Into the industry: the leap of faith

Of late MABIC has been getting some enquiries by Monashians who want to know about their prospects in the biotechnology industry. I have to apologise on behalf of all of us, as we were in the midst of a few major projects and we could not provide too much time for them to answer all their queries. They have been very concerned that when they come out, they graduate with a degree that leads them nowhere, and leaves them hanging in other less than ideal jobs in contrast to other industries like finance, IT etc. One of the major reasons is that, biotechnology being "non-traditional" doesn't really allow one to fall back on the usual strategies like sifting through newspapers or asking elders for advice. Many students realise after a year or two of studying biotech, that research is not their cup of tea. And they feel their future is doomed as they are not aware of the various opportunities that lie ahead of them with a degree in biotech. It is pure ignorance to think biotech graduates all end up as researchers. This is where they need to be exposed more to the biotech industry and the whole spectrum of career available in there.

Of course, lately, there has been much improvement in this sense, with graduates being offered training programmes like that of the BeST programme by BiotechCorp, and internships, as I noted in my last post, as well as bio-career fair during 25 Apr 09 to 26 Apr 09. It makes you wonder why students are still jittery over where they would end up, and what job prospects they would have in the long run.

Primarily, I think universities should take a more proactive role, by organising career talks not only general ones on how to write resumes and go for interviews, but real industry dialogues where students are allow greater interaction with industry players on their expectations, hopes and fears. At MABIC, we are planning a talk soon to address this issue at Monash, in hopes that students would get a better idea on what they should be expecting when they leave the hallowed confines of the ivory tower. On the other hand, it would also be shock therapy to them for them to find that some of their expectations might fall flat. For example, I remember some planning to earn RM3000-4000 per month as a fresh grad, when a more realistic range would be RM1,600-2,500.

I also am concerned on whether the students know enough to search for further information if they are in doubt. Bio-career was a big event organised by BiotechCorp, and graduating students should be attending to have a good gauge of what is waiting for them out there, instead of sitting in the darkened lecturer theater waiting for people to spoonfeed them with such information. If all else fails, google is just a click away and with their capabilities in searching through wikipedia to help them with their homework, why not use it to help them with their jobs.

To try and limit the scope of what careers in biotech is about is pretty silly, as biotech is vast that it would be plain impossible to try to define a single category of jobs. Graduates can apply jobs ranging from marketing to sales, research, science writing, and regulatory, just to name a few. I also know several close friends who end up out of the biotech field, and they are very happy with what they do. The scope is limitless and it only boils down to what one has a stronger preference for. I for one cannot envision myself sitting in a research lab analysing samples, while others may find my line of interviewing and writing on science issues intimidating. All I can say is, keep your eyes and ears open. If all fails, google is your friend. :) I will update on the bio-career dialogue soon. Until then.

- KC, Liew

Enzymes and the pseudoscience heresy

A previous post of mine spoke about how one could conduct scientific research in the kitchen, with everything from tissue culture to molecular biology. However, one must always remember that these suggestions and comments actually come with a pre-condition of a good knowledge in science and a sensible head on ones shoulders.

One of my favourite phrases, “detox” is one of the most commonly used term among pseudoscience junkies. Somehow, the idea of the body being so full of bad chemicals and harmful elements due to our daily consumption, from the sound of if, probably as dangerous as a Chernobyl, that one needs expensive, “organic” (another 'favourite' pseudoscience term of mine) foodstuff to keep our bodies “clean”. Of course, most of them forget the most basic of their biology classes, the part where our kidneys and liver cleans out all waste products in the body.

However, recent developments in the country has caused me quite some concern on my previous suggestions, especially with the current “enzyme-making” fad and other related pseudoscience claims. Phrases like “natural live enzymatic components”, “enzyme drink for health and well-being”, etc. When none of the claims have any factual basis in science.

Hence, the recent fad of “creating” enzymes in the kitchen, 100% home-made, despite the fact that all recipes provided require you to buy certain overpriced products from direct-selling companies, are just nothing more than a less informed attempt to DIY. Let's all face it, one would not be able to DIY and make an antique-stained, chestnut wood cupboard without knowing how to wield a hammer and saw, despite what certain furniture companies would like you to think. Buying ready-made furniture, and putting them together with an allen key and crowing about how you DIY-ed your kitchen sink is just plain pure misguided.

I shudder to think what is currently brewing in the kitchens of most people “making enzymes”, primarily the literature being provided does not give much prominence to the necessity of sterile conditions. What is being sought out is a monoculture, may end up with a whole rainforest of bacteria, fungi and yeast. Similarly, the literature does not provide explanations on the necessity of various procedures and equipment, but instead just provided a recipe-book manner of instruction. Let's not forget how most home cooks have a tendency to substitute certain items should they find lacking. The whole exercise may be a living, ticking pathogen time bomb!

Hence I cite the example of a family friend who was “making enzymes”. She ended up having the cola bottle exploding in the kitchen coating the ceiling with gunk because no one bothered to inform her in the manual that it is important to allow gas to be expelled during the fermentation process. Instead, generic instructions on the importance of using glass/ceramic bottles/jars were provided without a science-backed explaination.

