning. In fact, every year, this nasty little critter poisons

over 4 million people in the United States alone.

Although most people recover with simple rest or antibiotics,

Campylobacter poisoning is still an extremely unpleasant

experience. And in a some cases, it can be deadly.

Bad Food and Gut-bugs Dr. Erin Gaynor

Who is she?

Dr. Erin Gaynor


The University of British Columbia


Molecular Microbiology


So what happens when you get food poisoning?

That depends on the type of bacterium you’re poisoned with.

The super-nasty Clostridium botulinum, for example, gets

into your gut through infected food, and releases a powerful

chemical poison or toxin, which paralyzes nerves and muscles.

Left unchecked, this can lead to a life-threatening form of

food-poisoning called botulism.

Not many people know this, but the botulinum toxin is so

powerful that just 1 gram of it is enough to kill a million people.

Yet incredibly, many rich people have tiny amounts of it

injected into their faces to remove wrinkles, as part of an

expensive botox treatment!

The bug that Dr. Gaynor studies, though, is a little different.

Campylobacter jejuni gets into your body through infected

food, too. But once inside, it can invade the cells of your

intestines and messes with your ability to digest things.

Once infected with Campylobacter, your intestines have trouble

pulling enough water and nutrients from the half-digested food

squidging through your gut. As a result, your poo turns into

a watery mess that explodes from your bottom—otherwise

known as diarrhea.

Yuck!

Worse yet, starved of water and nutrients, your brain and body

respond with headaches and muscle pains. You may also

become feverish and nauseous as your body tries to fight off

the infection.

In most cases, this lasts for about a week. That’s how long

it takes for your immune system to locate and destroy

the bacteria, and your intestines to return to normal. But

sometimes, it can go on for weeks or months on end. And for

people with cancer, AIDS or liver problems, it can be deadly.

So what do DNA and proteins have to do with all this?

As we’ve already learned, DNA and proteins are the “clever”

molecules in biology. They’re how bacteria and other living

things get things done.

The best way to kill campylobacter is to cook it thoroughly.


All bacteria contain a loop of DNA (known as a chromosome)

which carries its genes, or instructions for building its proteins.

These proteins do everything from building the bacterium’s

body to helping it stick to host cells. Some genes and

proteins also make bacteria resistant to antibiotics. These are

particularly dangerous genes, as they can be passed between

bacteria on little DNA circles called plasmids, making a whole

colony of bacteria resistant to medicines.

As a molecular microbiologist, Dr. Gaynor studies the genes

and proteins that allow Camplyobacter to infect human cells.

Interestingly, these “infection” proteins don’t seem to work on

other host animals like birds. That’s why chickens, turkeys and

other birds can stay perfectly healthy even though their guts

are loaded with Camplyobacter bacteria. The bugs can’t

enter the bird’s cells, so cause no harm to the bird at all.

But when we eat those chickens and turkeys, their gut bacteria

are passed into our guts, where they can infect cells and

cause problems.

Dr. Gaynor has never actually used a flamethrower, but she has done triathlons to raise money for cancer research.

The campylobacter bacteria can live inside chickens without it affecting them at all.


So why don’t we get sick every time we eat a chicken leg or a Thanksgiving turkey?

Because for the most part, we cook our chicken legs and

turkey breasts before we eat them. Heating the meat to a high

temperature destroys proteins and DNA and kills the bacteria

inside. Properly cooked meat is generally safe meat.

Few people eat raw chicken on purpose. So most get food

poisoning from poorly-cooked chicken or from raw vegetables

that have been in contact with raw chicken.

This often happens when salad greens are sliced on a

chopping board previously used to chop raw chicken. The

bacteria lurking on the chopping board are transferred to the

greens, which pass uncooked into the mouths of hungry pals at

a BBQ. Within a day or two, these poor people will be leaking

from both ends and sprinting for the toilet. With luck, that’s as

bad as things will get.

Ewwwwww.

Thankfully, Dr. Gaynor and other scientists like her are helping

to understand more about how Campylobacter gets into cells

and why it affects some people so badly, and while others

hardly at all. In the meantime, just make sure your chicken

is fully barbecued, and keep your raw meat and veggies

separate in the kitchen. If not, you could be the next “human

fountain” on the block...


