We are human after all

While trawling the internet, I found this story: 'American biologist trapped on UK beach phones 911... and is rescued after operators in Washington put her through to British police.' Not the finest moment for anyone and especially for one whose profession portrays them to be intelligent and knowledgeable. However, we must remember a job title is just a job title and a qualification is just a qualification. Underneath it all there is a person, who can make silly mistakes just like everyone else. We are human after all.

Lab frustrations!!!

From practical grievances to writing up and publishing the damn stuff, these links say it all!


Caught in a bad project!


Herr Professor is not amused...

All this leads to everyone submitting their work to this prestigious journal:

Where all submissions, regardless of the quality, will be... rejected! Here are the reasons for why this is a good thing as according to the journal:

1. You can send your manuscript here without suffering waves of anxiety regarding the eventual fate of your submission. You know with 100% certainty that it will not be accepted for publication.

2. There are no page-fees.

3. You may claim to have submitted to the most prestigious journal (judged by acceptance rate).

4. The JofUR is one-of-a-kind. Merely submitting work to it may be considered a badge of honor.

5. You retain complete rights to your work, and are free to resubmit to other journals even before our review process is complete.

6. Decisions are often (though not always) rendered within hours of submission.


Have a nice day and keep smiling!

Check out: Journal of Universal Rejection

I'm cooking on sunshine! (Wooah!)

The concept of green energy becoming a perceivable substitute for coal and gas was validated again - this time in the kitchen. World-acclaimed Catalan designer Martí Guixé, Finnish food visionary Antto Melasniemi and Lapin Kulta beer have joined forces to present the Lapin Kulta Solar Kitchen Restaurant, where all the cooking is done and powered only by pure solar energy.

According to the official website, the Lapin Kulta Solar Kitchen Restaurant "highlights key contemporary themes: a nature-driven process, flexibility and immediacy. Depending on the sunshine of a given day, the kitchen is able to do a solar barbecue, meals prepared at lower temperatures or salads. The restaurant will therefore also test people’s flexibility: if it rains, we have to adapt, reschedule and deal with the nature-dependent delays. Immediacy will be evident in the urgency of movements and decisions, and real-time information: a cloud could change the course of a business lunch!"

Unlike the traditional way of cooking, solar heat affects the taste and texture of the dish in a surprising and positive way, producing a completely different taste experience

- Antto Melasniemi and Martí Guixé

Last month, their solar cooking project showcased at Milan Design Week 2011. This summer the restaurant will be setting up all over Europe, with the project making a trail towards the never-setting summer sun of the Arctic Circle. Customers can marvel at this creative and innovative use of the sun while enjoying gourmet cooking, beer, life and art.

Check out their website to see if they are coming to a city near you. Once you have found this out and you want to know when they are opening, look up to the sky...

Source: Lapin Kulta Solar Kitchen Restaurant

Biocouture

How cool is this - Suzanne Lee of Biocouture at Central Saint Martins has established a method to produce material that can be molded into clothing - a method that involves growing bacteria on sweetened green tea in bathtubs!

A biofilm being grown on sweet green tea. Picture courtesy of Biocouture





The bacteria feeds on the sweet tea and grow and aggregate to form biofilms on the surface of the liquid. The cellulose that is being produced by the bacteria (and what holds the biofilm together as a matrix) can be taken after it has grown to a thickness of around 1.5 cm, dried out and molded into clothes. These can be dyed a variety of colours, the quantity of which is needed being less than that for other commercially used materials, an added benefit for the environment.

A Biobiker jacket. Picture courtesy of Biocouture


The Biocouture material is described as having a "vegetable leather" feel. Like vegetable waste when unwanted it can be discarded and treated as compost.

