"Kind of neither, kind of both. We can look at very small samples of tissue, too small to see without equipment. That also allows us to get a look at the earliest stages of development, and we can see similarities between development of different kinds of animals. Different scholars in my field have different approaches, but a lot of my specialty has to do with identifying differences and similarities."

She's been describing her research for years, now, and it feels... oddly distant, these days. She's almost wistful.