tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70435192184805499602011-04-22T00:53:35.380-04:00Because you have ten minutes to kill until your next washDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14042646786100569408noreply@blogger.comBlogger121100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7043519218480549960.post-58912528372907188702008-07-14T22:38:00.000-04:002008-07-14T22:38:37.459-04:00

Lab work is fairly unique in that it's one of the few professions that still operate through what is essentially an apprentice system. Sure, you can find instructions on how to perform certain experiments in papers or online, but to really nail down all the various eccentricities endemic to each procedure, you have to learn by doing, and the best way to do that is with someone who already knows

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14042646786100569408noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7043519218480549960.post-66980510921607775472008-06-24T22:23:00.001-04:002008-06-24T22:23:33.739-04:00

I've had some great science teachers over the years, which is no doubt part of the reason why I eventually decided to pursue science as a career. But something Mr. Allan taught us in 9th grade stuck with me. He was one of those teachers who peppered his lectures with anecdotes, which usually meant he told the same few over and over again, and one of those popped into my head over the weekend.

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14042646786100569408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7043519218480549960.post-84985153229642728722008-05-29T23:21:00.001-04:002008-11-13T18:06:31.884-05:00

I consider myself a moderately fashionable person. I try to look nice for work. But in the lab, it's hard, given the risk of spilling noxious chemicals on oneself and the occasional trips to the mouse room. Mouse dander can be a bit unbecoming of a gentleman. So there are some elements of the wardrobe whose style is sacrificed for the sake of functionality. Case in point: my sneakers I wear to

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14042646786100569408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7043519218480549960.post-61033788211411278822008-05-25T18:41:00.000-04:002008-11-13T18:06:32.064-05:00

It's said that if you can read, you can cook. I like to say that if you can cook, you can be a molecular biologist. There's really a lot of similarity between the two: add a certain amount of one ingredient plus a certain amount of another, incubate at a certain temperature for a certain amount of time and boom, you're done. Except, in the lab, we deal in microliters rather than tablespoons, and

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14042646786100569408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7043519218480549960.post-29580527120658724192008-05-23T10:29:00.005-04:002008-11-13T18:06:32.292-05:00

I guess this cartoon is from 1995, but I just saw it reprinted in a recent issue of Genome Technology. Kudos to Dr. Alex Dent; he really hit the nail on the head with this one. I won't say what category my PI falls into.

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14042646786100569408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7043519218480549960.post-53426929840682995782008-05-13T18:35:00.008-04:002008-11-13T18:06:33.363-05:00

I thought I'd break my month-long silence by talking about LIVESTRONG Day. Lance and Co. designated May 13 as a national day of promotion for their organization, and one of the stops on his cross country tour was good ol' Cbus. Personally, I'm a huge Lance fan and naturally showed up about an hour early to get a good place on the lawn. As you can tell by the pictures I snapped, it paid off. His

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14042646786100569408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7043519218480549960.post-34075872947061872252008-04-02T11:37:00.000-04:002008-04-03T11:37:46.321-04:00

Something I heard one of the undergrads say today piqued my interest: "DUDE! I forgot to send you that song!" Now, normally I would ignore their juvenile repartee, but this actually got me thinking: Ten years ago, you'd never hear someone say that, and if you did, chances are eavesdroppers would be thoroughly confused. These were the days before broadband, before iPods, when the entire

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14042646786100569408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7043519218480549960.post-52160646132152105662008-03-28T16:18:00.006-04:002008-03-29T14:38:03.326-04:00

The international community is abuzz following developments out of Moscow: The Kremlin security service has ordered 3,200 white, female mice no heaver than 18 grams each. Naturally, everyone involved is tight-lipped on the subject. An official brushes off questions, saying simply, "There are more important things to think about."What on Earth would the Kremlin--the Kremlin security department, no

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14042646786100569408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7043519218480549960.post-34905346700818770022008-03-27T18:02:00.000-04:002008-03-27T18:02:10.163-04:00

For all the lay people out there, I thought I'd take some time and describe the life of a mol-bio grad student in a little more detail.The first year usually consists of taking a few classes while simultaneously doing rotations in a few research labs to see which is a good fit. Think speed dating, but the interviews last ten weeks and you're frustrated the whole time because your experiments

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14042646786100569408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7043519218480549960.post-6837939986842628872008-03-07T13:29:00.010-05:002008-03-26T17:30:07.341-04:00

Here's the forecast for Columbus for today and tomorrow:Snow Will Continue To Overspread The Region Late This Morning...And May Mix With Rain Or Freezing Rain This Afternoon. Two To Four Inches Of Snow And Trace Accumulations Of Ice Are Possible By This Evening. Precipitation Will Change Back To All Snow Late This Evening...And Last Through Saturday Afternoon. Four To Five Inches Of Snow Is

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14042646786100569408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7043519218480549960.post-65199876067118071532008-03-04T23:29:00.001-05:002008-03-04T23:29:25.194-05:00

Sometimes, no matter what your profession, it's easy to lose sight of your goals as you become lost in the day-to-day frustrations of building your career. This is as true in science as it is in any other field. When I tell people I do cancer research, I'm always met with genuine awe and admiration. Initially my ego swells, but I try to be quick and deflate my pride by focusing on the fact that

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14042646786100569408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7043519218480549960.post-39230986182836148702008-03-03T23:21:00.002-05:002008-06-25T10:31:52.673-04:00

Introductions are in order. Now, I know blogging on the edifying topic of being a Ph.D. student in molecular biology won't exactly give me priority status on the terrorist watch list, but the nature of our work necessitates that I remain at least semi-anonymous. Can't have any rivals scooping my work. Maybe it's also a subconscious desire to maintain a secret identity, a consequence of my love

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14042646786100569408noreply@blogger.com0