Category Archives: Uncategorized

It’s crunch time. I’ve cleared my desk for the final assault. No more distractions, no more experiments: I’ve even thrown away all my cell cultures so that they can’t tempt me with their gossamer lamellipodial embraces, with their scandalously promiscuous … Continue reading →

I’ve recently purchased a new flat, so the past week has featured a whirlwind of the usual routine-breaking activities – packing, schlepping, unpacking, painting, trips to Ikea and B&Q, switching over all the utilities and changing addresses. Having calculated that … Continue reading →

Why can’t we just speak plainly? The evils of jargon have been in the news recently, when local governments were taken to task for excessive use of management-speak in their literature. Coincidentally, the topic has also reared up in several … Continue reading →

Science is a fickle mistress. Anyone who’s been in the game as long as I have knows that experiments work only occasionally, and streaks of bad news are inevitable. In fact, I think it’s the mark of experience when you … Continue reading →

On my way into the lab yesterday, I noticed major construction works going on in the main university quad. I was struck by how small and dainty the bulldozer was – only about the size of a bicycle – and … Continue reading →

Yesterday morning I woke up and realized that the entire logistical edifice underpinning the scientific profession is flawed. What’s more, I didn’t just see the problem; I had a glimpse of its solution. What sparked all this off? Well, my … Continue reading →

As Editor of Lablit.com, I often receive interesting emails in the magazine’s Inbox. By far the most common are from readers letting us know about specimens of lab lit (realistic mainstream fiction featuring scientists as central characters) that we may … Continue reading →

There’s a new kid on the block in our institute: a shiny high-content screening apparatus. I don’t want to engage in any gratuitous product placement, so let’s just refer to it as the Swanky Apparatus. A market leader, this sleek … Continue reading →

If a laboratory is like a family, then some days I feel like the black sheep. I don’t mean that I’m unpopular or causing problems – far from it. In my first two years in the lab, I spent a … Continue reading →

As I scanned through the bad news, I noticed with interest that my reaction was strangely muted. Of course I liked the paper and wanted it to get published, and was disappointed when “on this occasion”, the editors “regretted” to … Continue reading →