I am disgusted by how retailers actually prey on the gullibility of the public, and how uninformed the public are, and even more disgusted at consumer associations and related NGOs actually following such fads without a basis in science. I'm interested to see how many more explosions in the kitchen one can have before the public begins to wisen up.

-KC Liew

April Fools

How many of you were actually fooled on April 1st? What is the nature of the prank? April Fools is a day whereby pranks and jokes are played on the gullible to varying degrees. Elaborate and well-known pranks include BBC's spaghetti trees documentary in 1957, the changing of Big Ben to analogue, BMW yearly pranks etc.

This sounds odd for a topic on a biotechnology website, but then I would like to focus on a prank I pulled on that particular day on many people in an online forum I regularly haunt. Behind the frivolity of the prank, there is a more serious underlying issue at stake whereby it would be important for us as thinking human beings to look at. Look at the following:

Dihydrogen monoxide:
* is called "hydroxyl acid", the substance is the major component of acid rain.
* contributes to the "greenhouse effect".
* may cause severe burns.
* contributes to the erosion of our natural landscape.
* accelerates corrosion and rusting of many metals.
* may cause electrical failures and decreased effectiveness of automobile brakes.
* has been found in excised tumor

Yes, I pulled a fast one with dihydrogen monoxide, aka water. It was very amusing to look at how people who actually supported a blanket ban on the substance without further research in the first place. Similarly, the wording that was shown above, being used in the online poll I set up, was sufficiently alarmist but yet not untrue about water. Looking at the statements, from your knowledge about water, how can one say the above as being untrue? However, despite so, it would also be ludicrous to suppose that water is a dangerous substance that needs to be banned, on the contrary to what is being assumed, water is a life-giving substance which is important to every living being.

It is important to note that there are organisations out there who are thriving on such inherent alarmist tactics to create fear and generate revenue in turn. These are organisation breeding on the inherent good intentions of people who yet are gullible and able to believe things without further verification. Especially with current media trends, where people are being bombarded by information which may or may not be biased, it would be very hard to verify on a first glance. If DHMO.org was an organisation, with the level of support for the bans, I would think that the human race would have to move to a desert planet.

The prank which was perpetrated by Eric Lechner, Lars Norpchen and Matthew Kaufman of UC Santa Cruz in 1989 signifying a greater issue at stake, where science facts are being overlooked and replaced by alarmist accounts which are probably true but worded in a way to give a false negative. As such as the above box. Referring to the Wikipedia article on the subject, the hoax is still alive and well, with people from all walks of life, including MPs being duped.

My contention is this. Google! Anyone with a computer can Google up DHMO or dihydrogen monoxide and find out it was a prank. But how many actually did take the effort to verify that the cause was worthy? How many actually would take the time to check whether petitions are for a worthy cause, instead of something frivolous, or worse, simply pure alarmist? All I am trying to convey right now is the importance of verification and understanding both sides of the debates, and that information being provided for consideration on issues should be factual and science-based. Probably only then will the DHMO issue be able to lay to rest, and my cup of water is not being threatened by organisations with vested interests.

Backyard Science and the Kitchen Lab

Having blogged so much on students' perspectives and related issues in biotechnology, I've decided to move on further into the field of biotechnology by talking about my pet projects and hobbies that I hope to have that is biotech-related. Biotech-related hobby sounds slightly oxymoronic, in fact, how could someone take something that requires large amounts of funding and high-end equipment and bring it into a backroom some where at home to do on a casual basis. But that is just what I've been thinking of minus the amount of money that I would have to bleed.

This thought came about from a short discussion with Dr. Kodiswaran from FRIM during one of his tissue culture workshops where he spoke on the potentials of tissue culture, and emphasizing that the technology is not as hard as most people perceive. In fact, he mentioned that there are specific groups in the Western world where hobbyists actually come together to make up ways that it would be possible to do tissue culture at home, away from the sterile rooms and laminar flow.

How is this possible? Searching Google with keywords "Tissue Culture At Home", it was not hard to find a good website which talks about doing tissue culture at home. Many of them were very well organized and the terminology was not difficult to be understood by laymen. One of the more comprehensive site would be this one by Rick Walker of Agilent Labs (http://www.omnisterra.com/botany/cp/slides/tc/tc.htm) While there is another one which is more image intensive by Carol M. Stiff of Kitchen Culture Kits a company selling equipment for home tissue culture like media etc. (http://www.quisqualis.com/tv03tc01p1.html )

However, I should also add that it would be possible to do tissue culture with items that one can buy from hardware stores and pharmacies, without having to buy specific items like Murashige-Skoog (MS) media, plant hormones etc. from specialized stores. Some of them can be substituted, other left out. On the other hand, instead of having a sterile laminar flow cabinet to ensure sterility of the workspace, home tissue culture can be conducted by using a fish tank left on the side and which is sterilized by bleach, and instead of an autoclave, a pressure cooker is used to sterilize all equipment used.

