I just started reading Gravity and I'm hooked! I've been on a non-fiction kick for about a year now and decided that this would be a good reason to take a fun, page-turning break. My first Gerritsen was Vanish and it wasn't a great read for me. I don't think it had enough "science" in it for me. I am enjoying Gravity and it reminds me of one of my other favorite authors, Dan Brown. I really enjoyed Deception Point along with his other more popular titles.

I'm at the point in Gravity where the mouse is about to lick the floating mass of Archaeon in the ISS lab. Is there anyone else out there just starting the book? I'm sure that Tess is going to tell me all about Archaeon but I am a bit OCD with research and do decided to get a head start by Googling Archeon. I am particularly interested in the biotech/biomed applications of Archaea. I was surprised that I didn't find too much in the way of current (07-09) research (at least not in a cursory search) but I did find a 2002 paper from the journal Archaea on the perspectives of biotech apps of archaea. If I were using this book with students (in particular college bound science interest students) I would want to make connections with the fiction and some practical skill applications (aka science literacy). I would use this journal paper as a way to supplement the info on archaea but also teach some technical reading skills, something I didn't truly learn until graduate school. Journal papers are not easy reads and to expose our students early on to this type of reading and writing format can only help them succeed. Combining Gravity with an activity like this doesn't make the technical reading seem so daunting. I've attached a PDF of this paper for anyone interested.

I'd like to ask Tess how she dealt with all the technical reading she must have done in the research for this book? Does she have any tips or tricks that she used when reading dry, data-oozing journal papers? I'll have to check to see if there's a forum for questions to ask Tess.

Oh no I posted 3 times, that's what I get for sitting on the porch doing this blinded by the shiny orb in the sky...anybody know what that thing is?

Will the moderator please clean up my mess and delete my duplicate postings, thanks!

All cleaned up Abby. Thank you for asking.

As for the questions for Tess. How about I start a thread for them. I cannot guarantee that she will answer. I can let her know that the thread is there but she's an incredible busy woman. But let's start a thread and see what happens.

Mary

The Eagle Has Landed!!

It would be hard to begin this week without acknowledging the historic significance of today's date...July 20th... 40 years ago today Apollo 11 landed on the moon! Do you remember what you were doing on that date while you watched Neil Armstrong step onto the lunar surface? While it may not feel like we've taken a giant leap for mankind during this forum discussion we can say that by reading riveting literature with a strong science theme for no reason except for absolute pleasure we've made small step for the Maine science community.

In Gravity the ISS crew is facing a threat of staggering significance. While reading the sections, The Autopsy and The Chimera, we are exposed to the raw threat of an altered microbial life form. Chimera was a new word for me. I looked it up in Wikipedia and here's what it said: Typically seen in non-human zoology (but also discovered to a rare extent in human beings), a chimera is an animal that has two or more different populations of genetically distinct cells that originated in different zygotes; if the different cells emerged from the same zygote, it is called a mosaicism. As I read these sections I was of course enthralled by the life science. But I also found that I was reminded over and over again about the astronauts humanness. Whether it was in the minor errors they made that turned out to be not so minor or the intimate feelings they had for each other; the human aspect was always close at hand. I found myself wondering what role the human aspect continues to play in the ISS today as there are more astronauts aboard the ISS today than ever before.

What were your thoughts on these gruesome sections of the book?

Happy Lunar Landing Day. Be sure to take a moment and look up into the sky and marvel at its grandeur and remember the words, "We came in peace for all mankind."

Mary
PS - Here's a neat video clip on the moon landing and the scientific spin offs that we use today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw9azKj70kA

This is our final week discussing Gravity. What stood out to you as you read the final sections, The Origin and The Sea?

Something that stood out to me was the use of questions. It reinforced the notion that questions are an essential element of science and thus science education. On page 333 Emma asks, "Why would a mammalian hormone like HCG suppress the reproduction of an alien life-form? Why would an extraterrestrial organism, so foreign to anything on earth possess properly fitting locks to our keys?" I notice that these questions are not yes/no questions or questions that require memorized facts. They are open ended and meaningful to Emma, the person asking the questions. They will require more research and will ultimately lead to more questions. They will lead to clarification of the world around her.

What were your thoughts on Gravity and did you enjoy the read?
Mary