Stepping outside your comfort zone

So one of the last talks I attended today was and invited talk on biomaterials research and using biomimetics to make advances in biological applications. In particular it focused on using the body's own tissue regeneration processes to aid in solving medical problems. In particular it focused on the problems involved in bone grafting surgeries and focused on the development of a novel biomimetic way of creating bone structures that have complex heirarchichal structures matching that of our real bone tissue. It was really interesting and thought provoking. It was also a far step away from the research I am use to seeing and hearing talks on (namely inorganic materials research and specifically those relating to oxides and electromagnetic properties of materials). But despite my complete lack of knowledge in this area I was able to keep up. And whats more I think I could really take from the talk. Some of the common components of materials science were evident. Strength as related to structure and novel growth techniques, and even corrosion cosiderations, all played a role in the work. I like the idea of being able to find these common tie-ins. And though it would be a lot of work, I like the idea that maybe some of the common things I am learning could one day be applied to a field that is often considered completely different from my own. I guess my point is that its nice to step outside your comfort zone to see how well you can relate to work different from your area of expertise.