The Higgs Boson and my mom

From Scientific American:  The Higgs Boson and my mom

The Higgs boson is discovered and I am proud of my mom. My mom has worked as an administrative assistant in the Brown University Physics Department for 18 years. This morning I was sent news from Brown that Professors Landsberg, Narain, Heintz, and Cutts played important roles in the successful search for the ephemeral particle, and that Professor Guralnik was one of six originators of the theory that predicted the boson 48 years ago. I recognized their names from my mom’s work stories.
It wasn’t until I started graduate school that I appreciated what my mom does. I knew it involved typing, but I couldn’t really picture it, or maybe I didn’t take the time to picture it. But now I understand. My department’s administrative assistants help me at least once per week, whether I need help navigating my university’s byzantine structure or managing a grant. Lab technicians and undergraduate staff are also responsible for making any lab run. In short, I have benefitted massively from people who rarely get credit for what they do. Science functions because of their labor.

My mom does many things. She types and proofreads manuscripts with intricate technical formulas. She keeps tabs on research expenses. She publicizes visiting speakers. She organizes departmental events. She tracks large undergraduate classes. She Xeroxes tests. She schedules meetings. She answers the questions of undergraduates, graduates, faculty, and staff. She writes newsletters. She sorts mail. In sum, she helps professors attend to their research.

Office and administrative support staff make up approximately 20 percent of employment in private colleges and a similar employment share in state colleges. On average these employees make $33,000 per year. They do work that is essential to the functioning of science and of a university.

My mom loves her job and the people that she works with. Some of her coworkers have been instrumental in discovering the Higgs Boson. They deserve news coverage and big congratulations. Congratulations, also, to my mom, Jane Martin, and to the staff of the many universities and centers involved in this discovery.

 

The Higgs Boson: Why You Should Care About the God Particle. And, Sadly, Why You Don't

From Forbes SportsMoney Blog:  The Higgs Boson: Why You Should Care About the God Particle. And, Sadly, Why You Don't
My friend and collaborator Ainissa Ramirez, a Yale University materials scientist and TED Talker, likes to call herself a science evangelist,  and her passion and expertise at science education is unparalleled. So this week, with the announcement about the discovery of the Higgs Boson, was both exciting–because of an amazing opportunity–and frustrating–because she thought the science world largely blew it. Here’s her guest post about this defining moment in the history of modern science.
By Ainissa Ramirez, Yale University

Here’s what you need to know about the God Particle.

The Higgs boson (Higgs is a guy’s name, BTW, and a boson is a subatomic particle) is the biggest scientific discovery of the 21^st Century. Period.

This discovery is up there with Copernicus.  If we did not find the Higgs boson, everything that we understood about how the universe works would have been wrong.  We would have had nice equations that describe things we observed in the world, but they would have been crap. That would have been $10 billion flushed down the toilet with the creation of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and we would have gone back to the drawing board with our tail between our legs after fifty years of an aimless pursuit.

Ainissa Ramirez giving a TED Talk. Photo: James Duncan Davidson

It was a big gamble, and we won. It is that big.

 

And while we don’t know exactly how, this discovery will shape our world and that of our great-grandchildren in ways that we can’t quite imagine. When the electron was discovered in 1897, its uses were not obvious.  But, what is obvious today is that we can’t live without electrons, since they run through all our electronics (of cellphones, laptops and TVs) and even make it possible for you to read this now.
So what’s the problem?

One of the founders of the Higgs theory, Gerald Guralnik, was quoted in the New York Times saying he was glad to be at a physics meeting “where there is applause, like a football game.”

The problem is that it’s only physicists that are excited. A few thousand scientists (less than 1 percent of the population) are losing their minds, not taking any calls, getting buzzed in the middle of the day, and crying and hugging each other.

The rest of society is trying to figure out why this is a big whoop.

The biggest discovery of the 21^st century, which connects you (and the world and the universe) to the Big Bang, was barely a whimper to over 99 percent of the population.

As Cool Hand Luke said, “ What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.”

I think the nerds got it wrong by not inviting everyone to the party. The biggest discovery of the 21^st century may actually widen the gap between scientists and the general public.