At a time when we are looking for green solutions for various industries, this novel method seems beautifully simple and has a fantastic result. The question remains whether this unique material can be made strong enough for everyday wear-and-tear, can be made water resistant and whether a variety of materials can be made to substitute for the likes of denim or nylon. At present Suzanne Lee, a Technology Entertainment and Design (TED) fellow and her team are planning to scale up this whole process that will hopefully involve the use of waste streams from the food and drink industry. A Stella dress to go with a Mac-mac and a cola clutch bag? I am excited!!! :D

I wish this project the best of luck. I will be looking forward to buying a handbag from them in the not-too distant future! ;)

Source: Biocouture

See also:

Suzanne Lee - a profile
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
London Science Museum: Trash Fashion
TED Fellowship

Chernobyl: 25 years on

A sarcophagus in the Chernobyl Zone. Image by Piotr Andryszczak

26th of April was the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. The Presidents of Russia and Ukraine attended a commemoration ceremony at the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster and were united in calls for new international ruling to ensure the safe running and development of nuclear facilities.

The explosion and fire at the Chernobyl facility based in the former USSR released massive quantities of radioactive material into the surrounding area and into the atmosphere, where it was detected as far away as Norway and Scandinavia. To this day, the areas most effected by the nuclear fallout are still dealing with its aftermath - large areas of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia are still contaminated with heavy radioactive elements. Death and poor health attributed to high radiation exposure are still being reported.

Chernobyl radiation map from CIA handbook


President Dmitry Medvedev did not specify what proposals he would bring to the international community. He did, however, stress that the Chernobyl disaster has taught that truth and honesty is paramount to protecting lives: "it is duty of the state to tell the truth to its people. It must be acknowledged that the (Soviet) state did not always behave correctly".

However, lessons from the present-day disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant must also be recognised. Here, the incident was not a man-made accident like Chernobyl but caused by the uncontrollable and unanticipated force of nature. To save lives, one needs to know at an instant the extent and the immediate consequences of the damage to the facility and the impending nuclear fallout in order to take effective action - knowledge that could not have been apprehended fast enough for the officials in Japan to make any formal statements. It is here that honesty and truthfulness, under a massive plume of radioactive dust, do not appear to hold much value.

A word that does appear to be of value is conscience. What we know from both these major incidents is the sheer magnitude of the danger that a nuclear fallout poses to life and health; a danger that cannot be naturally sensed or outrun, that can be so easily caused by man or nature and that is irreversible, destructive and long lasting. One must question whether our demand for energy outweighs the value of human life and the value of our environment - one that in future will be serving as a massive dumping ground for nuclear waste.

Safer, renewable and clean energy technology exists. Now would be the perfect time for world leaders to listen to their conscience, and their people, and make a move away from the tempting toxicity that is nuclear power. What should be the real take-home message from Chernobyl and Fukushima is: haven't we seen enough?

Source: Reuters

Also see:

Channel 4 4od: Nuclear Eternity

Heavy Water: A film for Chernobyl

RNase Evil

For those scientists working with RNA you will feel my pain: so I got in early today to set up an RNA glyoxal gel:

I loaded my RNA samples, ran the gel for 5 hours and this was the result:

Arrraagh!!!!!!

It appears that I have RNase contamination in my gel! This is an enzyme found in abundance on skin (and in saliva and tears) that specifically destroy RNA, hence the horrible smeary bands you see. RNase can be found on almost every surface in physical contact and is hell to get rid of. For a better description - and for how I and many others who work with RNA feel about this enzyme - check out this page or just take me at my word - Evil! Evil! Evil!

Imagine you are the RNA, and those are RNases...coming after you...


RNA stands for ribonucleic acid and is one of three types of macromolecule (the other two being DNA and protein) that are essential for all forms of life. RNA is very similar to DNA in that it is made up of a string of nucleotides, the sequence of which allows RNA to encode genetic information, similar and as derived from DNA. However, unlike DNA, different types of RNA molecule exist, and are involved in many enzymatic processes within the living cell: that as well as encoding and passing on the information to synthesise proteins, RNA can direct and regulate gene expression, function in protein synthesis and sense and respond to cellular signals.

An x-ray structure of transfer RNA - a type of RNA that is involved in recruiting and linking amino acids together in the process of protein synethesis. Image by Yikrazuul.



