• Question: Do you save lives?

    Asked by anon-243407 to Pan-ngum, Natalia, Mick, Manjit, Filipe, Bruce on 12 Mar 2020.
    • Photo: Michael Schubert

      Michael Schubert answered on 12 Mar 2020:

      I don’t directly save lives, because most of my work involves teaching people about science. I like to think that I help people understand how to keep themselves safe, though, and I make sure that people get the right information about important safety concerns (like the novel coronavirus), so that they don’t make mistakes or panic when it isn’t necessary.

    • Photo: Natalia Brodaczewska

      Natalia Brodaczewska answered on 12 Mar 2020:

      I’d say my work contributes to saving lives. Without our tests, the doctors wouldn’t know what exactly is wrong with the patient and which therapy has the highest chances of working for them. So if I don’t do my job properly, somebody could get the wrong medication and maybe even die. When people go to a doctor, they often don’t think about all the people behind the scenes who are working hard to make sure they get the best possible treatment. Next time you or your family member gets a blood test, you can have a think about all the scientists who will work to process their sample correctly, do the right test and send the results back without making any mistakes. For every test there are a lot of people involved to make it right!

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