Raina Maier Featured as Scientific American Guest Blogger
April 22, 2015
Raina Maier, Director of the University of Arizona Superfund Research Program, was featured as an invited guest blogger in Scientific American on April 22, 2015. Her contribution What about Earth’s Microbiome? discusses a key player missing from climate change discussions – the Earth’s microorganisms. She draws an analogy between the human microbiome, which when perturbed can cause a disease state, and the Earth’s microbiome, which may behave similarly. She goes on to describe how microbes have made Earth habitable for humans but that they have no vested interest in the status quo. Maier then argues that we currently know very little about Earth’s microbiome and that this is a challenge that rivals developing cures for cancer - but without increased federal funding for agencies like the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, this challenge will not be overcome.
Maier is a 2014-2015 Fellow in the OpEd Project’s Public Voices initiative. As stated on their website, the OpEd Project's mission is to “increase the range of voices and quality of ideas we hear in the world. A starting goal is to increase the number of women thought leaders in key commentary forums to a tipping point. We envision a world where the best ideas - regardless of where they come from - will have a chance to be heard, and to shape society and the world.”
Maier comments, “Writing this op-ed has been both a frustrating and amazingly rewarding experience – it is not easy to distill large concepts into just a few words.” She is grateful for the opportunity the Lovell Foundation and the University of have given her to participate in the fellowship, and thankful for the “patient advice and support” of her mentor, Jennifer Block.
Maier's article was quoted in The Scientist's selection of notable quotes for June 2015, highlighting her assertion that "understanding Earth’s microbiome is a challenge that rivals going to the moon or developing cures for cancer."
We’re looking forward to the next one, Raina!
Maier, R.M. 2015. What about Earth’s Microbiome? Scientific American invited guest blog.
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2015/04/22/what-about-earths-microbiome/