Latest posts

In which I play to win

Posted on 26 May 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

If running a scientific project is like cooking, then my usual modus operandi in the lab is to prepare a lavish, many-course meal. The meal, in this analogy, is the overarching goal of what I want to understand, and each course is one independent angle on that question. Such a multitasking approach is useful: you get to try out different competing Continue reading →

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Career Progression and the Research Landscape

Posted on 26 May 2011 by Athene Donald

Career progression for postdocs is a key issue that affects the health of our science base. It formed the basis for a discussion with Science Minister David Willetts at the Royal Institution this week, an event hosted by Evan Harris as ‘guest lecturer’ at the RI, and tied in with the Scienceisvital campaign, created and spearheaded by fellow Occam’ Continue reading →

Posted in careers, David Willetts, postdocs, Research, Royal Institution, Science Funding, scienceisvital | Comments Off on Career Progression and the Research Landscape

Marmite

Posted on 25 May 2011 by Henry Gee

And in other news, word has reached mes oreilles that the authorities in a small country far away of which we know very little have banned the sale of Marmite, a popular English comestible.

For those of you who are colonials or just plain ignorant, Marmite is a brown, syrupy spread made from yeasty detritus scraped from the bottom of beer barrels, Continue reading →

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Use it or lose it?

Posted on 24 May 2011 by Steve Caplan

Ever wonder what the effect of technology is on our developing brains? This is something that I’ve been thinking about for some time now. I recently put some of these thoughts into words in my blog entitled: “PhD survival: is a jack of all trades a master of none?” in which I discuss how the advent of technology in the form of scientific kits Continue reading →

Posted in brain development, critical reasoning, education, GPS, London cabbies, navigation, Research, science, skills, technology | Comments Off on Use it or lose it?

Death by a thousand cuts: is it time for a change?

Posted on 22 May 2011 by Sylvia McLain

Just in case I wasn’t paying enough attention to the news or even Twitter, last week I got an email from the EPSRC saying..

As a result of the 50% reduction to the Research Councils capital budget, EPSRC has taken the decision to make immediate changes in the arrangements for funding equipment. This is in addition to, and ahead of, the longer Continue reading →

Posted in Science Funding, Science policy, UK Science policy | Comments Off on Death by a thousand cuts: is it time for a change?

More family business

Posted on 19 May 2011 by Austin

Just a quick heads-up that my dad has posted an extended comment (or I’ve posted it for him) on the previous blogpost about his 7th decade of scientific publication.

The comment has some links to more early 60s x-ray crystallography / Elliott history, and also to an interesting book review Gerald wrote of Georgina Ferry’s excellent biog Continue reading →

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In which the truth is out there

Posted on 19 May 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

Crop circles are so last century. In our lab, HeLa cell circles are all the rage:

The tissue culture incubator is currently plagued – not with aliens, but a random vibration or resonance that causes our cells to sporadically seed in perfect concentric circles. As a biologist, I haven’t the foggiest what sort of vibration or energy could cause thes Continue reading →

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A shocking business

Posted on 19 May 2011 by Steve Caplan

Some recent repairs that we had done on our home, coupled with Henry’s recent post “Build” led me to recall an odd event that occurred in my home some years ago.

We were new in the city of Omaha, and owned a home for the very first time (more accurately, held a mortgage). In the course of having the house inspected prior to purcha Continue reading →

Posted in building, electrician, GFCI receptacle, humor, inconveniencing the passers-by with this one, none of your blood caked on the walls and flesh flying out of the windows, Research, shocking | Comments Off on A shocking business

A Work in Progress

Posted on 18 May 2011 by Athene Donald

No science discipline now can (or should) be seen as a silo, content to keep its boundaries closed against marauders from elsewhere. This is just as true of physics as any of the other sciences. For me, working at the interface with biology is a particularly exciting area to be active in, because there are so many big questions which physicists may Continue reading →

Posted in Biological Physics, education, Interdisciplinary Science, IOP, undergraduate teaching | Comments Off on A Work in Progress