I am currently spending my days growing dense populations of micro-organisms in the lab, only to blast them with gamma rays to get them to die again. This isn't for sick microbial kicks but to understand how different cells are affected by radiation. This makes more sense if I tell you that I work in the emerging field of science called astrobiology - looking into the possibility of life beyond Earth. Mars is thought to offer one of the best chances for harbouring extraterrestrial life in our solar system, but its surface is constantly pelted with cosmic rays so I want to find out how long life could survive such bombardment.
Astrobiology incorporates geology, microbiology, biochemistry, planetary science and astrophysics. I fit in nicely as my undergraduate degree was in biological sciences. After graduating from the University of Oxford, I moved to University College London (UCL) to a fantastic new interdisciplinary doctoral training centre (DTC) called CoMPLEX, or the Centre for Mathematics and Physics in the Life Sciences and Experimental Biology to give it its full name.
DTCs are a great opportunity for postgrads as they provide lots of training and give you a taste of several fields of research. After completing a research masters at CoMPLEX, they give you PhD funding for any project that interests you, as long as it bridges the interface between biology and other disciplines. So I had the phenomenal opportunity of being able to write my own PhD proposal, choose my own supervisors, and start work in astrobiology.
There's that g*ddamned "little green men" phrase again. It's patently obvious that the mainstream media and scientific establishment will go to any lengths to marginalize and demonize any notion of the existence of intelligent, extraterrestrial life. To read the rest of the article, click here.