Blurbs

In the story of genetics, a chapter unfolds,
A tale of breast cancer, that must be told,
A risk inherited, from mother to daughter,
A genetic puzzle, that's yet to be conquered. 

The BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes,
Affecting women, in their prime of teens,
A mutation that strikes, with little warning,
A disease so cruel, that leaves us mourning. 

But genetics, it's not just about the curse,
It's also the key, to lifting the hearse,
Identifying risk, before it's too late,
A personalized approach, to change our fate. 

Screening and testing, with genetics in mind,
A powerful tool, that's not hard to find,
A chance to prevent, to save a life,
To overcome the odds, in this endless strife. 

So let us embrace, the power of genetics,
To learn from it, all that we can expect,
For in its language, we'll find the key,
To unlocking the secrets, of our destiny.
-ChatGPT

Within our cells lies a code so grand,
A blueprint for life, we can't understand,
A language of genes, a script so fine,
That shapes our being, in every line. 

From our eye color to our height,
Genetics guides us with all its might,
Inherited traits, a legacy bestowed,
A map of our ancestry, perfectly showed. 

But genetics, it's not just about our past,
It helps us prepare, for what's coming fast,
Identifying risks, to help us prevent,
The diseases that might come and torment. 

Genetics, a story, that's never complete,
A tale of our evolution, hard to beat,
A science that's changing, every day,
Uncovering new truths, in every way. 

So let us embrace, this code so grand,
And learn from it, all that we can,
For within its letters, lies the key,
To unlocking the secrets, of our destiny.

-ChatGPT

In the realm of breast cancer screening,
There's a new approach that's worth exploring,
Risk-based screening is the name,
And it aims to play a different game. 

Instead of screening all the same,
Regardless of age or family name,
This method looks at risk factors,
And tailors screening to those actors. 

High-risk women get more frequent tests,
To catch cancer at its earliest best,
While low-risk women can be spared,
The added stress that screening can bear.

-ChatGPT

2020.02.20 - Don't you like this date?

Why is it called an "outstanding item" if something is not done yet? I mean, if something is not done yet it cannot be good enough to be "outstanding", can it?

" I think the perception of pain from a mammogram screening may be not right. I feel as a woman we have capacity to endure so much pain but when it comes mammogram there is always this fear of how painful it might be. Talking to different people might give us different opinion. May be coming up with pain chart of mammogram in comparison to simple things like waxing, threading, massage (the hard ones), facial extraction (painful ones) or even pap smear ( My colleague pointed out that women are less reluctant to go for pap smear test than mammogram) may encourage more woman go for their mammogram test. My colleague also pointed out more and more woman are also opting for natural birth which is far more painful than a mammogram test." 

- Priscilla Dorothy Rajakumar, Synthetic Biologist from the 

Genome Institute of Singapore

"Thank you for your insightful sharing yesterday. As a year 4 Life Sciences major with broad interests, it was really nice to be able to relate to your diverse experiences and learn more about your work. 

I would like to share some thoughts and questions about some of the things discussed yesterday, related to behaviour change and making the screening process more enjoyable for women as well as the packaging of information. I agree that modifying the process in innovative ways, as you suggested, could be very beneficial. The idea has actually been applied to make the MRI experience feel like play time for children (https://thisisdesignthinking.net/2014/12/changing-experiences-through-empathy-ge-healthcares-adventure-series/). 

Furthermore, understanding behaviour determinants and Nudge theory (the idea of influencing behaviour in subtle ways) could also be beneficial. For example, if the aim is to increase screening uptake, a possible application of this could be to tap on the fact that people are influenced by social norms and convey to women that most women have been going for regular screening. I think that initiatives like the Community Mammobus programme is perhaps an attempt in this direction to make screenings more convenient and it seems like there was some success with that. To move towards such initiatives would require a thorough understanding of users/beneficiaries, and a multidisciplinary team including user experience designers amongst others is likely to be required. Thus, may I ask if there are currently avenues for multidisciplinary collaboration in the field?

With regards to how information can be packaged in ways that facilitate decision making, I am not so sure. Perhaps people may prefer to seek advice from someone whom they feel that they can trust when it comes to health issues, and I wonder if the role of doctors and genetic counsellors could be very important here since they interact directly with patients?"

Denise Nastaya Harjoko, Life Sciences Major (Year 4) + University Scholars Programme, 

National University of Singapore

2019.01.07

How is time travel paradoxical? If one goes back in time and moves forward 

through another node of the infinite number of parallel universes, causality won't be violated, will it?

2019.01.04

What language do you dream in? I dream in tongues and colors and numbers and sometimes emotions. Sometimes I wake up angry, sad or mad happy.

2019.01.03

People are like numbers. Some rational, some irrational, some natural, some whole, some real, some imaginary, some large, some small and some past prime.

2018.12.16

What an odd feeling to be homesick, at home.

While savouring the familiar milky taste,

Of frothy latte foam.

What a strange feeling of being lost,

In the very streets where I grew up. 

The impulse to transcend the space between us,

No matter what the cost.

What a realisation that the reason why 

I am homesick, at home,

Is because wherever he is, is truly home.

2020.02.17

However full they may sound,

Your words will always be hollow.

In this emptiness I found, 

Nothing in tomorrow.

I want feelings to stop.

I want emotions to fade.

I want this love -

Unmade.