What’s that?

Structural biologists study the physical shapes (or structures) of

proteins, sugars, DNA, and other molecules made by living things.

Like Dr. Bil Clemons (the “3D protein”

guy we met earlier), Dr. Saphire looks at

proteins, how they are built, and how

they work. But where Dr. Clemons

studies the proteins built by healthy

living cells, Dr. Saphire is mostly

interested in another kind—the

proteins of viruses. In particular,

those of the deadly Ebola virus.

Up Close with Ebola Dr. Erica Saphire

Who is she?

Dr. Erica Ollmann Saphire


Scripps Research Institute


Structural Biology


Oooh, I’ve heard of Ebola. That’s a pretty nasty one, right?

I should say so, yes. Ebola comes from a family of viruses

called filoviruses. They get their name from their stringy shape

(“filo” means “stringy” or “threadlike” in Latin), which makes

them instantly recognizable under a high-powered electron

microscope.

Ebola infects all kinds of mammals, including bats, pigs,

monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees. In most, Ebola has

little effect, and the animal just carries the virus around.

But in gorillas, chimps and humans, Ebola causes deadly

hemorrhagic fevers.

I’m probably going to regret asking this...but what does Ebola actually do to you?

Within a week of being infected, the victim develops

headaches, joint pains, diarrhea, and a high fever. For a lucky

few, that’s as bad as it gets. But for the rest, things get far worse.

In week two, your eyes swell up, the entire surface of your skin

is covered with a bloody rash, and you start bleeding from your

eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and bottom.

As the bleeding continues, your blood pressure drops to

dangerously low levels. As a result, up to 9 out of 10 Ebola

patients die of shock within 2 to 4 weeks of infection. There is

no vaccine for Ebola, and no cure once you have it.


Yikes.

That’s why Dr. Saphire’s work is so important. We need to solve

the mystery of why this virus spreads (and kills) so quickly. And,

as usual, the answer almost certainly lies in its proteins.

Viruses have proteins too?

Yes. In fact, most viruses are made of little else. Viruses,

technically, are not living things at all. They’re little more than

strings of DNA (or a related molecule called RNA) surrounded

by a shell or coat of proteins.

All viruses are parasites. They reproduce by entering living

cells and hijacking the copying machinery inside. In this way,

they can make thousands of copies of themselves in a matter

of hours—copies which burst out of the cell to infect others

nearby.

Unless your immune system stops it, this copying process

repeats itself until billions of viral particles begin to overwhelm

the host, causing disease.


And that’s how they make us sick?

Exactly. Viruses make us sick because, while they’re busy

hijacking our DNA-copying, protein-building machinery, our

cells cannot grow properly or make the proteins our bodies

need to stay healthy.

Some, like the adenoviruses and rhinoviruses that cause the

common cold, are little more than a nuisance. But others, like

influenza and Ebola, can be lethal.

So why can’t your immune system spot Ebola and fight it off?

That’s the very question that scientists have been asking

themselves for years. And through her work, Dr. Saphire has

discovered a big part of the answer.

The Ebola virus makes, in total, eight different kinds of proteins.

Dr. Saphire is figuring out how each of them works together in

infection.

One of these is a coat protein which covers itself in human

sugars from the infected cell. This sugary cloak makes Ebola

somewhat invisible to the immune system, which therefore

doesn’t attack it very well.

Just in case the disguise doesn’t work, Ebola also makes a

second kind of coat protein, and releases huge clouds of it into

the host cell. This protein serves as a decoy or smokescreen.

While the immune system gets busy attacking the decoys,

the virus continues to copy itself and escapes to

infect other cells.

49

Wow. That thing is sneaky. Sounds like a pretty hopeless cause.

Maybe. Then again, maybe not... Among other things,

Dr. Saphire has discovered how Ebola sheds its sugary disguise

before it can actually invade new cells. If it doesn’t “clip off”

most of the coat proteins, then it cannot attach to and infect

the cell.

