Category Archives: Uncategorized

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 →

As any hard-working scientist knows, it’s difficult to rack up a respectable publication list on one’s CV. Or is it? Today, while during a routine PubMed search, I ran into something puzzling: two seemingly identical articles: Curious, I took a … Continue reading →

Britain’s recent deep freeze has got me thinking about ice. One could hardly think of anything else during the worst of it, when negotiating one’s way to the Tube was a delicate balancing act on the un-gritted pavements. (Note to … Continue reading →

Sometimes I feel as if my career is trapped in a bubble of time. While all the scientists around me flow purposely along the classical linear progression from neophyte to tenured lab head, I float in a recursive pattern somewhat … Continue reading →

I spent most of 2009 in the lab engaged in visual pattern recognition – the scientific equivalent of one of these things is not like the other (or, for the Brits amongst you, the odd one out round). In the … Continue reading →

The famous cancer researcher leaned against the podium, smiling as she fielded questions. For the last hour, she had thrilled us with a truly stellar keynote lecture containing a pleasing mix of historical context and cutting-edge results, and now the … Continue reading →

For most normal people, a Sunday afternoon in London might find you down the pub having a lovely roast dinner, a lukewarm pint and a chat about the torrential winter rains or the rugby. But not us geeks: we’ve got … Continue reading →

I sat down the other day to prepare a figure for a paper I’m co-authoring, confident I’d have it dispatched in a matter of minutes. You can see where this is going already, can’t you? It was a relatively clean … Continue reading →

I don’t know about you, but I think today’s dramatic unmasking of scientist Brooke Magnanti as the mysterious call-girl Belle de Jour, blogger and titillating tell-all author, has just done wonders for the reputation of scientists. What could be more … Continue reading →

Some of my happiest moments have happened in the dark. I have a thing for darkrooms. Perhaps it was a bias promoted in early childhood; my father is an artist and during my formative years he was in the process … Continue reading →