More on Aled Edwards and ReGenesis

It seems like ReGenesis is a hot topic - either that or I'm just primed to notice at the moment. Anyway, the latest edition of LabLit has an interview with ReGenesis' science adviser Aled Edwards. He talks about how he got involved as a science adviser and the kind of demands he makes:

Any conditions?

Well, I said I’d only do it if they stick to real science. No white coats. Show scientists who actually drink coffee in the lab, like we all do. They have to make the occasional mistake! And none of this doing an experiment that would take a month in real life being resolved in one day. For example, they wanted to have the guys solve a pandemic in three hours. I said, no, you can’t discover a new drug in one day. So we had them screening pre-existing compounds, which is actually more feasible.

The writers must hate this!

They do say it’s the hardest thing they’ve ever done, because they can’t just make it up – I won’t let them. It’s tiring for everybody. Plus they’re getting it from both ends. Management can veto entire stories, which happens about thirty per cent of the time: maybe there’s not enough tension, not enough human interest...or too much science. It must be a real pain in the ass to be a TV writer.

His lab members even get to help out with the consulting - very cool.

(In my previous ReGenesis post, I said that it was being shown on ABC at 1:30 AM Monday nights. I forgot to check last night (which I think of as Sunday, even after midnight.) I really wish some station would pick it up for an "earlier than the middle of the night" time slot.)

Tags:ReGenesis, genetics, education