For the past few days, I’ve been interviewed by CNN and several radio programs to talk about the God particle.  In preparation, I was armed with all kinds of pithy facts about the Large Hadron Collider, where the discovery was made, and the Higgs boson itself. I spent time searching for the best analogy to describe how this Higgs boson helped other particles gain mass. I had great facts like this: the LHC creates millions of mini-Big Bangs each second in an effort to create traces of Higgs bosons, like footprints in the snow.  And, that protons are accelerated to make these collisions at nearly the speed of light in a 17-mile long circular tunnel–-going around 11,000 times per second.

The facts about the experiment are mind-blowing.

But, what my interviewers really wanted to know—all apologizing for their lack of science background as they asked the question—was what does this all mean and why should we care. Like many of my physics brethren, I almost missed the boat myself in stating the significance.

People don’t want to know the details of the Higgs. Not yet. They want to know why it is important and how this changes human history.

I did my best to tell them in terms they could understand.  I felt like a voice in the wilderness.

Far too many physicists are freaking people out discussing how this changes religion, philosophy, and the like.

Hold up!  You’ve got to get people to understand what has been done before you claim to rock their world.  Shouldn’t we let people decide for themselves what this means?

This Higgs boson announcement typifies a big problem with science. The men (and sadly, it is mostly men) in the ivy tower throw information to the masses expecting them to appreciate it and even worse be grateful for it. (Oh, and by the way, these discoveries are made on taxpayers’ dimes–and Euros.)

I’m sorry. But, those good ‘old days, and I mean that with every bit of sarcasm I can muster, are over.
People are asking questions, and they have every right to get answers they can understand.

The headline is that we got it right. We came up with a theory, crunched the numbers, then we built a massive and wondrous machine to see if we were right, that this thing really does exist, and we were right.  That’s big. It’s a reason to be proud to be a human being.

Scientists can and should bask in that glow for a while, but we should also spend a bit more time talking with the rest of the population, sharing the enthusiasm. Specifically, I think we should do a better job at teaching science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) using events such as this as a catalyst.  Since science is right now part of the national conversation, let’s strike while the iron is hot and create ways to get more people excited about science.

Now, I’ll admit, the folks at CERN (the home of the LHC) have made some valiant efforts to teach the general public about science.  There is a cute pop-up book on the LHC that I cannot wait to get a hold of.

But they could do much more.  Since this is the biggest scientific experiment in history, they should set the gold standard for how to communicate science too.  They are the role models that everyone will follow. If they made it a priority to communicate the meaning of this discovery all along, we wouldn’t have reporters scrambling to use the same sound byte all week.

So how could we have done this differently?

CERN should have hired a PR firm to develop a website for the general public on the Higgs Boson.  Maybe CERN should have hired a TV personality to be a spokesperson.  (I’m in the book should anyone care to follow up.)

How about educational videogames where the player makes his or her own Higgs boson?
Or an amusement park ride called the Supercollider?
Or have Peter Higgs do a cameo on The Big Bang Theory.
Now that we have the public’s attention, let’s show them that science is important, and yes, fun too. The Higgs has opened up the door to a conversation between scientists and the public. Let’s boldly step through it.

Scifest unveils future opportunities for women in science

From Voxy (New Zealand):  Scifest unveils future opportunities for women in science

Want to discover opportunities opening up for young women in science? Hear from three inspirational women in science at a breakfast event in Dunedin on Tuesday 3 July, 2012 as part of the 2012 New Zealand International Science Festival.

Sponsored by the British High Commission, speakers at the breakfast include Professor Christine Winterbourn, Professor Helen Nicholson and Angela Clark who will be discussing their careers and opportunities today for young women in science. The event will be hosted by British High Commissioner Vicki Treadell and the event will feature an informative and lively programme.

"The British High Commission is delighted to support the New Zealand International Science Festival in Dunedin."

"For centuries, Great Britain has been a world leader in innovation. Britain has won 76 Nobel prizes in science and technology. Britain is home to 4 of the world's top 10 Universities. And London 2012 will be the world's first truly sustainable Olympics and Paralympics, featuring iconic sports venues that have set new standards in sustainable engineering, construction and design. So there is no better time than now for Great Britain to promote the wonders of science," says Vicki Treadell, British High Commissioner.

Festival director Chris Green says the breakfast will showcase exciting opportunities for young women interested in pursuing science-related careers:

"Thanks to the British High Commission we have been able to secure some truly inspirational speakers for this event - they will give attendees an invaluable insight into their own experiences and help young students or graduates in considering the next steps in their careers."

