In an average week in lab, I have the distinct and worrisome displeasure of handling live virus, radioactivity, mice, high intensity UV, carcinogens, neurotoxins, and teratogens galore. At least one of those things winds up splashing on me at some point during my work, and I am far from the biggest clutz around. Well, maybe not that far. Should I be worried? I know that the doses of radioactivity that I work with in lab are far smaller than what is commonly administered in clinical diagnostic tests – I once held up a Geiger counter to a man who had received a dose of iodine for a thyroid scan. The counter was screaming at 100 feet away. Truly disconcerting. And yet, that is an infrequent and controlled exposure, whereas I am basking in the glory that is 32P practically every day. I can’t help but think that I am at risk for growing a third thumb… or worse – losing one of the two I have now.

I think people are a remarkable combination of resilience and fragility. They can survive falls they never should but die from an entirely random and meaningless dislodged blood clot. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to who is afflicted and who walks away. I don’t want to take my health (and presumed resilience) for granted, but I can make no progress if I am too scared to use acrylamide. All I can do is hope that I am simply neurotic and my daily occupation is not, in fact, placing me in the category of afflicted, little by little. In reality, there is not a lot I can do about it either way.

So I have finally come to my question : are scientists in a greater harm’s way than most?

P.S. By the way, mice are mean little furballs. Mean. And not a little smelly.