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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Category Archives: Uncategorized
In which I slowly kill what I love
I sometimes feel like I am living in the last gasp of the “having your cake and eating it too” era. The planet is approaching a climatic tipping point – if not past it already. Widespread war is sparking ever … Continue reading
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In which I step over the edge
Another first of January, and I find myself in that fuzzy transition between old and new, between holiday and the resumption of real life. The Christmas tree and its associated trappings give me that look, seeming to realise they they … Continue reading
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3 Comments
In which there’s no cure like a good geeky read
With the arrival of September, autumn has arrived in London with a vengeance. The air is crisp and cold, marigolds wither on my back porch, and the campus is full of robed, jubilant undergraduates ready to accept their diplomas and … Continue reading
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6 Comments
In which I ponder the power of perspective
Whenever you stick your head above the parapet and express a strong opinion in a high-profile venue, it’s almost inevitable that you’ll receive a large number of emails in response. Most of the follow-up I receive tends to be from … Continue reading
In which we rev up again
It’s been a long, cold winter. Science Is Vital has been in hibernation, but now we’re back. After half a year since the government’s Autumn Spending Review, the implications of the science budget’s cash freeze are starting to kick in. … Continue reading
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5 Comments
In which I marvel at a serious swag #fail
Who doesn’t love a good conference swag bag? Yes, I know it’s frequently full of useless tat destined to go straight into the hotel bin. But what jolts the adrenalin as you paw through the bulging canvas sack in your … Continue reading
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19 Comments
In which I question my own sell-by date
The scientific profession is inherently broken. I’ve blogged in the past about the glut of increasingly desperate post-docs battling it out for a diminishing pool of permanent positions funded by a dwindling pot of research funding. As the culture of … Continue reading
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Tagged age discrimination, careers, science is broken, staring into the abyss
43 Comments
In which I come over all SF
Science: it’s not just a profession, but a way of life. And sometimes it’s hard to switch off the all-pervasive geeky filter through which we view the entire world. Of course, the UK press’s habit of weirdly juxtaposing nouns as … Continue reading
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18 Comments
In which I correspond
In my secret heart, I have always longed to live in the Victorian era. Through the rosy-tinted glow of idealized histories (the sort that neglect to mention things like head lice), I’ve imbibed stories of poets corresponding with ornithologists about … Continue reading
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23 Comments
In which I contemplate the ranks of the invisible
The word ‘feminist’ has ugly connotations, so much so that I often hesitate before pointing out gender inequities. Does it do any good to state the obvious, given that it is unlikely to rectify injustice, and indeed risks riling up, … Continue reading
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75 Comments