Until I hit Organic Chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin in 1981, I knew I was going to be a cancer researcher--that was to be the capstone of my career as a biology major. Alas, the intervention of a 500-student classroom and a demented bio professor ended this career in the sciences. That doesn't mean this professor of literature and cultural studies still doesn't howl plaintive paeans to the world of petri dishes, vials, and viruses!Most of the major conceptual apparatuses in my work are lifts from biology--the worst and latest offender? Eyegiene.
So it is that I point you to the New York Times and a great interactive feature they posted today that will give hypochondriacs all the ammo they need to ruin their day.
