Low Coverage Thoughts

The other day, I read a comment joking that everyone in science is either an egoist or has imposter syndrome. It was obviously satirical, but it lingered with me, prompting me to wonder why it feels uncomfortably close to the truth. The joke assumes a binary, that you can only think that you’re the best scientist or the worst. But speaking from my own experience, I’d argue that most scientists are forced to adopt the external projection of egoism while still internally feeling imposter syndrome at the same time. I often feel like the academic system favors having an ego, whether intentionally or not. Bold claims in high-impact journals, confident grant applications, and assertive presentations at conferences all signal authority, which tends to be rewarded. Metrics like citations, h-index, and journal prestige favor those who can make their work highly visible, while leadership roles and networking opportunities often go to the most outspoken or self-assured. Now, I’m not saying that ...

Looking Beyond Mice: Why Biology Needs Stranger Model Organisms It’s been almost a month since my last post, with finals, Thanksgiving, and friends visiting Boston keeping me completely busy. While diving into papers for my final projects, a concept that I’d thought about before but never really looked into has been brought back to my attention. I’ve always wondered why academics don’t put a greater focus on studying organisms outside the usual B6 mice, zebrafish, fruit flies, etc. These organisms are great for modeling human diseases, but not all medical breakthroughs are achieved directly from human cellular biology. If you look at some of the most impactful medical breakthroughs in the past 20 years, many of them stem from non-traditional model organisms, despite the majority of biomedical research focusing directly on humans via model organisms. Just off the top of my head, discoveries such as GFP thanks to the crystal jellyfish, neuronal memory storage thanks to sea slugs, and CRI...