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.
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- Jennifer Rohn on In which no scientist is an island – but that’s what we signed up for
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Category Archives: The profession of science
In which I am not a science cheerleader
There is something seductive about the scientific profession: it exerts a gravity so powerful that it can hoover all of the surrounding universe into its warped perspective. If you have your heart set on being a scientist, you set off … Continue reading
In which we excavate the Tubes that Time Forgot
I’ve written before about “the churn”, which is a term established scientists tend to use when they want to make short-term lab contracts sound like a good thing – instead of the relentless waste of talent and reagents and constant … Continue reading
Posted in The profession of science
6 Comments
In which numbers lie – except when they flatter us
Bibliometrics have been making me cross recently. In the past month, I’ve stumbled across two instances where journal impact factors were being used in a grossly inappropriate way to assess the worth and quality of scientist colleagues. This exposure in … Continue reading
Posted in LabLit, Scientific papers, The profession of science, Writing
20 Comments
In which they don’t make authorship like they used to
I recently had the pleasure of helping to judge the Max Perutz Science Writing Prize competition, held by the Medical Research Council in collaboration with the London Metro newspaper. The brief for aspiring young writers was to explain why their … Continue reading
In which we say goodbye
Over the summer, our lab has been invaded by an exotic species with a dynamic life cycle and an all-too-brief half-life. No, I’m not talking about some new strain of uropathogenic E. coli or other variety of bad-assed bug. I’m … Continue reading
Posted in Students, The profession of science
7 Comments
In which a picture’s worth a thousand words
A significant part of the scientific process is documenting what you observe. This activity is not merely a formality for the record. In some cases, it’s not until we study and analyze our results that the experimental situation can start … Continue reading
In which we welcome a new friend
There is nothing like the joy of finally getting a piece of lab equipment that you desperately need. OK, so it was fun messing around with the Poor Man’s Shaking Incubator (see the exclusive video of the prototype in action … Continue reading
Posted in The profession of science
4 Comments
In which science policy suits up
What must Britain do to retain its global scientific reputation in a changing world? This evening at the Royal Society, various men of science, industry and politics gave us their opinion (“UK Research: Building Bridges, Building Prosperity”). These included the … Continue reading
In which the post-doctoral playing field is leveled – in one small corner
The British governmental body responsible for funding research and postgraduate training in engineering and the physical sciences, known as the EPSRC, has been getting some bad press recently. But I couldn’t help being impressed by their new fellowship policy, which … Continue reading
Posted in Careers, Policy, The profession of science, Women in science
8 Comments
In which they don’t make ’em like they used to
One of the annoying things about getting old is resenting change. So when you’re a scientist, it doesn’t help that the lab environment is one of the most mutable places on earth. New technology emerges all the time, and our … Continue reading
Posted in Silliness, The profession of science
11 Comments