Yet despite being so deeply involved in many vital biological processes RNA is very unstable. This is not surprising since a lot of these processes are rapidly occurring and are responsive to internal and external factors. RNA molecules generated now may not appropriate for what may occur at a later stage; their prolonged presence may even be deterimental to the cell in that specific catalytic processes may be overexpressed or suppressed; certain functions may be deregulated. One can say instead of being cogs in a well oiled machine they are now like spanners in the works.

So, yes, it is good that RNA is easily degradable and RNase is in abundance to do it - just not when one is trying to isolate and study it!!! So it will be take-two tomorrow: I am going to encase my hands in chain-mail gloves and treat all my equipment and my bench with a flame thrower. Hasta la vista RNase...


Kidding!!!


Wish me luck!

Of Science and Religion

Depiction of Jesus Christ on stained glass. Image by Toby Hudson

While enjoying the Easter holidays I came across this article in the New Statesman where the author, Andrew Zak Williams, interviewed a variety of leading public figures and scientists on their views on Christian faith and their reasons for believing. The responses are diverse as they are fascinating - Religious leaders James Jones and Richard Chartres describe the Christian faith as unquestionable. Others such as the barrister Cherie Blair, journalist Jeremy Vine and former Conservative minister Jonathan Aitken see religion as natural and a form of solace, something that cannot be explained. The British author Peter Hitchens and Professor of Psychology David Myers find that faith provides a guide and a meaning to life, that it holds the key to the many questions of the universe and of our existence.

It is perceived that the scientist's view is a little more divorced than those expressed and in this article it shows - Quantum Physicist Paul Davies prefers "useful concepts" than belief; that the word 'God' is undefined and idea of a spiritual entity capable of thought and control is unacceptable. Theoretical physicist Peter Richmond goes further, stating that although the teachings of the Bible are still relevant to this day, the scriptures should not be taken literally. However, the likes of Professor of biology Kenneth Miller, astrophysicist Hugh Ross and Professor of climate change Mike Hulme confirm a personal belief in the Bible and in God; a belief that stems from, surprisingly, scientific findings, scientific rationality and scientific values.

There is a concept perpetuated in the UK media that science is very much against religion - that it is God versus Nature; creationism versus evolution. However, from these short interviews it can be seen that the lines are blurred - that there are well respected and successful scientists who openly embrace religion and the concept that scientific methodology is not appropriate to explain or define faith.

Source: New Statesman

Happy Halloween - I mean Easter!

Lets go easter egg hunting!! Image by Paul Sapiano


It is past midnight and I am desperately fumbling for the remote control with my eyes closed to get rid of the creepy advert of yet another horror movie from my TV screen. It's April, for goodness sake! Easter is but a week away, our Kate and Will's wedding is not far off either; it should a time of sunshine, celebration and scoffing Easter eggs. But no, instead, some of us will be happily heading on down to the cinema to take a proverbial dump in the pants:



Why??????

An article blog by Norman Holland (Psychology Today: Why are there horror movies?) suggests that one can find satisfaction from experiencing fear and other unpleasant emotions. As living beings, we learn from a whole host of sensory cues. Fear and other negative emotions signals for danger and from an evolutionary stand point it does us good to pay attention and learn from the situation in order to help us survive. As human beings we enjoy learning, therefore maybe we enjoy learning the art of survival through fictitious media. However, Holland suggests that it is all down to the economising of psychic energy: in an unreal situation we have no need to respond to what is happening. We can just watch and learn and go with the flow and this (apparently) can be relaxing and quite satisfying. In reality however we would be more inclined to do something, like call the police or go knock out that p***k with the mask on. This requires brain activity, extra energy and with the addition of the impending adrenaline rush that energises the fight or flight response, it is this that causes unpleasant sensations.

So having learnt all that, how come I (and others) are such scaredy cats?? I can say in my case I maybe have more of an emotional response to what I perceive, whether it is real or not, since I feel really depressed when I watch sad movies and laugh out loud at comedies. One of the appealing natures of any storyline is that it draws you in to feel for the characters, and that's a good thing as otherwise it would be really boring! However, for the more emotionally sensitive amongst us, movies, books or games invoking negative emotions is a big no-no. I'll go and hide back behind the sofa now...

