Pamela Anderson at cell-biology conference
Cell biologists compete to bring science to the public.
The connection between the hardcore world of molecular cell biology and Pamela Anderson's plastic surgery may not seem obvious. But last night, graduate student Ben Dubin-Thaler of Columbia University in New York earned glory for spelling it out in one verse of a three-minute poem. To study cells in the lab, he said, you first grow them on to a matrix of proteins:
"It could be fibronectin or laminin,
Or it could be collagen — like the lips of Pam Anderson."
Comments
Can we see the whole poem? Surely you cannot win just by mentioning Pammie ;)
OK, sorry I forgot it's America. Yo! Cells!
Hmmm 'Cellslam' indeed. I hope he also mentioned the silicon.
Seriously though, great to see this sort of thing happening at hardcore conferences. Moot point regarding funding at the end of the article too.
Posted by: geneticus | December 14, 2006 11:03 AM
It's really a wonderful competition:creative,humorous and unforgettable.
Posted by: Mu Lee | December 14, 2006 11:31 AM
Here you go geneticus, in case you really thought Pam Anderson was the only source of silly humor in the USA. Props to Tim and Helen for helping me rhyme, and Pearl Quick who is the real thing slam poet.
cell spreading
cell spreading
they're only microns wide but you won't believe the dancing!
i mean, you might not think of cells as being SO creepy crawly
but you know before the cell is flat, it had to be bally
so how does it do it, get from ball to spread?
understand in 3 minutes and i get my street cred
so here we go,
get ready to get-down
no, i'm not kidding, we're all getting down
cause the cell really does a dance
yeah like its got on fancy pants
yah see
we take a balled up cell and then we drop the ball
onto a sticky lawn of matrix made of watcha-ma-call
could be fibronectin, or laminin, or it could be collagen
like the lips of pam anderson
well the cells, you know, they aren't really that picky
they start kissing those lips
integrin binding makes 'em sticky
and that's the first step in the cell get down
come on do the first step in the cell get down
kiss kiss kiss moving all around
yeah know you know the first step in the cell get down
now if the kissing is good
well the cells do what they should
like you cracked an egg on a pan
they move as fast as they can
5 microns per minute
can you believe that they can?
its cause actin says action that they move so fast
they spread and spread and spread until you think it can't last
so come on do the second step in the cell get down
move your arms out smooth like butter
move those arms out smooth like you're spreading butter
yeah now you know the second step in the cell get down
yeah YOU know the second step in the cell get down
now i never feed milk
to my cells growing in the lab
but they got calcium in 'em
and it makes 'em fab
cause for the third move we're gonna learn the cell needs some pep
after spreading real fast there's a burst of calcium
then the cell uses myosin to change its step
and the cell starts pulling
and pushing
and pulling
and pushing
and pulling
again and again and then another
with rhythm to impress even savian glover
with that hot rhythm the cell can sense force
and if the floor is too soft the cell heads north
but if it can't sense the force you know that something is wrong
that cell might be cancer, it sings its own song
but let's try to stay healthy by dancing all day
let's all try to feel the dance floor like healthy cells, OK?
so let's do the cell dance together, you know all the steps
kiss kiss kiss moving all around
move your arms out smooth like butter
and then push and pull and push and pull
Posted by: Ben Dubin-Thaler | December 15, 2006 04:57 AM
But this doesn't capture your performance aspect, which as I recall was key. I understand there's video of the event? This material has a way of surfacing when you're getting introduced for more formal presentations...
(example: secret Mike Eisen video at http://www.plos.org/downloads/ride_em_eisen.avi )
And well done, by the way!
Posted by: Eric Weiss | December 15, 2006 03:59 PM
Good to know great personalities at cell surgery.Thanks to the technology.science project do add to kids science basics.
Posted by: anthony | January 22, 2007 12:19 PM
To bring Scince to public ?? Pameela! it doest hav any logical point i think. Because people who cares for society who hav envirnmental sensitivity can recognize science in a better way .This is no way going to give the actual result you might have expected.
Posted by: Vijayalakshmi Pandian | July 11, 2007 02:22 PM