Prof Christine Winterbourn is a biochemist who holds a personal chair in the Pathology Department at the Christchurch School of Medicine, where she has worked since 1971. She directs the Free Radical Research Group, which is supported by a programme grant from the Health Research Council. She was born in Auckland, has an MSc in chemistry from the University of Auckland and a PhD in biochemistry from Massey University. She has a distinguished record of achievement in her field. In 2011 she received New Zealand's highest scientific award, the Royal Society of NZ's Rutherford Medal. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of NZ in 1988, won the New Zealand Association of Scientists Marsden Medal in 1996, was awarded a Massey University 75th Anniversary Medal in 2002, received the University of Otago Distinguished Research Medal in 2004 and the Society for Free Radical Research (International) Trevor Slater Award for lifetime achievement in 2008. In 1997 she became an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

She was a member of the Biomedical Research Committee of the Health Research Council when it was established in 1991, and served a term as chair of the committee and a member of the council. Prof Winterbourn was recently awarded the Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.

Prof Helen Nicholson was appointed to a chair in anatomy in 2000 at the University of Otago and served as head of the Department of Anatomy from 2003 to 2007, when she became the second dean of the Otago School of Medical Sciences. In 2011 Helen was seconded as the acting DVC Research from June-December. In 2012 she was appointed as deputy PVC Health Sciences in addition to her role as dean. Helen continues to be an active researcher who also has strong interests in medical teaching and curriculum development. Helen was a founding member, and founding president, of ANZACA (Australian and NZ Association of Clinical Anatomists). She is on the board of NZGL (NZ Genomics Ltd), is an executive member of the NZISF (NZ International Science Festival), and serves on the executive of the International Federation of Associated Anatomical Societies. She is a member of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Board, is on the editorial board of 4 international anatomy journals and was the co-producer of the critically acclaimed television documentary "Donated to Science".

Angela Clarke is a British graduate from the University of Bradford and is currently enrolled in a PhD program with the University of Otago. She is working on a thesis entitled: 'An Investigation of Sexual Dimorphism at the Intensification of Agriculture in Prehistoric Thailand'. Angela Clark is an experienced bioarchaeologist examining changes in the health of prehistoric people living nearly 4000 years ago in Thailand through skeletal and archaeological analysis. She has many hours of experience in teaching, demonstrating and tutoring small groups in biological anthropological techniques and human evolutionary theory. Angela has been involved in archaeological excavations in the UK, Thailand and Peru and moved to Dunedin in June 2009 to undertake her current PhD research.

This event is exclusively sponsored by the British High Commission. Tickets cost $20 (single); booking is essential as numbers are limited. The breakfast will take place on Tuesday 3 July, starting at 8.30am to finish at 9.30am, and will be held at Technique Restaurant, Otago Polytechnic, Harbour Terrace, Dunedin. Booking details are available online at www.scifest.org.nz

 

Aaron Sorkin's 'The Newsroom' Broadcasts His Backward Views On Women

Whatever happened to "You've Come a long Way, Baby?"

Not about women pilots, but a review of an HBO tv show that is utter garbage. Sadly, though, it is not an unusual state. Although I like the Big Bang Theory (at least until they added Amy Farrah Fowler and Leslie Winkle) there's no denying that there's stereotypes there as well. Penny is so stupid that she not only doesn't know what a check engine light means, but even after Sheldon explains it to her she still doesn't know or care. Amy Farrah Fowler is the "female Sheldon," except she yearns for sex, calls Penny "bestie" even though they're not, and is just a demeaning character - for all that the actress who plays her, Mayim Balik, is a scientist in real life!

There's nothing wrong with a new woman employee being supervised by a man, what's wrong is that the woman is so incompetent. In real life an incompetent employee MUST be fired - but in sit coms they are invariably allowed to hang around to be made the butt of jokes. Stupid  - and dangerous.


From International Business News: Aaron Sorkin's 'The Newsroom' Broadcasts His Backward Views On Women

The first minutes of "The Newsroom's" pilot episode are a harbinger of the appalling gender representations to come. While giving a talk at a university, the show's protagonist, newscaster Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels) explodes after a perky blonde college sophomore asks a (stupid) question about why America is the greatest country in the world, referring to the dumbfounded student as a "sorority girl" who may or may not "accidently wander into a voting booth one day."

