Pause for name recognition. A respectful, knowing nod. I smile intelligently and turn to leave. The inevitable look of horror has passed over my dear relative's face as he backs away. Well, maybe that's just me, but I don't think my experiences are that far from the experiences of others working in the ever-expanding field of C. elegans research.
People laugh at worms.
They think of them as slimy creatures, seen only on damp sidewalks or skewered on the end of a fishing hook. Experienced scientists are wholly unflustered by questions such as these, but I, a recent college graduate spending two years as a lab technician before grad school, was quite bothered by them. Research to me had always held a substantial element of intrigue. True researchers, I believed, held in the back of their minds the comforting thought that directly from their hands would spring the cure for cancer. It saves the world.