This gives us a lot of hope for new Ebola treatments. If we can

create drugs that stop this “clipping”—or block the “clipped”

proteins that Ebola uses to bind to cells—we may be able to

“lock it out”, slowing or stopping its spread.

Eventually, we may even be able to use drugs like this to treat

Ebola-carrying animals, or—if we can get to them quickly

enough—to treat people infected with Ebola.

Here’s hoping we figure it all out soon...

Dr. Saphire used to play women’s rugby and was manager of the US Team for awhile.

Making Discoveries in Our World


What are those?

Virology, as you may have guessed, is the study of viruses and

how they infect living cells. Immunology is the study of how

immune systems work to fight off infections. So Dr. Gale studies

both. He looks at viruses and immune systems and tries to

figure out how they interact.

In particular, he looks at the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) which

causes cirrhosis and hepatic cancer.

Cirrhosis is a scarring of the liver, caused by infections or liver

damage. Hepatic cancer is a disease in which liver cells begin

to multiply out of control. Both are chronic diseases, meaning

that they get worse over time.

The Ninja Virus Dr. Michael Gale

Who is he?

Dr. Michael Gale

Where does he work?

University of Washington


Virology and Immunology


I’ve heard of HIV, but not HCV. Do lots of people get it?

Sadly, yes. HIV/AIDS currently affects 30 to 40 million people

worldwide. Hepatitis C affects five or six times that number—

close to 200 million people across the globe.

How does it spread?

Like HIV, HCV is a blood-borne infection. It doesn’t pass through

the air, and you can’t get it from a simple touch or skin contact.

The virus has to pass from the bloodstream of an infected

person into that of another.

Most commonly, that happens when drug users share needles,

and tiny drops of blood are passed between them. But it can

also happen in hospitals during emergency blood transfusions.

In the developed world, all donated blood is screened for

HIV, HCV, and other blood-borne viruses, so this almost never

happens. But in the developing world, not all hospitals can

afford screening tests, nor do they have the people to do

them. So getting HCV from infected blood is more common.

What happens once it gets inside your body?

Once in your bloodstream, the virus builds up inside the liver,

where it binds to proteins found only on the surface of liver

cells. Tricked into thinking the virus is a useful protein, the liver

cells pull the virus into themselves, inside little fatty bubbles

called endosomes.

These bubbles then travel to the center (or nucleus) of the cell,

where the stringy RNA molecules at the heart of the virus are

copied over and over.


These RNA strings then pass to the ribosomes (the tiny “protein

factories” that Dr. Bil Clemons also likes to look at in 3D). There,

they’re translated into new virus proteins, which assemble

around the RNA strings to form thousands of new virus bodies.

These then burst out of the cell and infect other liver cells

nearby, and the whole cycle repeats itself.

Incredibly, this invade-copy-invade cycle can go on for many

years—decades, even—without the immune system taking

any notice.

Why can’t the immune system spot it and fight it off?

Because the Hepatitis C virus does some incredibly sneaky

things to avoid and disable it.

Most viruses are easily fought off by your immune system,

which uses many lines of defense and counterattack to keep

your cells virus-free. Most cells, for example, have special

“surveillance” proteins, which keep a look out for viral

intruders, like security guards watching a warehouse.


So if a virus makes it inside a cell and begins copying itself, it’s

soon spotted by the guards, which in turn trigger the release of

more proteins called interferons. These proteins interfere with

the virus-copying process, stopping any new viruses from being

built in that cell.

Once alerted, the guard proteins also trigger the release of

messenger proteins call cytokines. These move between cells,

signaling to uninfected neighbors that there’s an intruder in the

area, putting them on high alert. This clever alarm system stops

most viruses in their tracks.

...but not HCV, right?

Right. For many years, scientists were baffled by the way HCV

seems to avoid tripping the alarm—hanging around for years

and wrecking the warehouse, right under the guard proteins’

noses.

After many years of studying HCV, interferons and cytokines,

Dr. Gale discovered that HCV avoids the alarm system by

disabling it. He found that at least one of the proteins made

by the virus binds to the surveillance proteins inside

liver cells and cuts it into pieces.

