Author Archives: Jennifer Rohn

As it’s Friday pretty much everywhere at the moment, I thought I’d share a little revelation I had this morning. Every time I work down in the yeast lab, I get the nagging, uneasy sensation that someone is watching me. … Continue reading →

Scientists are trained to read the scientific literature with skepticism. Forever question, we are told, the truth of various assertions put to us no matter how eloquent or famous the writer or prestigious the journal in which that writing appears. … Continue reading →

If science is a narrative, then sometimes you have to read between the lines. Consider, as case in point, the humble Acknowledgements Section of your average peer-reviewed journal article. I have always been fascinated by this little afterthought of a … Continue reading →

There’s a new kid on the block – in fact, it’s housed in our laboratory, despite being a communal piece of apparatus. Rumors of its arrival buzzed in the institute’s corridors for weeks, and when the inevitable training sessions were … Continue reading →

They’re pale and creamy, scattered across the agar like diseased lesions. Something about the three-dimensionality of the colonies – vaguely dome-shaped instead of flat – rings some sort of primordial alarm bell deep in my hindbrain. Although I know it’s … Continue reading →

I was gripped by a sense of mounting panic as I stared at the diagram in front of me, shoulders tensed and pen clenched in my right hand. I’d been bashing away at the thought experiment for well over fifteen … Continue reading →

I may work with some of science’s finest minds, but there comes a point when you have to bow to the inevitable. Leaving notes in the lab simply does not work. Those who notice it will just think you’re a … Continue reading →

It’s crunch time. I’ve cleared my desk for the final assault. No more distractions, no more experiments: I’ve even thrown away all my cell cultures so that they can’t tempt me with their gossamer lamellipodial embraces, with their scandalously promiscuous … Continue reading →