Latest posts

In which the old girl rides again

Posted on 17 May 2016 by Jennifer Rohn

Second-Hand Confocal

As you can see, my young apprentice, your experiments have failed. Now witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational second-hand confocal microscope!

My love-affair with second-hand lab equipment continues unabated. Continue reading →

Posted in Kit, Research, The profession of science | Comments Off on In which the old girl rides again

ICYMI No. 5: Asking universities to be open about research assessment

Posted on 14 May 2016 by Stephen

I first wrote about the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) when it was launched in May 2013. DORA is a simple statement asking the different players in the business of academic research to free themselves from the damaging effects of relying on journal impact factors when assessing researchers and their research – and suggestin Continue reading →

Posted in ICYMI, Open Access | Comments Off on ICYMI No. 5: Asking universities to be open about research assessment

The Competitive Streak in Academia

Posted on 13 May 2016 by Athene Donald

Does being competitive necessarily mean foregoing kindness? In essence this was the question posed to Uta Frith at the end of her public conversation with me last week (you can hear the whole conversation here). Uta didn’t give a completely explicit answer but it seems to me the answer has to be no, not necessarily, but it does depend who you are t Continue reading →

Posted in Carol Robinson, impact factor, Mary Beard, Meaning of Success, Science Culture, Uta Frith, Women in science | Comments Off on The Competitive Streak in Academia

How much is my sanity worth?

Posted on 11 May 2016 by Steve Caplan

largeI think that many scientists today would likely agree that writing grants (and worrying about funding) can drive a person to insanity. A question that I’ve never really pondered until recently is “Would I trade my sanity for a grant?” And if so, what size of a grant would warrant relinquishing my treasured stable mental state?

The reason that this Continue reading →

Posted in funding, grant, proposal, relief, Research, sanity, science | Comments Off on How much is my sanity worth?

Transitory Mercury

Posted on 9 May 2016 by Stephen

I wasn’t sure if I was going to get to see today’s celestial encounter. The forecast was for blanket cover by early afternoon and the blue skies of the morning had largely filled with cloud by lunchtime, when the transit was due to start – 12:12 pm to be precise — this stuff runs like clockwork.

Transit of Mercury

From the bus-stop I scanned the heavens with an anxi Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy | Comments Off on Transitory Mercury

Putting a Value on the Intangible

Posted on 8 May 2016 by Athene Donald

Does being around trees make you less stressed? A recent study claims it does and, for many of us, green spaces undoubtedly confer a sense of peace and a place to sit and relax. Do trees confer benefits that can be measured? Economists want to do this since they want to weigh up the pros and cons of planting trees in urban areas (versus, presumably Continue reading →

Posted in academia, economists, education, gardens, widening participation | Comments Off on Putting a Value on the Intangible

Embedding the People in our Labs

Posted on 3 May 2016 by Athene Donald

Scientists are people, they have emotions and they interact with their peers, their students, their professors….and indeed the public. Sometimes, however, scientists are represented as interacting with little more than glassware or white lab coats. We can be perceived as living in a hermetically sealed bubble of our own construction occasionally ch Continue reading →

Posted in book review, Hope Jahren, Lab Girl, relationships, Science Culture, students | Comments Off on Embedding the People in our Labs

In which work-life balance wobbles

Posted on 2 May 2016 by Jennifer Rohn

As with most academics, evenings and weekends often provide the extra time I need to stay on top of my workload. I’d rather sacrifice some family time than get behind – because once you’re behind, the anxiety sets in, making it increasingly harder to get anything meaningful done.

Work-life Balance
This weekend’s modest haul

Usually the chore Continue reading →

Posted in academia, Domestic bliss, Gardening, Research, The profession of science, Women in science, Work/life balance | Comments Off on In which work-life balance wobbles

Culture and Science

Posted on 28 April 2016 by Athene Donald

Culture arguably sits at the centre of our society, but what it means isn’t always clear. To many, too many I would say, it only refers to the ‘arty’ stuff: literature, films, art and music perhaps. That science could be part of culture, whilst rarely explicitly stated as impossible, generally seems to be regarded as not being the case. But then, w Continue reading →

Posted in AHRC, Geoff Crossick, Science Culture | Comments Off on Culture and Science

How to deal with delicate situations in the lab

Posted on 23 April 2016 by Steve Caplan

Welcoming diversity in the workplace has become second nature in the US, and I would venture to guess that the biomedical workplace has been paving the way for years. The reliance on international scientific talent in the US has truly made the biomedical science laboratory a mosaic of cultures, religions, ethnic groups and nationalities that could Continue reading →

Posted in culture, diversity, ethnic, graduate student, lab, laboratory, Music, nationality, personal hygiene, PhD, postdoc, postdoctoral fellow, Research, science, smoking, student, tolerance | Comments Off on How to deal with delicate situations in the lab