Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 4, 1992 TAG: 9202040379
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By W. E. BEAL
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
THE NERVE OF IT
HAS AMERICA given up on science?Science education seems to be the furthest thing from the minds of many people. Elementary school teachers are "afraid' of science. Science in secondary school is for "nerds." Universities compete to get scientific research grants, but are less concerned about teaching science. The general public is being convinced that dissecting a frog is an educationally worthless endeavor in animal torture.
Wake up America! Look around you.
When you drink your next Diet Coke take 10 seconds per calorie to figure out where Nutrasweet came from. I hope Magic Johnson wonders how we discovered and tested the effect of the drug AZT. The remarkable fiber in your gloves that keeps the heat in and moisture out doesn't grow on trees.
As a population, we are "into" material things, good health, fast food and convenience. Nothing is more at the root of new things, new drugs, new foods and new ways of doing things than science and technology.
In one day recently, I heard a radio commentary proclaiming the uselessness of dissecting a frog and I read where scientists had just created a computer chip that worked similarly to a human nerve. The two are related.
The computer chip simulates a nerve that accommodates to a constant stimulus - as when you no longer "feel" the hat on your head, or bath water doesn't seem as hot after you have been in it for a while. Linking several of these chips in series will create a simplified brain model.
Where did computer scientists gain understanding of an accommodating nerve in the first place?
It could have come from dissecting a frog. The sciatic nerve from the leg of a frog is one of the most commonly used for teaching and researching nerve function. Could a computer simulation of a nerve have been created without ever dissecting a real nerve? No. How will the computer brain model be tested? By comparing it to a living nerve network.
Dissecting frogs and learning about science needs to be recognized as important. Everyone, not just a few guys with white coats, can use science every day. Science can help you understand why lettuce freezes in the refrigerator before milk or beer. It allows you to explain a curve ball to a Little Leaguer (though he still won't be able to hit it).
To understand the importance of the effects of alcoholism on liver function, dissect a frog and just look at the size of the liver and all the other organs to which it is connected. Most people have no idea what their liver does. How can you expect them to be concerned about abusing it?
Please don't give up on science. If you are a teacher, put science in the curriculum. If you are a parent, share some science with your kids. If you are a human being, support science education. We all need it.
W. E. Beal, who lives in Blacksburg, is an associate professor of animal science at Virginia Tech.