Well, since you mention Bill Nye ... no, I'm not him. But I do have a pretty solid background in microbiology, biochemistry and biophysics. You may contact me at myfirstname_lastname at yahoo dot com
I'm not ready to be a science advisor though, with limited time to write as I find myself on deadline again. I am also chief cook, chauffeur, child-minder, homework checker, peacemaker, and housekeeper

About PM -- newbies don't have PM privileges. After a disturbing spam incident a while ago, we had to limit that to members who had reached a certain number of qualifying posts. However, depending on your Messaging settings (Profile/Modify Profile/Personal Messaging), you can receive PMs from members who have reached that level. That's why you could receive Betsy's message, but not send her one.
A reminder: You can press the "Report to moderator" link at the bottom right of this message, which will take you to a screen where you can leave a message for the mods/admins and one of us will then pass along your contact info to the person you need to get in touch with. But it's good you posted your website, so that people can contact you that route. You might want to consider putting it in your signature.
Welcome to the boards, Bill.
Vijaya