Science on the edge

As part of the Icon conference, there was also a show called "Science on the Edge of a Fork" where young scientists tell the general public about their fields of research

Every parent of a child in elementary school knows the sentence that heralds the beginning of an endless series of questions - "But dad, why...?" Children want to know everything and understand everything and they are not afraid to ask the really difficult questions: Why is the moon round? Why is there pain? How do children come into the world? The trouble is that most educators and parents do not have the patience - or enough knowledge - to answer the difficult questions. Most children learn at a young age that their questions are not welcomed by adults and relegate their curiosity to a small, dark corner. And it can break the heart, because there is nothing sadder than the dying of curiosity in a child.

We were all once children, and many of us still do not dare to ask the difficult questions, and do not try to look for answers. But our curiosity still exists deep within us and every now and then it dares to raise its head and peek out of the rigid shell within which we have forbidden it. Such a case happened last Thursday at the Icon Festival in Tel Aviv, when an audience of almost two hundred people let their curiosity burst out and came, to some extent, with satisfaction.

The 'Science on the Edge' event is not intended to provide the answers to all questions. Five young researchers (for the sake of full disclosure, the writer of these lines is one of them) take the stage and tell, one after the other, about scientific topics in which they are interested and involved. One tells about the creation of embryos outside the body, and demonstrates how sperm can be injected into the egg using the egg puncture. Another researcher takes us to more philosophical worlds, conducting a number of thought experiments designed to demonstrate the paradox inherent in time travel. When a man goes back in time and accidentally kills his infant father, will he himself cease to exist because he was never born? But if he was not born, how could he return to the past and kill his father? And what do the latest theories of physics have to say on the subject?

And the audience listens with alert ears and shining eyes. The lecturers never stop bringing interesting studies, breakthroughs in science and predictions about the future. What is the great promise of tissue engineering? Where do we stand now, and what will the situation be in ten or twenty years? Is it possible to stop worrying about car accidents? What are the ethical issues facing scientists in creating clones? And is there a chance that the golem will rise up against his creator?

For almost two hours, children and teenagers, children and elderly people with curly hair sit, captivated by the mask of research and experiments that is revealed to them. Sometimes it's hard to hold back - the curiosity is bubbling up inside - and the questions simply escape from the mouths of those sitting and are shouted into the auditorium space. When will there be a cure for cancer? How does the rocket on the stage manage to burn even in water? The lecturers happily answer, but the curiosity does not die. So many questions, and only two hours to finish everything...

At the end, when the five lecturers finish the performance, they all go on stage together and invite the audience to ask all the questions that are still left. Dozens of hands are raised in one. Everyone wants to hear more details, wants to know more about the research that can change lives and ways of thinking. And of course, the skeptics also raise their hands and wonder aloud: are the explanations we have today fully correct? Can we ever build a real time machine? And the lecturers answer everything, dismiss the objections or agree with them - all in everyday words that everyone understands. Add a parable to explain, a joke to amuse and most importantly - do not underestimate any question. Curiosity that was rekindled that evening, it is a crime to turn it off again.

The 'Science on the Edge' event took place at the Icon Festival for the second year in a row, free of charge or consideration. The five lecturers included Michal Dekal, a doctoral student on genomic stability in human embryos, Adi Yaniv, a master's student at the Hebrew University in the Institute of Dental Sciences, Ran Levy, an electronics engineer and writer, Victor Chernov, a missile scientist at the Technion, andRoey Tsezana, a doctoral student in nanotechnology at the Technion with a focus on tissue engineering.

The motto of the group is that science belongs to everyone. We are always happy to lecture and hold events on science topics, anywhere and anytime. To get in touch, you can contactRoey Tsezana, at 0508-242009, Or website.