When the actual newsroom is first introduced, a young assistant, Maggie (Alison Pill), weakly pleads with her producer boyfriend Don to come to dinner with her parents. He refuses in a most patronizing manner, while simultaneously belittling a recent career decision she made, calling her choices "dumb." After humiliating and berating her, he nonetheless makes arrangements to meet her later that night, presumably for sex. Of course, she obliges. These insulting portrayals of women continue throughout the rest of the episode, and, according to numerous television critics, it doesn't get any better in future episodes. On Monday, the Daily Beast released a lengthy discussion between TV columnists Lace Jacob and Maureen Ryan that examined the subordinate role of women in the series.

"One of the bigger problems with 'The Newsroom' is that so many scenes involve men setting women straight, men supervising women, a man teaching a woman how to use email (and the woman getting it spectacularly wrong regardless), a hapless woman seesawing between two different men, etc.," says Ryan.
Jacob concurs, referring to a scene in episode two, in which one of the female leads, and the only woman with any kind of power, Mackenzie (Emily Mortimer) struggles to send an email, making an embarrassing and outdated gaffe when a private message intended for McAvoy instead goes out to the whole staff.

"It's hard to know what's more infuriating: that MacKenzie is written as though she hasn't even heard of a war zone or that she's presented as alternately hysterical and incompetent. Her email gaffe in the second episode is unbelievable and galling, says Jacob. "If you're thinking, well, who hasn't sent an errant email? Why does it have to be some symbol of misogyny? Then picture a male character in Sorkin's world who doesn't know the difference between the '*' and 's' keys on his BlackBerry. Impossible."

Poorly sketched female characters are only part of Sorkin's problem. "The Newsroom" began generating criticism well before its premiere on HBO, with countless outlets accusing Sorkin of having a superiority complex.
After Sorkin told Entertainment Weekly that "reporters used to be the good guys in popular culture, and I wanted to write them that way," Gawker's Drew Magary lampooned him in an article titled "Aaron Sorkin Is Ready to Masturbate All Over Your HBO ..."

"I can't think of a more Sisyphean mission than to try and restore America's faith in the media with a f--king TV show," Magary wrote. "Yes, reporters used to be depicted as good guys in pop culture, and that's because pop culture back then was naive and stupid. That was before everyone realized that the media is filled with incompetent, self-admiring dips--ts who choose stories essentially at random. And that was before the Internet exposed the media as being almost comically unreliable."

The New Yorker's Emily Nussbaum wrote a widely read critique of the show, which helped set the tone for numerous critical assaults, from the New York Times to Newsweek to the Washington Post, while a few outliers came to Sorkin's defense -- including the New Yorker's own David Denby, who responded to Nussbaum and other critics' dismissal of the show.

Jeff Daniels told the Los Angeles Times that he welcomes the chatter -- whether it's positive or negative.
"The fact that everyone is talking about it, for whatever reason -- challenged by it, disturbed by it, annoyed by it, loving it, can't wait to see the next one, all of the above -- we absolutely love it."

We certainly are in no hurry to watch Sorkin continue to get away with presenting a modern-day workplace that's about as evolved as the offices of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. If there's any silver lining to be found, it's in the very strong likelihood that "The Newsroom" will get shut down before too long.

First female taikonaut: 'It's good to stand on Earth'

From New Scientist:  First female taikonaut: 'It's good to stand on Earth'

 
(Image: KeystoneUSA-ZUMA/Rex Features)

Liu Yang, the first Chinese woman in space, returned to Earth today as the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft landed safely in Inner Mongolia at 10:05 local time (02:05 GMT). The descent was slowed by parachutes, as well as rockets which fired when the capsule was 1 metre above the ground, slowing the capsule to a touchdown speed of 3.5 metres per second. Upon exiting the Shenzhou-9 capsule, Liu said "It feels so good to stand on Earth, and it feels even better to be home".

Liu and her colleagues, Jing Haipeng and Liu Wang, were returning from the first crewed mission to the Chinese space station, Tiangong-1, meaning "Heavenly Place". As part of their 13-day mission, the trio spent several days aboard the station, during which time they conducted a number of experiments and performed technical demonstrations required for the creation of a larger space station.

The Chinese space agency aims to use the knowledge gained during this mission to help it assemble a larger, modular space station over the next decade. A second crewed flight, Shenzhou-10, is planned for next year before China delivers its more sophisticated Tiangong-2 module to orbit. Subsequent modules will then follow. The completed station is expected to be similar in size to the now-defunct US space station Skylab, which is roughly a sixth of the size of the International Space Station.

