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.
Category Archives: Scientific thinking
In which green means go
It’s often been said that witnessing your child grow up is akin to scientific experiment – an intense longitudinal observational study with no control group. As a fan of language in all of its nuances, it’s been fascinating watching Joshua … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic bliss, Scientific thinking, Work/life balance
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In which I snap
I’m not a neat freak or anything, at home or in the lab, but sometimes, enough is enough. Behold the new arrangement of our lab’s stash of fluorochrome-conjugated secondary antibodies. Is it not a thing of beauty? (A moment of … Continue reading
Posted in Research, Scientific thinking, Silliness
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In which we are unlucky: on lab superstitions
I was thinking the other day that if academia were a mental illness, it would be bipolar. One day it treats me well: a student shows me an experiment that shows great promise. I have a spirited chat with a … Continue reading
In which I lose my tubes, and other manifestations of lab rustiness
When you’re a young scientist, it’s the done thing to poke gentle fun at the lab head for being out of touch. For example, when I was a graduate student, we’d all pretend to be horrified whenever our boss, wearing … Continue reading
In which I embrace the literature
I think I’ve earned a five-minute break. I’ve been working hard to ready myself ahead of a big interview for a significant funding scheme. I’m being subjected to a series of mock interviews, and I’ve been reading as much as … Continue reading
Posted in Careers, science funding, Scientific thinking, Staring into the abyss, The profession of science
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Too many jobs, not enough quiet: In which I am spread too thin
To be in academia is to multitask. As a principal investigator in a big university, it is becoming increasingly apparent that investigation is not my principal role. Yes, I run a lab (which is in turn defined by multitasks: supervising … Continue reading
In which nature imitates science – number 327
Sometimes when you look at something from a different angle, you see something you’d never otherwise have noticed. We’ve been trying to grow melons in the greenhouse, without much success: hundreds of female flowers have unfurled, but only a handful … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic bliss, Gardening, Scientific thinking, Silliness
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In which you can take the girl out of the lab…
I suppose most scientists have the problem of taking their work home with them. And by this I don’t mean the stacks of papers you need to read, or the manuscript you’re writing, or the grant application you’re still cobbling … Continue reading
In which the forest emerges
The clocks have gone forward, the crocuses wither, the tulips unfurl. The students have dispersed for Easter, full of dread about the immunology exam that will pounce on their return. Budding life forms I put one grant application to bed … Continue reading
Posted in Careers, Gardening, Scientific thinking, Staring into the abyss, Students, Teaching, The profession of science
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In which life imitates science – number 264
A scientist is never off-duty, even in a fabulous Michelin-starred restaurant on Charlotte Street. I think pretty much anyone with a cell biology background would have seen what I saw in this rhubarb confection: But alas, my immediate dining companions … Continue reading
Posted in Scientific thinking, Silliness
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