Science and Lawsuits

Lots of stuff happening in the news lately. I haven't had much time to wite about that stuff. But let's face it: If you're really interested in that, you're not looking to me for your source of info on that.

I've been busy lately getting settled into this whole "graduate school" thing. All this orientation, and yet I still don't feel very oriental at all. Maybe I'm doing something wrong.

Part of our orientation has been listening to professors discussing their research projects, informing us so we can decide who we would like to spend the next few years slaving away for doing research with.

The thing is, when I listen to many of the professors' research, I know that we're hearing about stuff that is the absolute cutting edge of technology. When the projects these folks are working on leave the laboratory, they will change the world. Some of them are working on things that will bring cures and instant analysis for diseases, or therapies for crippling conditions (paralysis, for example). Others are working on technology that will make solar energy not only marketably useful, but could transform it into a primary source of electrical energy.

These advances . . . wow. And when I do end up in one of these labs, or when I get to hear a professor discuss his research . . . how cool would that be to be one of the first to bring that kind of information to the world?

But this leaves me with some hard thoughts. What am I allowed to write about? At what point am I compromising the project that a professor is working on? Am I violating some rule or hurting them professionally if I write about a research project that hasn't been published yet?

Of course, any insight my readers can offer would be most welcome. But I shall have to answer these questions for myself in the coming years.