So rather than disguise itself or hide

from the immune system, as other

viruses like HIV and Influenza do,

the Hepatitis C virus simply kills

the security guards, then hangs

out at the crime scene for as

long as it likes.


So HCV is like a sneaky ninja assassin in your cells?

Something like that, yes. The good news is that, now we know

what it’s up to, Dr. Gale and other scientists like him can start

thinking of ways to stop the virus from killing the guards or to

send in reinforcements in the shape of cytokines, interferons, or

other drugs injected straight into the liver.

If he succeeds, he could defeat the ninja viruses once and for

all and bring hope to cancer and cirrhosis sufferers everywhere.

Dr. Gale loves tinkering with his favorite car and approaches viruses pretty much the same way.


Scientist Word SearchThis grid contains the names of all the scientists mentioned in this book along with the things they study. Can you find them all?

See the Puzzle Solutions page (last page of the book) for the answers.

Clemons, Gale, Gaynor, Hudson, Koehler, Miller, Muglia, Sabeti, Saphire, Scott, bacteria, biology, ebola, evolution, gene, hormone, mathematics, molecule, neuroscience, virus

G C F X P Z J X J H Q W A Z X F J W Y R

Q V M X R O N Y A G A Z J A L O B E Q T

B W Q A Z J Z H O R M O N E Z Q J K D B

Q F V Q T Q V F Y V I R U S K T Y R X F

G V S X C H J W F W Y J V V Z K Z C Q N

H W F Q L F E J J D W V X S F O Q F D N

A W E W E W K M X X Q H A X F E Q L K E

I Q R J M F X Z A K K B X W F H J X J U

L K I Q O P G D V T E K M V K L W C Y R

G W H F N Q F F J T I Q Y T Q E Q M P O

U W P Z S B N F I K X C J K F R O Q J S

M X A J N Z W F K Z J Q S W D L Z Y F C

Z Z S Q O J P P Z Z K W Z Q E W T Z F I

M F P Q I X M I L L E R X C Y B G J F E

X B Q Z T X G A L E W J U Z Q I Q M D N

T X J K U W Q K W Y J L E K Q O Y X Q C

T X S X L X J V P F E Q Q N Q L P F W E

O Q L F O H U D S O N Z H J E O Z I J W

C X P Y V Z K J J F J V X W J G Z K G W

S P D K E A I R E T C A B V D Y K T W Q


Science Crossword PuzzleUse the clues on the opposite page to solve the puzzle. The answers are all about the science and scientists we’ve talked about in this book. So if you get stuck, flip back through the pages and see if you can figure it out!

See the Puzzle Solutions page (last page of the book) for the answers.

1

3

5

2

4

6

7 8

1210 11

13

14

9


Across:

4) Sponsors of the NC Science Festival 2012, the Burroughs Fund

5) Nasty bacterial critter, and a common cause of food poisoning

7) What the ‘A’ in MAV stands for

11) Motor, sensory and inter- are all types of what?

13) Ebola, influenza and HIV are all types of

14) Instructions for building proteins, written in DNA. Faulty or garbled versions of these can lead to asthma and diabetes.

Down:

1) Dr. Pardis Sabeti’s alternative rock band is called Days

2) Tiny living things studied by microbiologists

3) Pediatricians, like Dr. Muglia, are doctors who specialize in caring for

6) Flies HATE the taste of these!

8) The study of the immune system in humans and other animals

9) Sneaky, ninja virus which causes liver diseases like cirrhosis and hepatic cancer

10) What Dr. William “Bil” Clemons uses to look at proteins

12) Neuroscience is the study of the system


About the Author

Glenn Murphy is the author of over 15 popular science books aimed at children and teenagers, including A Kid’s Guide to Global Warming, Turning Points in Science, and Evolution, Nature and Stuff.

A former manager at the London Science Museum, Glenn moved to NC in 2007 to pursue his writing career. He now lives in Raleigh with his wife, Heather, and two angry, oversized cats.

His first book, the best-selling Why Is Snot Green? was a finalist for the Royal Society’s 2007 Junior Science Book of the Year Award. His other titles include:

•How Loud Can You Burp?

