A doyenne of science passed away, a diva of earth is silent. A maestro of microbiology died last week, a guru of geosciences is with us no more. And the world hardly shed a tear.

On 22 Nov 2011 Lynn Margulis, Microbiologist and prof of Geosciences at U Massachusetts died of a hemorrhagic stroke. On the internet I found a short announcement a few days later. She was a graduate of UC Berkeley. She was the wife of Cosmos guru Carl Sagan. Shall we ever forget those dazzling ideas and that captivating voice? She had 3 sons and 1 daughter, and “I quit my job as a wife twice,” she once said about the difficulties of balancing science and domestic life. “It’s not humanly possible to be a good wife, a good mother and a first-class scientist. No one can do it — something has to go.” Her supreme and extraordinary mothering skills are perhaps proved in the way she collaborated with her son Dorion  to publish scientific books containing her controversial ideas in more acceptable and ’softer’ approach to the general public. Her children all excelled professionally. They all honored her skills.

She also was known, somewhat controversially, as a collaborator and supporter of James E. Lovelock, whose Gaia theory states that Earth itself is something of a living organism. Atmosphere, geology and organisms form a self-regulating system, maintaining the conditions that allow its perpetuation. Earth itself is alive. Our Mother Earth. Gaia. And her endosymbiontic theory, that eukaryotic cells developed through symbiosis of prokaryotic cells, organelles like mitochondria and choroplasts originated as symbiotic bacteria, was rejected 15 times… 15 journals… before being accepted for publication. She never quite received the recognition she deserved for her great theories. She did get a Science Medal. She deserved a Nobel Prize.

She considered her ideas not ‘controversial’, she considered them ‘right’. She gave the world the female view of evolution, where competition and blood in the fight for survival of the fittest is replaced by symbiosis and collaboration. A peaceful approach for growth and excellence. A ‘do-unto-others’ view of life. And Gaia smiled gently at her vision and efforts, welcoming the struggles to find her laws.

A synopsis by one reporter caught my eye  Read the rest of this entry »

In the past seven years we danced on the mountaintops – but also trembled in the valley of death. We had soft rain on our faces, and also blizzards and hurricanes on our back. The gentle winds lifted our kites and we set our sails for new horizons – while wild storms tied us down and threatened to sink our ship. We survived! I guess we experienced the entire spectrum of life. We grew and flourished, holding on to our values, each other and the biggest of all, that is Hope. Home will always be where the heart is. And our hearts will always be tied to our roots. The dance of life is included in the fight for survival of the fittest. Our challenges indeed become our joys, and with faith, hope and love, we will not go quietly into the night. May the treasures of 2012 be reachable and the harvest fill our barns once more. And may we look out for each other and the small blue dot we inhabit.

Peace and Joy to all! Happy New Year!

However, in a paper from 2001 I advocated just the opposite. I recall saying that the transformation in Higher Education could lead us back to its true essence. Could help us rekindle its Soul. And if a University is a ‘place of light, of liberty and of learning’ not a single transforming force would have the capacity to diminish any aspect of this spirit.

So what changed?

In my 2002 paper I highlighted 3 transforming forces: (1) corporatization (2) accountability (3) new technology. The evolutionary process by which higher education has been transformed through the ages is needed to adapt our structure to fit into a socially and technologically altered world. The knowledge centre around which higher education revolves would not be quenched by these transforming forces.

Or will it…?

Corporatizarion/marketing… new technology… accountability. Contemplating the changes in academia over the past few years, and the metamorphosis that science has undergone to enhance the pace of research, I can see (and feel) how the face of science has been influenced, how its soul has been altered. As with any reductive analysis, not a single one of these forces would indicate a capacity to cause a revolution in academic science. However, collectively the new corporate spirit in science, with paid-for services, kit-based analysis, and intellectual property demands have changed the face of science, and diluted its soul. Just how, I feel every day. The battle for the soul of science has only just begun.

