About Jenny
By day: cell biologist at UCL. By night: novelist, broadcaster, science writer, sci-lit-art pundit, blogger and Editor of LabLit.com. I blog about my life in science, not the facts and figures.
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Recent Posts
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- Jennifer Rohn on In which no scientist is an island – but that’s what we signed up for
- Henry Gee on In which no scientist is an island – but that’s what we signed up for
- Brigitte on In which sadness serves a purpose
- rpg on In which we tell a story: on metaphors in science and life
- Henry Gee on In which we’ve lost the scientific argument
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Author Archives: Jennifer Rohn
In which we pause
Silent night. Well, not really night anymore, as I first opened this page at 4 AM. Out the window brittle stars burn, though the faintest of glows already encroaches. That limbo before morning, when the house is utterly silent, the … Continue reading
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In which I thank my stars for country living
When I first moved to London in 1997, I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. Long hours in the lab would spill into the evening streets and underground tunnels of a city so large that you could never experience it all. … Continue reading
Posted in Academia, Domestic bliss, Gardening, Nostalgia, The ageing process, Work/life balance
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In which I make contact
Back in the late Nineties, I was interning at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. During the working week, I threw myself into the lab with all the evangelical fervour of a pilgrim who had finally reached her … Continue reading
In which I lurk on the edges of the playground
I’ve just finished Richard Powers’ latest novel, Playground. This is not a book review (although I can highly recommend it), but more of a reflection on its aftertaste. Cryptic spoilers below. I’d consider the book ‘lab lit lite’ – there … Continue reading
In which I mark a milestone
I have been putting off writing about a special twenty-year anniversary. But first, apologies are in order. Yet again, I find that another season has passed without me writing here. This was never meant to be a quarterly affair, but … Continue reading
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In which I languish in limbo
You could write an entire PhD thesis about how difficult it is for academics to relax on holiday. (And whoever’s writing it would be lying on the sofa by the Christmas tree right now, fretting about how they really ought … Continue reading
In which I slowly kill what I love
I sometimes feel like I am living in the last gasp of the “having your cake and eating it too” era. The planet is approaching a climatic tipping point – if not past it already. Widespread war is sparking ever … Continue reading
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In which I dream of escape
Sometimes everything just seems too much. As the non-existent summer rolls on – 14C mornings of rain or overcast, wool sweaters taken back out from storage – I find my stress level to be the only thing heating up. As … Continue reading
Posted in Careers, Gardening, Research, science funding, Staring into the abyss, The profession of science, Work/life balance
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In which I make the best of things
Greetings from the tail end of a typical British bank holiday, where the big highlight was gardening in the rain. In all seriousness, it was rather lovely to be out tidying up the flower beds in the fresh air, among … Continue reading
Posted in Academia, Careers, Domestic bliss, Gardening, Research, Staring into the abyss, The profession of science, Work/life balance
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In which I dream
Last night I dreamt I was pipetting. It was a beautiful Gilson p200, the classic model of my formative years. The precision instrument felt reassuringly heavy and solid in my right hand. Despite its age, the movements were smooth and … Continue reading
Posted in Academia, Careers, Nostalgia, Research, Scientific thinking, The ageing process, The profession of science
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