The Basic Science Research Concept
“So are you trying to make plants more defended?”
This is often the first question I encounter when I share my research questions with anyone that does not spend their work life thinking about plants. Before the conversation can get much further, I find it helps to introduce the difference between basic science research and applied research.
Both are important, but it is easier for people to connect with applied research: research designed to improve the way humans live. However, many of the solutions we use today came as a result of discoveries from basic science research: research designed to understand the way something works for the sake of understanding.
Like what?
PCR: the technology that lets us duplicate tiny amounts of DNA, was only possible because a scientist was curious about how acidic and hot Yellowstone hot springs could be for bacteria to survive. Bacteria flourishing at high temperatures have DNA too, and the enzymes that could replicate DNA despite the heat were eventually extracted and were able to withstand the hot temperatures in PCR.
Efficient building design: scientists were curious about the structure of termite mounds, which can maintain a constant temperature despite the heat of the desert. The results from these studies were used to construct a building in Zimbabwe (The Eastgate Centre) that uses 90% less energy.
Velcro, the ubiquitous adhesive found on light-up shoes, was inspired by plant hook-shaped hairs.
And the list goes on. The moral of the story is that technology gets along well with natural selection, but first we have to understand how it all works.
My research goal is to understand how plant-insect interactions change as a result of the chemistry within the plants that have a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. I spend my time at my desk wondering about how and when plants will use their resources to make the stuff that protect them- either directly by making poisonous chemicals, or indirectly, by sending volatile compounds into the air to communicate with the predators of their attackers.
Instead of trying to get plants to do anything, my goal is to understand what they actually do on their own- to understand the unknown aspects of their biology.
Do nitrogen-fixing bacteria play an important role in the food web by altering plant-insect interactions? My research will let you know.
-Adrienne L. Godschalx, September 30, 2015
