One of the problems in my department is that there are a lot of geneticists who can't seem to keep their study organisms under control. You really can't be anywhere in the building and expect it to be Drosophila free. It gets annoying to always have to swat these things away as they're buzzing around your face.
On top of them just being annoying, there is a risk to the science that I do. I work with DNA sequences, and you always have to be careful in order to avoid contamination of samples. I know it will upset me to no end if I end up getting a population of fish that is more closely related to fruit flies than to my other populations.
I can't help but wonder what the response would be if it were my fish that were flopping all over the halls, and slapping people in the face with their tails while they're trying to work. I'm pretty sure people wouldn't stand for that. I don't understand why they stand for the flies.
10 comments:
Would you rather be inhaling noxious, toxic insecticides instead? Just curious... :)
Just imagine if you worked with a big predator--mt. lions perhaps. It would be funny if you just let them get out regularly, roam the halls, eat a couple grad students. That'd show those irresponsible fly biologists!
Yeah. I'm right there with you on the Drosophila hating band wagon :-) We SHOULD let your fish run...or flop...wild. I'd unleash some Syntrichia caninervis, but i think that might be a little drastic ;-) Wow, I'm a nerd.
Would the Syntrichia really do anything annoying to anyone though? Maybe it could just grow under their toenails or something. I'm sure that would be annoying :-)
Ha. I don't let my flies fly about. ;) I'm not sloppy!
Well Lauren, I think that puts you in the minority. But I should say thank you for that. Make sure you keep it that way!
Have you ever considered working primarily on flies without wings? It would slow them down and keep the majority of them out of your face.
You say "shameless plug," I say "I'm ahead of the game."
I think I know where the flies in the main building are all from. Starts with a "Dr." ;D I was in 111, and I swear a ton of flies just swarmed in through the ventilation system. Or something. But I know it's from one of the labs down that-a-way.
ha ha ha ha!! I love the image of your fish flopping all over the halls. I don't think my mice running amok would have been much appreciated, either. Those geneticists, can't they keep anything under control? Next thing you know they'll be making monkey-humans.
Post a Comment