My Blog
Science by a Scientist: Cells
The Stars With his hands clasped behind his back, King David strolled up and down his balcony in the cool of the night. His attention was drawn upwards to a sky filled with twinkling lights (no light pollution back then). After gazing for some minutes and whispering a...
Being a Woman
I am a woman—a Caucasian human female. Therefore, my life should be easy—and it was and is, to a large degree. But, after reading a couple of books in my book club that highlighted the challenges of being a female in the recent past, ruminating on how my life...
Can Random Mutation Lead to Functional Complexity?
Those who know my history will also know I have questions about evolution. Not common descent, but about the idea that the complexity and specificity of life came about through what amounts to typos in DNA. As an author, I know that typos have never improved my books....
Dishonest Healers: A Deadly Game
The first-year medical student bit her lip, “I don’t know what to do. Most of my class is cheating, and the teachers don’t do anything about it. I’ve been offered a preview of the exams for $100 each. The only way to compete with the cheaters is to cheat. But...
Pinocchio in College
(updated from a published article) “Dr. Crocker, I know who complained about you to your boss—you reported her for cheating on her final exam.” Only a week after the publication of the story of my time as an educator at George Mason University (GMU), I was contacted...
Science by a Scientist: Macromolecules
A simple sugar. Several of these attached make a polysaccharide, like starch.The little balls represent amino acids. Those attach, the chain curls up, and the final result is a functional machine.The four railroad cars of DNA are guanine, cytosine, thymine, and...