•Stuff That Scares Your Pants Off

• Inventions

•Small Steps

•Space, Black Holes and Stuff

•Bodies, Guts and Stuff

•Robots, Chips and Techno Stuff

•Will Farts Destroy the Planet?

Check out his official website at www.glennmurphybooks.com or become a Facebook fan at www.facebook.com/GlennMurphyBooks. To order signed book sets or inquire about writing projects, contact Glenn directly at [email protected].

About the Illustrator

Lorna Murphy is an author and illustrator of children’s books based in the United Kingdom. A postgraduate of the Cambridge School of Art in England, she loves learning new things, and collecting and creating illustrated books. She also loves cats. But an unfortunate allergy to all things furry means she has to settle for drawing them instead.

To see more of her work, check out her website at [email protected].

To become a fan of Lorna on Facebook, visit http://www.facebook.com/LMIllustration2.

Her published picture books include Maisie’s Mountain, all about a girl who can’t stop collecting stuff, and Eddie the Careful Cat, the tale of an adventurous cat who uses up his eighth life and has to decide how to spend his last one.

Lorna illustrates for both fiction and non-fiction publications and is currently working on projects for MacMillan publishers in the U.K.

If you would like to contact her about her work or potential commissions, you can e-mail her directly at [email protected].


About the North Carolina Science Festival

The North Carolina Science Festival is proudly produced by UNC-Chapel Hill’s Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, but events are organized by schools, universities, museums, science centers and community groups throughout the state. To find an event near you, visit www.ncsciencefestival.org.

The Morehead Planetarium and Science Center has been holding science events and outreach workshops for UNC-Chapel Hill since 1949. Each year, more than 170,000 visitors experience planetarium shows, camps and other events at the center.

If you’ve never been to the Morehead Planetarium, check out their website (www.moreheadplanetarium.org) and arrange a visit right away! They have oodles of astronomy-related classes, events and workshops, including science camps every summer.

The North Carolina Science Festival is made possible by the generous support of its sponsors. Among them is the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, a private foundation based in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park.


About the Burroughs Wellcome Fund

The Burroughs Wellcome Fund gets its name from American medicine- makers Silas Burroughs and Sir Henry Wellcome. These two pharmacists met in London in 1880, and together helped revolutionize medicine by bringing “compressed medicines” (now simply called “pills”!) to millions across Europe and North America.

They also made a great deal of money. And when Sir Henry died in 1936, he left a huge chunk of his business to a trust fund set up in his name in the United Kingdom. This was called the Wellcome Trust. The trust was created to support research in medicine and the medical sciences—supplying money to doctors and scientists who might not otherwise be able to do their important work.

In 1955, the Burroughs Wellcome Co., the North American company owned by the Wellcome Trust, established the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. Upon the sale of the Burroughs Wellcome Co. in 1994, the Wellcome Trust provided funds to allow the BWF to become a private independent foundation. Located in the Research Triangle Park, BWF supports biomedical research and education in the United States and Canada.

This book shows just some of the incredible work being done by scientists supported by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. To find out more, check out the BWF website at bwfund.org.

Acknowledgements

Author: Glenn Murphy Illustrator: Lorna Murphy Project Manager: Russ Campbell Design: Liaison Design Group

Special Thanks: Mindy McFeaters

And to all the wonderful researchers and educators we work with daily and the 10 that took extra time to review their material and provide feedback so we can provide you with a quality product.

To request additional copies of this book, email [email protected].


Interview with Glenn Murphy

How did you come up with the idea for Why is Snot Green?

I was working at the National Museum of Science and Industry in London and part of my job was writing scripts for a monthly BBC radio show called the Big Toe Radio Show aimed at 8 to 12 years olds. I gained a bit of a reputation as someone who interprets science and complex ideas well to a younger audience.

MacMillan publishers had a preexisting arrangement with the Science Museum and were already producing a series of science-based books

for various things. They asked me to be an editor for the overall content, design appropriate material, and sign off on the final text. That put me in touch with MacMillan editors and my now editor, Gaby Morgan. I went to one particular meeting and they were saying, “Hey, great work on this, you really seem to know how to get science across to kids.”

