Summary of Emerging Technology (by Chia TF)

Question: How does 'common' thinking help or hinder us in our work? Moulding the Future? All come out with similar thinking? :@

Review: Working by Specific Theme / Event, Event embedded by smaller tasks

Getting Ready for Life Sciences

• Life Sciences and Singapore
• Moulding and Shaping Ourselves
• My Own Experience with life Science: how to get into it
• How Schools can Participate and Enjoy

Life Science is the way to go for S'pore

Moulding and Shaping Ourselves
Striving for excellence

• Initially...learn to imitate and mimic
• Be selective in finding role model(s)...dream: with experience
• Read wisely. Try reading more original papers and articles: Not so much on review of articles because it is the interpretation of another person - influence
• Nurturing and grooming confidence
• Should not focus on getting respect from your peers: draw as much as you can from the group
• Instead focus on older clever people. However, not too old...can't look up to senility
• No point behaving like the mass, you will never succeed in a normal way: but not behave as a lunatic :)
• Reject authority...positively. Being against everything is a sure way to get nowhere: must be able to see the good, cream off, add your own...do not take wholesale.
• Try to hang out with really bright people: we are all bright in different aspect, sense and see the strengths to use them and learn

Sharing 3 case studies on Life Sc journey by Prof Chia TF

• The story of the glowing orchids:

Firefly luciferase as a nonevasive marker for orchid transformation.

Orchid is the most clever plant - produce 1000 seeds and use fungus to feed them, can mimic a female bee and attract male bees to pollinate. Really ah? 9 years of experimentation - first few years force feeding and the orchid did not bloom. Sixth year -re-experimented and left nature take its course and the first full bloom orchid.

• Gene therapy against cancer using gene gun:

What are the major causes of death?

• Heart Diseases (35%);
• Cancer (35%),
• Others (30%)

Cancer Eradication of Tumour Growth via Biolistic Tranformation with allogenic MHC genes.

• Genetic engineering of resverartrol for cancer

Prevention of Cancer and Cardio-Vascular Diseases

What is resveratrol?

• It is a potent compound against cancer and heart diseases
• found naturally in grapes, peanuts and 70 other plants
• A phytoalexin, it has a strong anti-oxidant activities and is a phytoestrogen
• Anti-ageing properties

How schools can participate in Life Sciences

• getting the involvement of ALL
• structure it within curriculum: not as enrichment and not overload
• making it fun, enjoyable and rewarding
• go for discovery and product creation: the product cement all the theory

How do we get to know Life Sciences?

• from books, mags, internet, trs, friends
• you also learn fr experience (hands on), interesting projects, satisfaction, real life, and multidisciplinary projects
• ability driven education: know your ability and level of drive

Some ADE projects for schools

• Orchid Hybridisation Programme (OHP)
• Rainbow Corn Course (RCC)
• Lets Breed FISH
• Health Info Tracking System(HITS)
• Fr biology into aerodynamic toys
• Our DNA tree

Succeeding in Science. Some rules of thumbs

"to succeed in science, it's not enough to be smart - lots of people are very bright and get nowhere in life"

How Jim Watson thinks...

Learn from the winners

• avoid dumb people
• turn to people brighter than yourself
• play not to win but to win at something really difficult
• go somewhere beyond your ability and come out on the top

Take risks

• to make a big success, be prepared to get into deep trouble
• good brain but no vision gets you nowhere
• ignore the assessment of those in power, your scientific hero,...if not careful, you will develop deep anxieties

Have a Fallback

• be sure that there is someone that will save you when you are in deep shit
• if you cannot a whole someone, divide it up

Have fun and stay connected

• never do anything that bores you
• you need to have people you can go to for intellectual help
• expose your ideas to informed criticism