"Not transparent.  Remember, they've got those stripes," said the skeptic.

"No problem.  We'll just change their DNA and create a breed of stripeless zebrafish."

At least that's my imaginary story of  how the Harvard experiment started.  I'm a creative type.  I make up stories.  But I've come to realize that the really innovative people are the scientists who have the imagination to decide what to study, who invent the apparatus to support experiments to find out what they want to know, and then make the practical applications that save our lives.  They take basic facts and build on the research of other scientists to create new knowledge.

The next time you read about a new step forward in cancer research, think about the innovation and imaginative leaps that research scientists used.  Even in these times of tight dollars, we need to support public funding for basic research and donate to organizations that fund research.

If you know a scientist, give him or her a thank-you hug from me and all the other folks who are alive because of their creativity.