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86, 87, 88, 89.....Male, female, female, female, male.....white eyed, wild type, wild, wild....

Days when we had to count fruit flies and then separate them into male/ female and their different mutations in genetics lab was always a drag. I found it boring, and nothing of a fascination.

Today I worked at Explore UT for CNS and showed kids Drosophila and their different mutations. "Ewww!" they'd say. "These don't have wings! They look like ants! What happened to them?!" They were so excited to see fruit flies. I explained to them that we mutated their parent's DNA with x-rays or chemicals, and now their children are different from the normal flies.

"Wow, DNA, like in X-Men?!"

"Uh, yea! Just like in X-Men. If I mutated your mom and removed the DNA for arm development, you might not have arms, just like how these flies don't have wings." They would grab their shoulders with worry in their eyes, and I'd reassure them with a smile that we don't do that for real, although we could. Even the grown ups were amazed by these simple genetic experiments.

I remember Dr. Baptiste had said he forgot how fascinating his job is until a student in the OR sees him operate on a beating heart and says "cool". "Oh yea, I forgot that it is pretty cool."

Kids are bright and still have so much to learn and be fascinated about. I hope they all get the chance.