=/\= Vulcan Academy of Sciences =/\=
Lieutenant Stafford stood at the center of a lecture hall, with a few
dozen medical scientists in the seats surrounding his presentation.
His most recent paper, "Bendii Syndrome and Neutron Degredation: A
Tomographic Imaging Study" seemed to attract just enough attention
that he would be invited to give this lecture. The Chief Medical
Officer was not particularly happy to lose a doctor before the ship
would be beginning its next mission, but Starfleet Medical wanted to
take advantage of the positive press the story could offer, and off he
went.
Paul looked into his audiences' eyes and grew more nervous by the
minute. Their emotionless faces were impossible to read and, as he
spoke, he wasn't sure if he was gaining their approval or thier
dismay. The lack of feedback from them was the worst part of the
ordeal. The hour of his talk seemed to take several, but he soon found
himself at the end of the slides. He turned to the audience, and asked
for questions.
"Doctor Tuval from T'Paal's central hospital, I understand you chose
afflicted and unafflicted Vulcans of approximately 150 years for the
scans. How did you determine the optimal age for your subjects?"
Paul nodded: "Well, as you know, the neural degredation from this
disease worsens with the passage of time. In order to effectively
treat this condition, we need to detect it as soon as possible and
recognize deviations from the baseline in terms of neural performance
and neuron condition. So I chose subjects based on the earliest times
the disease is known to appear, with the hope that the most minute
changes in the brain might be observed to give us a means of further
researching treatment strategies."
"Doctor Soren, according to your results, minute variances in the
hypocampus precede the clinical variances in the metathalamus. Can you
correlate the two brain changes?"
Stafford shook his head: "The scans do reveal the same change in each
patient with Bendii syndrome, but the sample size prevents greater
conclusions from being drawn from my study. Certainly, further studies
should be used to see if there is a bona fide link between the two
brain neuron myopathies. It would definately be a smoking gun in the
treatment of this condition."
Soren seemed confused: "Smoking gun? I'm afraid I do not understand."
Paul nodded shortly: "It would definately show an evidenciary link
between the two effects."
Soren nodded, satisfied with the answer. He soon sat down. After
answering several more questions, the vulcan audience seemed satisfied
with the information presented, and they ceased to ask questions. He
noted this change and thanked them for the chance to speak. Taking his
notes from a PADD, he slowly walked to the building's exit, soon
followed by the members of the audience.
=/\= END LOG =/\=
Lt Paul Stafford
CMO (to be)
USS Charon
