Tuyển tập các báo cáo nghiên cứu về y học được đăng trên tạp chí y học quốc tế cung cấp cho các bạn kiến thức về ngành y đề tài: Identity crisis. | Comment Identity crisis Gregory A Petsko Address Rosenstiel Basic Medical Sciences Research Center Brandeis University Waltham MA 02454-9110 USA. E-mail petsko@ Published 15 December 2004 Genome Biology 2004 6 102 The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at http 2004 6 1 102 2004 BioMed Central Ltd Regular readers of this column both of you know who you are will have noticed that my feelings about the holiday season are a bit ambivalent to say the least. Of course on the one hand there is the abundance of delicious food the constant good cheer the visits from friends and relatives. Then on the other hand there s the good stuff. But one of my major problems with the holidays is that with holidays come holiday parties. And with holiday parties comes the problem of sustaining a conversation with people one doesn t know. Now I consider myself a pretty good conversationalist but I have never found a satisfactory solution to the situation that inevitably develops a few minutes into any such encounter when the other person says So what is it that you do I have only to reply Me I m a structural biologist when the eyes of my companion begin to glaze over and he or she excuses themselves as rapidly - and unconvincingly - as possible. A structural biologist. That s very interesting. But you must excuse me - I suddenly realize I have to have a tooth pulled. I ve tried to modify what I call myself in order to seem more hip but it only postpones the inevitable Interesting Person at Party So what do you do Scientist at Party Me I do um genomics. IPAP wishing they could escape but trying to be polite What s genomics SAP with typical scientist s enthusiasm Well all organisms have their genetic material arranged in one or more chromosomes and if you consider for example the Archaea - IPAP abandoning politeness for survival Excuse me - I just remembered I have to wash my car. I don t want to give the impression .
