Author Archives: Jennifer Rohn

Live in or near London and interested in reading lab lit — novels about science or scientists? It’s never too late to join Fiction Lab, our monthly geeky book club at the Royal Institution. Last Monday we dispatched our first … Continue reading →

My lab-side manner could charitably be described as ‘cautious’ – although ‘paranoid’ is probably closer to the truth. I am reluctant to take shortcuts in an experiment, for example, even when I suspect that it will make little difference. And … Continue reading →

There is nothing like coming back from an extended holiday to force you to take stock of your various research projects. This morning, after braving the iced pavements, flurries of snow and Underground carriages full of bewildered commuters who seemed, … Continue reading →

Forget the Large Hadron Collider: there are scarier things afoot right here in the heart of Suffolk. If you hear news of a black hole yawning open a few dozen miles northeast of Ipswich, it was only me, trying to … Continue reading →

The scientific method comes in many guises. During the past eighteen months in the lab, I have suffered from a severe lack of hypotheses. Or rather, I have been laboring under the umbrella of one very big, very broad hypothesis-with-a-capital-H: … Continue reading →

My non-scientist colleagues are often surprised to find out that I sing in a band. Granted, ‘singing in a band’ might sound a bit more edgy than the reality: a bunch of aging scientists, ex-scientists, Nature editors and miscellaneous non-sciency … Continue reading →

In many B-movies, machines try to take over the world. And in real life, we often joke about losing our lab jobs to them. As case in point, three of my five years in graduate school were largely consumed by … Continue reading →

The bad news is that The Royal Institution has unceremoniously booted the Fiction Lab (our monthly science novel book club) out of its august halls for the entirety of December, during which the famous Christmas Lectures take precedence. The good … Continue reading →

Last month I was asked to give a dinner speech for a Wellcome Trust/New Scientist shindig. A few days ago, when I was tidying up the house, I ran into the forgotten goodie bag that had been thrust at me … Continue reading →

We’ve all been there. It’s been a frenetic afternoon in the lab. You have half a dozen experiments on the go and, what with various interruptions – the rotating graduate student can’t find an enzyme; you’re the only one who … Continue reading →