Finding Felisa

Finding information on the internet can be a challenge. When there are so many voices, they can't all be reliable. Wikipedia is commonly criticized as an unreliable source, since it is created by the subscribers themselves. However, I find that Wikipedia can be a valuable resource when used properly.

Every fact stated in a Wikipedia article should be followed by a citation number. If there is no citation, there is a good chance the information is unconfirmed. Clicking on the citation number will direct you to the end of the article where the sources are listed. From there, you can click on links leading to the source material and evaluate the credibility of the sources themselves.

Recently, I set out to find information on Dr. Felisa Wolfe-Simon.

Felisa is a microbial geobiologist and biogeochemist. So far, I know that she's a smart, sexy lady with several complicated titles following her name. So how do I go about finding out more? I may want to know what she's published, what she's most famous for, and if she'd like to go out to dinner with me.

Following the Wikipedia trail, I found Felisa's official website, which lists her credentials and various publications. I also found that she is a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard. Yet another source link led me to a New York Times article covering a controversy over Felisa's research. 

Apparently, Dr. Wolfe-Simon name was made public by her research involving the possibility of a bacterium capable of substituting arsenic for phosphorus in its DNA. Phosphorus is now deemed one of the components essential for life. If a life-form is found able to substitute something else for phosphorus, this would have implications on the possibility for discovering life elsewhere in the universe. It is precisely this type of speculation that pushed Dr. Wolfe-Simon into the public sphere. If such a discovery were made, it would most certainly be groundbreaking. Unfortunately, in the midst of all the hype, many criticisms were made about the "sloppy science" done in the research process. 

After the controversy blew over, the public has heard very little from Felisa. If I had the chance to interview her, I'd probably ask for a response to the criticisms of her research and what direction her research had gone between then and now. And then, I might ask her if she'd like to have dinner with me.