Blum, author of The Monkey Wars, discussed her work as a science journalist at a Jan. 27 program sponsored by the Yerkes Primate Research Center. A noted writer on the topic of animal research for a Sacramento, Calif., newspaper, Blum told of a number of professional dilemmas and fascinating characters she has encountered while reporting on animal research. One occasion that left Blum in a professional quandary occurred while she was observing surgery being conducted on a primate as part of a brain research project. The scientist had to remove the animal's cheekbone to get to the brain. Blum asked the researcher how he would replace the cheekbone when the surgery was finished. "This monkey's not going to be in a beauty contest," was his reply. "I didn't know what I could do with that," Blum said. "It was an important part of the story, but I worried that it might distract from the great basic science research that he was doing." Her solution was to leave the incident in but relate it in a matter-of-fact way. Blum also discussed the paradoxical problem of animal research being shrouded in mystery, mostly because researchers are so reluctant to share even the most positive and non-controversial aspects of their work. "I think that real change on this one will have to come from inside the scientific community, not as a result of outside pressure," she said.
--Dan Treadaway