I said that by working in the trenches with the kids day in and day out I knew what kind of questions they were going

to ask. They don’t ask: When exactly was the big bang? Or: “When were the fundamental particles formed?” They’ll ask: “Do rabbits fart and if so, why can’t I smell it?” I joked that you could write an entire book full of questions like “Why do rabbits farts?” and kids will lap it up. From these funny questions, you could get to the more serious questions. Everyone kind of laughed and we went away and that was the end of that.

A couple weeks later, I got a phone call from the head of publishing and marketing saying thanks for helping out with the editing…you’ll be happy to know that your farting rabbit book has been commissioned. I meant that someone else should write it but I said, okay, sure I’ll give it a go. And I did. I basically wrote it on evenings and weekends for about four months over the summer of 2006 and edited it over the next couple of months. It came out and became a kid’s best seller in the U.K. selling over 120,000 copies and was a finalist for the Royal Society Junior Science Book of the Year.


You mentioned in an article for the Guardian that your own science education was less than exciting, full of a lot of rote and routine…

It was very traditional school. Learning was very much by rote. Learn the dates, learn the formulas, learn the theories, study for exams, pretty much the standard science education. Not much exploratory learning. I remember going to the beach once to sketch crabs, but I didn’t get any overarching ideas about evolution or where the crabs came from—we just collected as many things as we could and sketched them. It made no sense.

I was actively uninspired by science when I was in school thanks to the teachers I had at the time. I’m not saying there weren’t good teachers out there, they just weren’t at my school. When I hit 15 or 16, I independently came to popular science writing by Stephen Hawking, Richard Dawkins, Carl Sagan, that kind of stuff. I had an appetite of curiosity about the world that wasn’t being sated by the teaching at the school. By reading them, I became really fascinated by science and started spouting all kinds of random stuff to my parents and anybody who would listen.

Another direct quote from your article is: “Don’t assume your audience is interested, convince them that they should be.” How do you convince somebody they should be interested in science?

Well, you don’t bludgeon them to death with it and yell at them: “This is important! Do exams and stuff, it’s for your own good!” It’s the educational equivalent of “Eat your greens!” That’s the last way you’re going to convince them.

I think the best way to make them interested is make it contextual to their lives…Science and technology factors into pretty much everything around us all day long. From biology to material science to ecology, astronomy, it’s just a case of linking the concepts of science that you think are important to things that people already understand and care about. Some times it’s tenuous going from farting rabbits to mammalian digestive systems to why is snot green to enzymes and proteins and how they work but if those links are there and you can exploit them that’s how you do it.

It’s kind of like learning by stealth really. You don’t overtly say, “I’m going to teach you some stuff, I know a bunch of stuff you don’t.” You must take account of your audience. You should find out what they already know and you talk to them like you’re discovering it along with them.

Originally published by the North Carolina Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Center.


Puzzle Solutions

Scientist Word Search Answers

Science Crossword Puzzle Answers

G C F X P Z J X J H Q W A Z X F J W Y R

Q V M X R O N Y A G A Z J A L O B E Q T

B W Q A Z J Z H O R M O N E Z Q J K D B

Q F V Q T Q V F Y V I R U S K T Y R X F

G V S X C H J W F W Y J V V Z K Z C Q N

H W F Q L F E J J D W V X S F O Q F D N

A W E W E W K M X X Q H A X F E Q L K E

I Q R J M F X Z A K K B X W F H J X J U

L K I Q O P G D V T E K M V K L W C Y R

G W H F N Q F F J T I Q Y T Q E Q M P O

U W P Z S B N F I K X C J K F R O Q J S

M X A J N Z W F K Z J Q S W D L Z Y F C

Z Z S Q O J P P Z Z K W Z Q E W T Z F I

M F P Q I X M I L L E R X C Y B G J F E

X B Q Z T X G A L E W J U Z Q I Q M D N

T X J K U W Q K W Y J L E K Q O Y X Q C

T X S X L X J V P F E Q Q N Q L P F W E

O Q L F O H U D S O N Z H J E O Z I J W

C X P Y V Z K J J F J V X W J G Z K G W

S P D K E A I R E T C A B V D Y K T W Q

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