This short film titled "Naturally Obsessed” follows the lives of a members of a research group headed by Dr. Lawrence Shapiro at Columbia University. The lab focuses on solving the three-dimensional structures of certain proteins by using a technique called “X-ray crystallography”. This technique which require that proteins samples are crystallized. This is a difficult process with an uncertain outcome. That is why I shied away from crystallography even though I have an interest in structural biology). Throughout the film, members of the lab group allude to two top scientific journals (“Nature” and “Science”) as potential venues to publish their results.
For this assignment, please watch theNaturally Obsessed filmand answer the following questions.
1. Who is the film’s protagonist (What is his name?)
2. What protein is the protagonist trying to crystallize?
3. What does that protein do?
4. What is the protein made of?
5. The protein is encoded by a ______________
6. Was he successful is crystallizing the protein? If no, what alternative path did he take?
7. Some lab members discuss an unusual ingredient that was used by another group to successfully crystallize a protein. What is the ingredient?
8. Where did the scientists take protein crystals to be analyzed?
9. Must one be obsessive-compulsive to become a scientist?
10. Would you show this film to students considering a science career? (Why or why not?)
11. There were some safety violations by some of the members of this lab. Name at least two.
12. Did you get the impression that the graduate students were competing against one another?
13. What story did Dr Shapiro share when he published his first paper in a very well-respected journal?
14. What did you think of Dr. Shapiro as a mentor?
15. What aspects of the film may illustrate inequities in science?
Do not respond to those questions in paragraph form. Instead,type your responses under each question. Theboldedquestions require more than a one-word response (or a yes or no response). In order to earn full credit for this assignment, I must get the sense that you have invested some time and effort.