• Question: What's your favourite thing about being a scientist?

    Asked by endaeb to Enda, Jean, Kate, Kev, Tim on 9 Nov 2012. This question was also asked by kdog3000, julia123yermak, sblack751, cheeseman, biebersgirlxx.
    • Photo: Jean Bourke

      Jean Bourke answered on 9 Nov 2012:

      As my background is in medicinal chemistry, I know a lot about medicine and this is obviously very handy in my day-to-day life. My friends often ask me to explain what their diagnosis means and what the medicine they have will do. It also means that I can have really good chats with my doctor if I’m sick. It’s nice to be able to understand what is going on in your body (at least a bit).

      I also like understanding all the stuff written on food packets and seeing right through all the pseudoscience (fake science) in adverts and in movies. Some of it is hilarious!

      Often knowing some basic science comes in useful in ways you never thought it would!

    • Photo: Enda O'Connell

      Enda O'Connell answered on 12 Nov 2012:

      I love that my job allows me to meet really interesting people from all around the world, who are not necessarily all scientists (we also work with Engineers, Computer Scientists and Clinical Doctors), but all of them are trying to make the world a better place for us to live in.

      I love getting involved in new projects that I don’t know much about and having to learn or invent a new lab technique to be able to help the researcher get the information they need. This can sometimes take a lot of trial and error but it is always rewarding when you do something nobody has ever done before or find out something that might be the important piece of the puzzle to really make a difference.

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