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: Silliness
In which science imitates life, number 365: zones of death in public transport
I was waiting for the bus this past weekend, ridiculously early to get my son to his swimming lesson across town. Or so I thought. We waited, and waited, and Joshua jumped up and down anxiously, looking adorable with his … Continue reading
Posted in Joshua, Scientific thinking, Silliness
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In which I make myself useful
Two centrifuge buckets, both alike in dignity? It’s a truth universally acknowledged that an ageing group leader is, by definition, out of touch when it comes to the lab. After all, we spend most of our time writing grants and … Continue reading
Posted in Kit, Research, Silliness, The profession of science
2 Comments
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
3 Comments
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 avoid the topic
I have been downtrodden this week, struggling to stay afloat in this erratic and stormy sea we call academic science. I suspect there is a post in there waiting to get out, but I am too blue (and overworked) to … Continue reading
Posted in Careers, Silliness, Staring into the abyss
1 Comment
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 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
4 Comments
In which I invite them in
Although engaging with the public about science is famously not about – heaven forbid – ‘teaching’ it, the two endeavors do share some common strategies. I’ve been organizing and executing a lot of undergraduate educational sessions these past few terms, … Continue reading
Posted in Science talking, Scientific thinking, Silliness, Students, Teaching
14 Comments
In which I enjoy a Northern sojourn
I spend a lot of my time these days up at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, helping out with undergraduate teaching. It’s marked a new phase of traipsing up and down on the Northern Line to my lab on … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening, Silliness, Teaching
2 Comments
In which I receive a gift
What do you buy the female scientist who has everything? A few days ago I noticed a news clip in the London Evening Standard, mentioning that a new line of Lego featuring women researchers had sold out within hours of … Continue reading
