Evolutionary biology is dramatic. Species come, and species go. Simple, random mutations allow organisms to exploit bold new resources. A year’s worth of field data can hinge on the immediate availability of duct tape. You get the idea.
After discussing these thoughts on Twitter with @Sciencegurlz0, @sciliz & @cbahlai this evening, we’ve come up with a way of conveying the events occurring in research labs and backyards around the world in a manner befitting their seriousness: a YouTube series featuring abstracts of evolutionary biology papers being read dramatically by professional actors.
Picture it: Hugh Jackman belting out the abstract for “Macrophages are required for adult salamander limb regeneration“, or Jenny McCarthy sharing her talents to pass along the “Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975–2009, Featuring the Burden and Trends in Human Papillomavirus (HPV)–Associated Cancers and HPV Vaccination Coverage Levels“, or Sir Patrick Stewart providing a dramatic reading of, well, anything really (although I’d suggest “Space travel directly induces skeletal muscle atrophy“). Yes, I believe this is what the internet was made for.
While the videos would be highly entertaining and have the potential to go viral, I’d accompany them with explanatory write ups of the paper in question. The silly-sounding readings would serve as the hook to pique people’s interest in the science (i.e. what on earth is Hugh Jackman singing about), and encourage them to read more about the paper with the help of a skillful synopsis provided by one of the many talented science writers currently at work on the web.
While I think the idea has a lot of potential, we don’t have the connections to make it a reality (I’m not sure I know any actors personally, famous or otherwise). So, I’m throwing the idea out into the web with the hopes that a connected and creative person out there will run with it. The online science community is a large and diverse place, and I’m sure there’s someone who can make this a reality.
The only thing I ask is that you send me a link when you roll it out, because I’d really love to watch Samuel L. Jackson ad lib “Germs on a Plane: Aircraft, International Travel, and the Global Spread of Disease“.
Excellent idea! Maybe Isabella Rossellini can help. She did that awesome series on animal reproduction called Green Porno! Anyone know Isabella Rossellini?
That’d be awesome, I love her Green Porno series! There certainly seem to be more and more people in Hollywood speaking up about science, so I’m hoping that maybe one day the right one will stumble across this and agree it’s a good idea!
Some people who would be great for this are actually pretty active (and interactive) on Twitter and might conceivably reply if you pitched the idea to them. How about Wil Wheaton? Not as famous as the big-name actors you mentioned, sure, but a geek icon and a big supporter of science (he recently posted on his blog about the whole Shark Week/Megalodon debacle). And he does a lot with YouTube.
Ya, I think I might slip a tweet to Wil & Felicia Day about this, see what happens.
And just in case Wil reads this, you’re totally a big-name actor. In fact, might you be interested in lending your voice acting chops to “A cryptic rock-paper-scissors game between Drosophila males”?
Now you’ve made me paranoid that Wil is going to read this and be hurt that I described him as not a big-name actor. Aack! I love you, Wil! You’re the best…!
Why stop (or start) at celebrities? You might build momentum by intriguing our own science superstars into breathing their brand of flourish into an abstract outside their field of expertise.
Morgan – have you thought of contacting the good folk at the Catalyst Collaborative? http://www.centralsquaretheater.org/about_ccmit.html – happy to try and facilitate an introduction. They’re a company that specializes in bridging theater and science. I think this is a BRILLIANT idea on many levels. Something like this with poets has also been done at NCEAS before as well.