I was really looking forward to hearing Professor Noh’s lecture, not only because of her connection to Colby, but because of the topic as well. I get excited for lectures that are being given by Colby professors; their knowledge and expertise are second to none. That said, there are so many different fields of study, and it is simply impossible to take a class from every single professor at Colby. Henceforth, these lectures are an opportunity to learn and hear a perspective that differs from the everyday mindset. Professor Noh’s lecture was no different, and although much of it was beyond my knowledge of expertise, it was truly fascinating. I really enjoyed her explanation of “next-generation sequencing”. She explained how she, as well as her colleagues, can read millions of DNA sequences on specialized instruments which, in turn, has revolutionized the speed at which scientists can study/evaluate DNA samples. This technological advancement completely blows my mind.
I have always been intrigued with DNA, chromosomes, etc. because my older sister has Angelman Syndrome. In short, she has this disorder because of a deletion of her 15th chromosome. This is what my mom has told me since I was about five years old, so the ‘prototypical’ spinning DNA samples with colors and labels have intrigued me for as long as I can remember. Hearing Professor Noh explain how advanced and specialized technology is was memorizing. It gave me hope for the future in which genome editing may become a significant part of everyday life. It gave me hope for people who have conditions completely out of their control. For example, Professor Noh explained her experiment of wild dicty strains and how she changed clonal and chimeric strains, and label certain nucleotides “A”, “C”, “G”, “T”. Much of the information went somewhat over my head, yet it is the idea that matters. This idea of shifting and shaping the DNA and molecular makeup of materials is extraordinary. THis is also why I believe Professor Noh has one of the coolest jobs in the world right now. I firmly believe that genome editing and DNA study will play a massive role in life over the next fifty years. Maybe one day I will be able to aid Professor Noh in is endeavour!
The last part of Professor Noh’s lecture that I found interesting was her explanation of lab sources versus wild sources. She illustrated how natural results are far much more favorable than lab results. In other words, Professor Noh explained how her experiments were far more accurate than others because of her use of wild dicty strains. Ok, yes, this does seem extremely obvious, and most scientists are considered smart people, so they should know better. I was honestly surprised to her Professor Noh explain how in so many different cases, scientists will use samples that are passed from lab to lab for years. If scientists are not consistently working for the most accurate results possible, then what is the point? She emphasized what I concluded to be the obvious: you are far better off using natural resources than not. Professor Noh reiterated the importance of correct/accurate results, something that has been a consistent theme with most of our visiting professors.