Science Today

My science inspiration has been my father since childhood. Despite of being from a very poor family, he made his journey from a village in India to a scientist in CERN, Geneva, a dream place for all nuclear physicist across the world. His passion for science made me inclined to it, made me ask ‘why’ and ‘how’ of things and I am happy to be in science today. Oh WAIT, AM I?

When I was in my school, I used to perceive science as a development for the betterment of mankind, society. Someday someone discovered electricity, some people discovered basic medicines and so on and that is why we are here; the proud mankind living a lavish life, believing to have a control on Mother Nature. But what if they have patented all those basic ideas, without which we cannot even imagine our lives?

People might contradict me, but as a graduate student now, I see science (or I am bound to) as a good aim and hypothesis for my PhD which can fetch me some good publications, a good salaried job, and some more grants to my PI. If anyhow someone makes a good medicine or a cure to any disease ( I guess that is our aim in the field of medicine), that person or the sponsoring agency gets a patent, and sell that in a so high price, that a mediocre person can’t even dream of buying that, or even if he buys, he doesn’t remain left with a penny to have his bread. I belong from a developing country, where millions of people struggle only to get food, but still Polio has been eradicated, they can avail public transport, the can read in street lights; what if these has demanded huge money from them. Who cares about a scientist, who has ideas but cannot write a good grant? Who cares about a graduate student who didn’t have a high impact factor journal first author? Who wants a student in science who didn’t had a high GPA in his undergrad? But my question is, does that really matter to make our society better, to turn our world in a disease free heaven and I think my answer is ‘no’.