 

Did NASA Unearth Life and a Hidden Ocean on Saturn's Moon Titan?

From Lguna-Niguel Patch :  Did NASA Unearth Life and a Hidden Ocean on Saturn's Moon Titan?

  
 Is it possible that NASA's Cassini spacecraft has found evidence of an ocean of water and perhaps even life beneath the frozen crust of Saturn's largest moon called Titan?

A team of researchers' findings were reported and released online by the journal Science on Thursday that they: "saw a large amount of squeezing and stretching as the moon orbited Saturn."

What's it mean? These discoveries may reveal that if Titan were made up of just mounds of stiff rock, the gravitational attraction of Saturn would cause bulges, or solid "tides," on the moon only 3 feet high.

"Cassini's detection of large tides on Titan leads to the almost inescapable conclusion that there is a hidden ocean at depth," said Luciano Iess, the lead author of the report and a Cassini team member at the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy in a news release issued by NASA. "The search for water is an important goal in solar system exploration, and now we've spotted another place where it is abundant."

The news release further explained that it takes the Titan moon around 16 days to orbit Saturn, and the team was able to study the moon's shape at different parts of its orbit.

"Because Titan is not spherical but slightly elongated like a football, its long axis grew when it was closer to Saturn. Eight days later, when Titan was farther from Saturn, it became less elongated and more nearly round," according to the NASA news release.

It was part of Cassini's mission to measure the gravitational effect of that squeeze and pull.

The Cassini mission findings are truly imporant and intriguing, said resident Richard Bent, who spent more than 20 years working on satellites and rockets for the aerospace industry.

"In April 2012, the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft found evidence of amino acid like molecules. Combined with the new information about potential aquifers on Titan, the likelihood of finding some type of life on the Saturn moon becomes more likely," Bent said.

"Still, we have yet to discover organisms outside of earth. The importance of finding water on other space bodies is important in that the possibility of life goes up and the potential as a planetary base increases as well as water can be made into  fuel and oxygen." 

Mystery of Saturn
Local astrologer and author of several books, Donna Stellhorn who studies the planets, explained that Saturn's Moon, Titan, was discovered in 1655 by Dutch astronomer, Christiaan Huygens, although he is not responsible for naming the moon Titan.

“He called it simply Saturn IV representing the fourth moon of Saturn. It was John Herschel in 1847 who named it Titan for the Titans of Greek mythology from what I have studied. What's most interesting about this name is many scholars believe the word Titan is related to the Greek verb meaning 'to stretch,'” she said.
“And here we're told that NASA made this fascinating discovery of Titan's buried ocean by watching Titan 'squeeze and stretch' in its orbit around Saturn," she continued.

“From an astrological point of view this discovery signals that we should be asking ourselves is: 'where do we need to stretch ourselves' to gain what we want?”

Stellhorn said that she has also read that Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturnus, and it is where we get the word, Saturday.

"But despite the joy of our modern day Saturday, Saturn has two sides; one of restriction and inhibition and the other of success and achievement," she said. "In astrology, Saturn represents your career like in ancient times Saturnus ruled over agriculture (the first career of ancient people)."

Currently, Saturn is in Libra and it is considered exalted in Libra meaning that Saturn is very strong in this sign. Saturn in Libra brings our attention to partnerships and relationships where we test them to see if it's a partnership that will bring us what we want, Stellhorn said.

"Saturn in Libra brings us a strong sense of duty and obligation to others whether they be friends or the community at large (hence the passing of the Affordable Care Act)," she said. "But Saturn in Libra can also make us inhibited around others, we want to guard and protect ourselves from potential danger and ridicule."
Saturn will leave Libra around October 5 and "as he leaves he will take something from each of us; a friendship or relationship may end, your career may shift, or an opportunity may escape you."

But the void left from whatever Saturn takes will soon be filled with something much, much better, she said.
Incidentally, the NASA news release also said: "that an ocean layer does not have to be huge or deep to create these tides. A liquid layer between the external, deformable shell and a solid mantle would enable Titan to bulge and compress as it orbits Saturn."

Scientists believe that Titan's surface is made up mostly of liquid water, the news release said.
"The presence of a subsurface layer of liquid water at Titan is not itself an indicator for life. Scientists think life is more likely to arise when liquid water is in contact with rock, and these measurements cannot tell whether the ocean bottom is made up of rock or ice. The results have a bigger implication for the mystery of methane replenishment on Titan," according to the NASA news release.

