Science Diaries: Dispatches From the Frontiers of Discovery

If the media is a mirror of our society, then many of us apparently regard scientists as geeks, well-meaning oddballs, or perhaps part of some evil corporate conspiracy. Whatever your opinion, it’s a good bet that for virtually every day of your life, you are dependent upon some engineer, researcher, or scientist’s expertise, directly or indirectly. They’re the ones who designed the car you drive, helped discover or perfect the drugs you take, developed the water quality standards for your neighborhood, and the means for cleaning up the waste dump that none of us wants to live near.

Scientists have a vested interest in understanding humanities’ place in the greater scheme of things, which means acquiring a hands-on knowledge of the workings of our world – including the other species we share this planet with. We humans are the first species to grok the Big Picture of life on earth, and also the first species with the means to be messing things up for everybody else – think air pollution, global warming, habit loss and on and on. In the face of a very long, depressing list, scientists appear to be a ray of hope. Not that we can necessarily techno-fix our way out of all the thorny challenges we’ve gotten ourselves into, but at the very least we can come to terms with the realities of our situation. No scientist has yet found a way to bottle conscience.

Everyone has a story to tell and scientists are no exception. Science Diaries aims to let these dedicated folks tell their own stories. It affords us a chance to collectively be “flies on the wall”?, witnessing the frontiers of discovery and the everyday workings of the world of science. We’ll be able to monitor scientists’ postings from the field, ask questions and, on occasion, even participate in the lines of research the scientist is engaged in.