My cochlear stem cell SEMs!

It was only after seeing the structures with the electron microscope…
that these collaborators realized they were on the right track in producing stereocilia from cochlear stem cells. I do weekly imaging sessions for them to follow the course of their experimentation, improve on physiological conditions, wile optimizing correlative techniques between light and EM imaging. A lot of time is spent searching for the proper cell development (at 5,000x magnification that is quite a challenge on a 12mm circular plate!). Optimizing the SEM signal for high-resolution imaging of structures a few micron in length, and the tip-links at the nano-scale, this remains a challenge for Tungsten-filament Variable Pressure SEM. Eurekas and high-fives are common during the imaging sessions!

I now know why, living outside America, we were never introduced to American poetry. In fact, we thought America never had any remarkable poets… Had their voices been known outside these borders, nobody would want to come live here. The rate of immigration would have slowed down… even stopped.
And where would America have been then?

America: I’ve given you all and now I am nothing (Allen Ginsberg)
America stop pushing I know what I’m doing…
America I’m putting my queer shoulder to the wheel.

We’re living in another recession
depression
and I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked
(yes Allen)
What is it with you, oh America, that you act like a flock of blind sheep without a shepherd
no direction till someone popularizes one iconic item, markets one flawed artifact
and you all jump into the river, a migratory stampede into over-indulgence
exploitation that leaves the weak naked and the rich spinning more gold
Rumpelstiltskin
demanding our jewels, our relationships, our off-spring
shameless America

our mother Earth is dying and her children dance in rags
and in my dreams you walk dripping from a sea-journey on the highway
across America in tears to the door of my cottage in the Western night
to free us with new poets
who can tell the naked
truth
and rekindle a flame in the mediocre minds of my generation
so the windows of the skull can again reflect the light
that called us here
to America
Oh yes, Allen
it also occurred to me that I am America

Today I installed my new Tousimis CPD. Then the first trial run. I was overjoyed. It was awesome. It was fully automated, efficient and precise. And quiet.
I was perplexed… Gone are the days of screeching, hissing, whining and bursting sounds echoing down the hallways, so that students turned their heads, and looked scared around the door when the critical point drier was running. We did call it ‘the bomb’ in the 80’s!
Is this the end of the romantic era of SEM processing? One lonely tube is still convulsing, exhaling carbon dioxide. For the rest… peace and quiet and precision.
I think I’m going to love it!

Today I was picking out wine for the Birthday/Valentine’s/Symphony weekend. Under ‘More Imports’ my eyes rested on a bottle Chenin Blanc from South Africa – Simonsig, and then proudly: ‘owned by the Malan family since 1688′… Next to the Simonsig there is a Chardonnay from Fleur du Cap, a miniature Table Mountain on the label – ‘inspired by nature’, and ‘matured underground in the Berkelder, Stellenbosch – reflecting our closeness to nature’.

And I wonder, how do you compensate for tradition and heritage. How do you replace ’since 1688′. Can you even try to fill it in? Or do you continue life with a void, half undone, wounds slowly turning into scars? We did dislodge the roots of 325 years…

The secret to fulfillment on the road ahead may lie in seeing myself as a citizen of the Earth. The familiar places with vineyards, mountains and beloved nature will always be part of our heritage… as well as our future. Only now we embrace a bigger landscape, a wider sky, a more complex life – while never escaping the influence of the past. Never growing on without appreciating back. A plant with cut roots will wither away. Transplanting a 325yr old tree can be accomplished only if the roots are supported by abundant mother soil – to nurture new growth in the now unfamiliar sky.

this little guy was cleaning out his home on Skyline Blvd after a week of torrential rains…

For  2010, the inspiration and energy of the great Greek poet, Odysseus Elytis:

At the same time, the peaceful reassurance of Thomas Wolfe:

Awesomeness is once again on the interwebs

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still here – getting a face lift…!