Question: what is your favourite scientific question you've come up with?

Mark Travis answered on 13 Jun 2010:

Hello there,
There are a few of examples that spring to mind. The first is an idea that me and my then boss in San Francisco came up with. We predicted that a particular set of molecules would be key in stopping immune responses from going crazy and causing disease. We did a load of experiments, and proved that we were right! We managed to publish the findings in a very prestigous scientific journal (this is the way that scientists tell other scientists about the work that they do), which was very pleasing.
Another example was the first time I ever came up with a scientific idea on my own. It was during my PhD, and I predicted that a certain molecule would be key in controlling how cells move. As it turned out, I was completely wrong! But, it was the first real taste I had of thinking of biological ideas on my own, and working out ways of seeing if I was right or wrong.
Last example is an idea we are currently working on in my lab. Again, it is about working out how the immune system in your gut is controlled, and we predicted that a certain molecule in the gut would be very important. Turns out it is! So, we are really excited at the moment following this up.