
This week I felt like my future biomedical research career was as strong as the dandelion fluffs. Just a focused and fierce blow of wind (like the terminations of funding in NIH) would be enough to throw the pieces apart. This made me read about the anatomy of a dandelion. Pappus is the name of the white fluffy seed head that forms after flowering. Pappus acts like a paracute and helps the seeds land after the strong wind. In the dandelion’s case the story of being blown away is a story of a rebirth.
My son had his first winter gala this week. They acted out the words of the song: “--Do you wanna build a snowman? It does not have to be a snowman. Okay bye.” As cute and cuddly this screenplay is, at the same time made me recreate it “Do you want to build future therapies? We could even use AI to search”.

My husband told me he learned about a very intriguing fact today. Prophet Jesus’s mom is Mary, right? Mary’s mother’s name was Anna and her sister was Elsa (Elisa). That is quite a knowledge for me. Apparently, Elsa --in the movie-- has superpower of making and shaping ice. But initially she thinks of this a dangerous defect. Only after she hides in her mountain top, she lets go of her powers to enjoy freedom at the cost of being lonely. That is another type of rebirth, in a way. At this point, I could not stop thinking: “What is Elsa gonna eat in the ice castle, where would she sleep?” Apparently she was not bothered by the cold, but as a human body you cannot go too long with slushes.
There are several needs of a human being which can be staggered on the Maslow’s triangle. According to this ranking system, after survival needs, the most basic is safety and security. You can think of it as “safe and not eaten by bears”. You can also think about some sort of job security and confidence in your financial situation. Not being afraid of homeless soon is the most basic need of a human being. Recent changes in NIH definitely shattered some ground under our feet, like the 2.8 earthquake or a turbulence on the airplane. Things you have never considered before become part of a future illusion.
The next most important human need is belonging, feeling part of, included. As we watch the news drop, initial reaction is about — funding — and it is not becuase we are “unsenstivie to DEI”. Obviously that is a big part of harmonizing together as a society. Exclusion, isolation and being separated has huge detrimental psychological effects on people. Polarization also comes into play here, only to disrupt the society further and draw people apart.
What is pretty scary about this story is that, it is not silly or unimaginable now. I almost imagine it like there is an “avalanche falling” and we are just watching it pass by. Going back to dandelion, waiting for an avalanche, maybe we should stand up straight and wait for it. It might turn us into frozen and stronger dandelions -- if we stand up to it.
What are your thoughts on human needs, security and belonging in a society? How stable or strong does your future career feel?
I was preparing my lecture slides for plant biology about dandelion reproduction last night. What a coincidence!