GoKawiilA good day This is the first of two articles about what makes for a good day in science. If you have an insight or anecdote to share, please get in touch at [email protected].
Science can be a slog: tedious, repetitive and maddening. Good days — the first moments after a newly discovered insight, holding an undescribed species or a student overturning a long-held assumption — are few and far between. But it’s these singular moments that remind researchers why they chose their career.
Nature’s careers team asked scientists what a good day in science looked like to them. Some anecdotes came through social media; others, we sought out. Good science days come in all shapes and sizes — from finding a dreamy location for a natural experiment to setting schoolchildren’s curiosity ablaze.
RAQUEL PEIXOTO: Finding the perfect test bed
Coral-reef biologist at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
When I first moved to Saudi Arabia, I wanted to test whether applying beneficial microorganisms to the surface of corals could improve reef health in the field. In my mind, I knew the perfect design for an ideal, natural experimental reefscape. I wanted it to be a series of patchy reefs with a sandy bottom, so that each patch could serve to replicate my experiments. It also needed to be in shallow water, but protected so my colleagues and I didn’t have to worry about currents, and to have a wide diversity of coral species. We spent three months exploring different spots, searching for the best location. At one point, I even drew what I had in mind for colleagues.
14 things our PhD supervisors got right and why it mattered
One day, several of us were diving together in the search for the experimental location. There were two groups exploring from different directions, but we met at a place that was exactly what I had in my mind. When we came up, we all looked at each other and knew that this was the place we needed. It was a magical moment. For the past five years, we’ve conducted many experiments in what is now called the Coral Probiotics Village, including testing how a slow-release pill can steadily deliver beneficial microbes. It looks like an underwater city — we’ve even added street names such as Anemone and Doctor Octopus.
MONICA MUGNIER: Collaboration to catch a shapeshifter
Public-health researcher at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
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