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.
Author Archives: Jennifer Rohn
In which I assert my right of interpretation
In doing research for my previous World View piece for Nature about the lack of female science pundits, I came across the notion that women might be discouraged from expressing their views in public in part because they didn’t want … Continue reading
Posted in Careers, The profession of science
19 Comments
In which I do my bit
For me, one of the highlights of Science Online 2011 was meeting @HistoryGeek – Holly Tucker, an Associate Professor at Vanderbilt University who teaches French and the history of medicine, and whose upcoming book Blood Work, a tale of murder … Continue reading
Posted in LabLit, Writing
6 Comments
In which I ask my due
When has good writing become such a cheap commodity that people seem reluctant to pay for it? I still remember the first piece of proper science writing I ever did. The year was 2003, the place was Amsterdam, and my … Continue reading
Posted in Nostalgia, Writing
59 Comments
In which I wait for spring to come
Dusk was already falling, along with a light drizzle, earlier this afternoon as I pushed brown ovoid objects repeatedly into heavy wet earth. Carelessly dressed against the cold, my muddy fingertips going numb, I worked the trowel and hoped I … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic bliss, Gardening
32 Comments
In which the truth hurts – or does it?
As crocuses push through muddy earth, the air softens on campus and the undergraduates wake up from hibernation to resume clogging up the pizza queue in the refectory, I feel the weight, yet again, of the swift passage of days … Continue reading
In which we fail to meet expectations
Sometimes you find yourself in a crowd, experiencing the unreal sense that you’re wearing a disguise, or acting out a part in a play, or watching yourself in a web-cam feed. Last week I attended the biennial meeting of Wellcome … Continue reading
In which I marvel at a serious swag #fail
Who doesn’t love a good conference swag bag? Yes, I know it’s frequently full of useless tat destined to go straight into the hotel bin. But what jolts the adrenalin as you paw through the bulging canvas sack in your … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
19 Comments
In which I tire of the old paradigms
Successful moments in scientific research are famously rare, and people deal with them in various personal ways. Many treat a promising experimental with suspicion bordering on paranoia, refusing to believe what is right before their eyes because an experiment couldn’t … Continue reading
Posted in Scientific method, The profession of science
Tagged Kuhn, Popper, The scientific method
53 Comments
In which I space out
London is beautiful at Christmas, especially when we get proper winter weather. In this lame-duck week in the run up to the 25th, many people in the metropolis have downed tools and taken off work early for the holidays – … Continue reading
Posted in Careers, Staring into the abyss
11 Comments
In which I am outwitted by swag
A good scientific meeting will often lead to more questions than it answers. And sure enough, I’ve recently returned from the American Society for Cell Biology with a mystery object that has evaded all powers of comprehension. In the spirit … Continue reading