 

 

Woman fights cancer as a patient - and then as a scientist

From the Guardian:  Woman fights cancer as a patient - and then as a scientist

When seven-year-old Vicky Forster refused her pills for leukaemia, the nurse told her that if she didn't take them she would die. That, along with the promise of a Game Boy from her parents, was enough to win her round.

Forster had been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia after a bout of pneumonia had refused to shift. Blood tests showed that her white blood cells were dividing uncontrollably and doctors at St Bartholomew's hospital in London gave her a 60/40 chance of survival. An intensive course of treatment followed – including chemotherapy that left her temporarily bald – before she was told she was in remission.
Last week, 18 years after her diagnosis, she learnt that her research into another type of cancer – acute myeloid leukaemia – had achieved the standard for her to be awarded a PhD from Newcastle University's Northern Institute of Cancer Research.

Her remarkable story is encapsulated in the tweet she sent after learning she had passed her viva examination: "Dear Cancer I beat you aged eight, and today I got my PhD in cancer research. Take that." That message has since flown around the world and been re-tweeted more than 4,000 times. She was "completely overwhelmed" by the response – congratulations have come from as far afield as Niger, the Philippines and China, and the tweet has been translated into Spanish and French. The messages that mean most are those from parents whose children are in the position she was. One father tweeted: "Re your tweet about beating leukaemia + getting your PhD in cancer research. Inspirational! My son (6) finishes treatment in 3wks."

Forster wants her experience to offer some hope. "When you're in it, you think about it every day, but then it fades into obscurity and, if you use your experience for strength, then you can do whatever you want. You can be what you want to be. It doesn't have to hold you back in life," she said.

As a child growing up in Chelmsford, Essex, however, it was not medicine that fascinated her: "From about four or five I wanted to be an astronaut. I loved physics and I'd play with my dad with electronic kits and make lights and burglar alarms, and make radios out of spoons and pieces of wire in the garden."

While a patient at Bart's she met one of her heroes: Helen Sharman, the first Briton in space. But she also bombarded the doctors with questions, sparking an interest in cancer treatment that led her to do a degree in biomedical science at Durham University before a local legacy trust, the JGW Patterson Foundation, agreed to fund her doctoral studies.

As part of a team led by Dr James Allan and Professor Olaf Heidenreich, Forster studied a single genetic mutation called AML1-ETO. It is what is known as a fusion, when two bits of DNA that have no business being connected are joined. The team already knew that AML1-ETO alone was not enough to cause leukaemia, but after three years of research they have discovered how other secondary mutations develop that interact with AML1-ETO to give rise to leukaemia.

"Most people who have AML1-ETO will never know and nothing will ever happen to them. But if something presses that extra switch, then they could end up with leukaemia," said Forster.

Her first task was to prepare cells for the research, injecting them with genes and incubating them in a container designed to mimic the conditions of the human body. This painstaking work took nearly nine months. Next, she exposed the cells to radiation to see whether they had developed the secondary DNA mutations that could lead to leukaemia.

The team hope they can keep working on how to exploit their understanding of AML1-ETO and help to reduce relapse rates in patients, but it will be years before there is a treatment.

Forster still has yearly checkups, but her risk of relapse is now extremely small – and with every passing year it becomes lower. Today the only sign of Vicky's experience is a faint scar on her neck from the catheter that dripped her chemotherapy into her bloodstream.

She said: "I remember being in a really darkened room because I had a massive temperature. Leukaemia knocks out your immune system, so I had an infection. The thing I remember most is I had a cannula [tube] in my arm and they were getting fluids into me, but because I was so ill it just hurt and it stung, and it was horrible."

Forster is proof cancer can be beaten. But despite recent advances, particularly in treating childhood leukaemias, she is adamant there is more to be done. Five-year survival rates for childhood leukaemias have risen from 65% to 90% – but that is of little comfort to the other 10%.

In addition to her research, Forster raises money for cancer charities. In September she will run the Great North Run for leukaemia and lymphoma research.

She has fought cancer first as a patient and then as a scientist, but she said: "I always want to be judged not on the fact that I had cancer – I want to be judged on how good I am as a scientist. I am a scientist who happens to have had cancer. It's not about fame and fortune – there are a lot of careers you'd choose before science if you wanted that. I just want to do something that makes a difference."