Home tissue culture is the art of adapting to circumstances in the real world. Instead of being cooped up in the laboratories of the ivory towers, one is allowed to let one's imagination run free. Breaking out of the boxes that years of academic learning has forced upon us. Instead of perfect, spotless lab settings, one is forced to adapt to less than perfect circumstances with one's understanding of the basic theories in science.

To be frank, it is a lot more interesting and a lot more amusing when one is forced to use whatever limited resources that one may find at home to do frontline scientific work. Remember back in high school when one is required to extract DNA from onions using table salt and rubbing alcohol. The items are what we use on a daily basis for various implements, but yet by combining them, we are able to delve into the heart and core of science research. This keeps the various scientific theories alive.

I do hope the DIY trend would continue to grow strong. With soaring oil prices in 2008, DIY biodiesel manuals were hot items in bookstores, and many a house had backyard biodiesel manufacturing apparatus installed. Would we begin to see an advent in which backyard tissue culture or molecular diagnostics at home would come to fore? I know there are online groups devoted to such work. (Root beer-flavoured gel electrophoresis anyone? just check out http://diybio.org/) I shall delve into this in a little more depth when I start to do my own backyard science. :)

Maybe one day, the scientist who would ultimately win the Nobel Prize in any of the science disciplines would discover the invention in their own backyard.

As a last note, I'll append the link to a charming poem by Kari-Lynn Winters called "A Scientist Lives in Our Kitchen". This reminds me of my own childhood where I used to terrorise the household with my curiousity, with experiments like "the effects of granny's hairdye on our albino siamese cat", "physical machinations of toothpaste in granny's sewing machine" and "the chemistry of various shampoos and its effect on hair", "fake plastic fish in the freezer: an experimentation on human psyche in relation to the discernment of the identity of frozen food". ;)

Internships: First dip into the industry

The completion of a tertiary education can never be said as being fulfilled without industry experience. Students, who have been cooped up in the ivory tower for so long, find it hard to adapt to the dynamic and demanding lifestyle of the working environment without prior experience. Similarly, many companies have been complaining on the lack-luster quality of graduates, unable to cope with the needs and demands of the industry. I have mentioned this previously in many of my posts on nurturing human capital, and I have generally held the view that both parties should be more proactive and held responsible for this predicament. However, I foresee a way out. It is called “an internship”, aka industrial training.

If one looks at most established companies, it is not hard to find interns milling about the company premises. Many a story have been written about the experiences of an intern, ranging from being treated as an office boy/girl, to being shown the loops of the industry which culminated in an ultimately successful career. However it may turn out, this would still be a student’s first experience with the industry. Even if the supervisor is a Miranda Priestly (of Devil Wears Prada persuasion) wannabe, there are far more that one may experience through the “ordeal”. In the words of an acquaintance of mine, “The ‘horror’ (of the bad internship) will end, but the links and connections (forged during this period) will survive.”

Not that I am trying to say that internships would be horrifying, but it certainly is a challenge. And unless students are not only willing to step up to the challenge, but also be proactive in seeking opportunities to improve oneself, they would be left behind.

Companies and policy makers are starting to understand the importance of such training. At a recent seminar, the general manager of a Bionexus status bioinformatics company mentioned to the general audience that the company has an internship programme to help graduates understand the loops of the industry. The Managing Director of a biotech product development company has mentioned to me on many occasions how he employs staff from the various interns the company takes in from the biotech field every year. Similarly, BiotechCorp, the one stop biotech support center under the purview of MOSTI, had announced a Biotechnology Special Training Programme for Unemployed Life Sciences Graduates (BeST) which is a six-month intensive and structured retooling programme combining classroom-based instruction, laboratory work and industry internship.

The opportunities that are available are endless. Now, with the “adults” opening up the avenues and showing the way to move to students, my only advice is, “Go, explore and experience to the fullest”. Maybe one day, the “lowly” intern will blossom and become one of the movers-and-shakers of the local or even global biotech industry.

About the Bloggers

Mahaletchumy Arujanan

Mahaletchumy Arujanan is the Executive Director of Malaysian Biotechnology Information Centre (MABIC) who is a trained scientist with a Bachelors degree in microbiology and biochemistry and Masters in biotechnology. She realized she is not cut out to be a scientist as she likes to meet and talk to people instead of sitting at the laboratory bench. She likes to think of herself as a science communicator. In other words, she has a soul of a communicator trapped in the body of a scientist – hybrid produced through conventional breeding! In her free time, she practices her communication skills with her two young daughters, ‘corrupting’ their minds with biotechnology.

Maha, as she likes to be addressed is a strong biotechnology advocate and inaccurate information on this technology often gets her worked up and raises her blood pressure. Her favourite aspect of biotechnology is Genetic Modification (GM) and strongly believes it will be the mainstream in food and agriculture in the next 10 years or less. She stays healthy and young by taking lots of GM soybean and is ‘allergic’ to organically grown food as her scientist mind tells her it is not tested enough for safety. To meet her, just attend any biotech events, you might bump into her.