Eurafrika Pt. 12 - A Grand Challenge

The last few days at the lodge were pretty quiet. I spent most of my time recovering from my sickness and reading.

But, there was a lot of science going on as well, science that could end up saving millions of lives. So I had the chance to watch some brilliant minds in medicine speak about the latest goings on.

After missing the opening remarks, I saw a panel discussion about scientists and politics. I won't bore you with the details, just that it made me realize there are so many scientists who can't communicate at all. As soon as I hear someone who can't speak the language, I zone out; it's just too much effort to concentrate and grasp what they are trying to say. I wasn't the only one, I could see scientists left and right dozing off. It's a shame, I thought: at this conference there may be two people who can each solve each others problems, but if they can't understand each other, there's no possibility of collaboration that could lead to breakthroughs.

I did learn more about how my mom's lab was developing a HIV vaccine. It's all based on the research they've done with a group of Kenyan prostitutes who are HIV immune. The key seems to be in calming down the immune system's response to the virus.

The next day we drove to Arusha where the conference would officially end. It took place in the same complex where the criminals of the Rwandan Genocide were being tried. There was a petite blonde taking pictures of the event with telephoto lens. I asked her how much it cost and where she was from. She replied $10000 and Zimbabwe, I guessed one of the whites who fled the madness of Mugabe.

We entered a large circular lecture hall; it was large, wood-paneled and seated about five hundred. As I looked to the centre of the room, I wondered what horrible revelations had echoed inside these walls.

My Pavlovian instincts developed in college took over and I dozed off. I regretted doing so upon waking, as I had missed half of a really interesting presentation given by a Nobel laureate. There was a lot of talk about innovation, and plenty of creative ideas like growing human stem cells in mice that you can do better vaccine and drug tests.

Honestly, I don't remember too much of what happened these days. I was weak from a sickness and a lack of good food. I was looking forward to a change of scenery.