Source: Psychology today

See also: Norman Holland - Marston-Milbauer Eminent Scholar Emeritus

New bag!

Alas, commuting has taken it's toll on my wheelie bag. For a week or two I had started noticing that my laptop case was looking a bit dusty. I just thought it was my DIY lining on the inside of my wheelie bag coming off. Turns out there was a huge hole at the bottom of the bag near one of the wheels. I had been dragging my laptop along the floor all this time!!!!!!!!

I have since gotten a new one and it is no way as good as what I had - the compartments are too small, I have to put my lunchbox in sidewards, and I can't haul shopping in it either. The upside is that it is designed to hold a laptop so it is all protected, and the wheels are a bit bigger.

Maybe I should ditch it and go more high-tech - there are now bags you can get with solar panels that can generate energy to charge up your laptop (check out Voltaic):

Pretty cool no? Now if only it had wheels and I could haul shopping with it that would be great!

Sell it to me

Hmmm, I'd like a coffee please! (Image by Marshall Astor)


Having worked in molecular biology research for 9 years and still counting, I can conclude that being in science is very much like running a business: the Principle Investigator (the P.I., the boss) is like a sole trader; their laboratories are their work premises; they employ students, technicians and post-doctoral researchers who are all paid with monies obtained through research grants; their heavy-duty equipment (also obtained through grants) is their capital; stock consists of glassware, disposal containers, pipettes, bins, chemicals, growth media and the like. There are bills to pay, health and safety regulations to adhere to and obligations to fulfill, such as teaching and lecturing. The major object of trade is data.

To be successful in academic science one has to be successful in the business of generating data. And not just any old data - positive data, exciting data, data that tells a story. Data that gets everyone in your field of work talking. Data that scoops anyone else working on your topic. With funds becoming scarce and more complex to obtain (see blog entry: Fat cats and dead rats), it is now necessary for scientists to have not just good communications skills but good selling skills too. Depending on the interest of the charity/trust who acts as the bank, a research proposal needs to be written in a way that it can fulfill that interest - even if it may never happen. This seems dishonest, however as mentioned in my last blog a lot of science is developmental. Like the initial design sketchings before a form takes place, the nature of scientific research is full of uncertainty. But it does allow questions to be answered, more questions to be asked and doors to be opened to many different possibilities.

There are various ways a scientist can sell his wares. Most communications in academic science occur not only through relevant scientific journals but through conferences and meetings held by the relevant societies. The more popular the topic (i.e. those of public interest such as the environment, food, health and energy) the more a scientist has access to popular medium, such as newspapers, science magazines, radio and TV. It is here in the bright lights that the information being conveyed gets confusing. With many seemingly expert opinions, it is hard to make sense of it all.

A good example of this is the ongoing claims about the health benefits and risks of coffee . In 1999 it was claimed that coffee drinkers are less likely to suffer heart disease compared to those drinking tea (BBC News Health). But then in the same year it was reported that too much coffee leads to elevated stress levels and increased blood pressure (BBC News Health). In 2004, the story changed again with an Italian dietian stating that coffee has a whole host of health benefits - "the stronger the better" (BBC News - again). But don't drink it cold - in 2009 it was reported that iced coffees bought from the high street may increase the likelihood of obesity and cancer (Sky News). Not for Prince Charles though - he was reported to back a controversial therapy involving coffee that could cure cancer (The Guardian). The coffee, however, will not be for drinking purposes.

Some communications in popular medium appear more like hard sell tactics, arising from situations in current events. A recent article in The Guardian pulls out all the stops to confirm that nuclear power has greater benefits than the risks perceived. Another article in the The Telegraph states that even small amounts of alcohol can lead to the risk of developing certain types of cancers. Here, one is more likely to question the reasons behind this: a face-saving tactic by the representatives of the nuclear power industry perhaps? A way to reduce National Health Service bills of treating alcohol related incidents/diseases?

Only those in the know can truly say how the science is being sold. In any case, one has to be quizzical of the information being conveyed, even if it is being backed by scientists and experts.


Enjoy your coffee.