Random Musings from the World of Science

Recent seminars and a scientific retreat (put on by the department I work for) have led me to some conclusions:

- Scientists need to work on their stand-up routines. I've met many an eloquent and witty scientist in my time. So why is it that the less witty and eloquent are always the ones who try to bring humour into their scientific speeches? I was lucky enough to hear some excellent talks during a one day retreat on Friday, but what sticks in my head are the few speakers who foolishly attempted to be funny. Don't get me wrong, I love a good laugh, but bad humour doesn't help anyone.

- On the other hand, scientists have their fun sides. Scientists like to name things in a funny way: genes called "Groucho", proteins called "Skizzle", and there's even a "Sonic the Hedgehog". Scientists also have deviant minds: I work on proteins that obey "molecular sexuality" where one protein inserts its end into a pocket in another protein... Try and explain that at a conference without getting thrown out for lewd hand gestures!!

- Scientists like chocolate! Yes, I know most people like chocolate, but scientists seem particularly drawn to it. A case in point occurred at the retreat. At one end of the room was a bowl of large Snickers bars. One entering the room at 8am (after having walked past the numerous breakfast offerings) a faculty member saw the bowl and exclaimed "oh great, breakfast", before hurriedly downing a bar. Later in the day, my boss was sitting by the bowl. During a speaker change-over, a senior faculty member on the other side of the lecture hall called to my boss in a whispery voice: "Get us a Snickers bar!"

- Finally, I ask why are we here. I'm not really getting philosophical; it's just that during a talk yesterday someone asked why we age when we have all the genetic tools to prevent it. The lecture responded: "We are designed to procreate and raise our young. After that we are expected to die"... Lovely!

Science: It makes me laugh, it makes me cry (Part 2)

We had a seminar today. Following on from the previous seminars this week, I was hoping for some laughs. What we got was laughable. The presentation was horrible, with the presenter having no clue, and often uttering the phrase: "the authors did something... I don't know what... Oh well, it doesn't matter." When your talk is meant to be based on a journal article and the research it presents, it does tend to matter...

In far happier news, the lost protein I talked of yesterday was found (partially at least)! Through quick thinking, and good luck we have managed to recover enough of the protein to continue with the purification. We've also managed to fix the two broken pieces of equipment. It has been a good lab day!

Science: It makes me laugh, it makes me cry

Well, "cry" might be a bit dramatic, but it makes a point. Science is what I do, and it's what I want to do for the rest of my life, but it can bring out all manner of emotions!

Yesterday we had our weekly "Research In Progress" seminars. They caused me to chuckle, not once, but twice yesterday (which is quite something, as they are rarely what you would call "interesting").

Firstly, we heard a talk about two different diseases being studied with a mouse model. In these studies, 40% of the mice in one trial died. While this may not seem laughable (it isn't), it amused me when the slide stated that the study showed "40% morality" (these mice were clearly killed by the 60% without morals, according to a student in our lab)!

In the second talk the speaker put up her title slide, which read at the bottom:
"Joanne Blogs, Ph.D.
RIP - 10/02/07"
I guess she expected bad reviews!

So what about the crying? I've just finished trying to help one of our students with her protein purification. I say "trying", as I was unable to do much. In the lab we have two indentical pieces of equipment to purify proteins (FPLCs), which are fantastic when they work. One of them broke yesterday (it was sucking air into the system... very bad!), so our student used the second machine. These machines collect your protein in tubes, only this machine wouldn't progress beyond the 1st tube (if that)!!! After much anger and gnashing of teeth, we finally had to fire up the broken machine and pray for it not to suck air for long enough for us to get some protein. When we ran this machine, the protein was not to be found!!! Having given up hope, we cleaned the machine up to pack it away, only to find a protein-like peak flowing into the waste!!

While this has no impact on my own work, it truly is disappointing to watch a students first protein purification go down the toilet like this.

Tomorrow is another day, and with another seminar I'm hopefully of some more laughs!

I'm Back!!!... and Engaged!!!

Truth be told, I'm happier about the latter than the former... It was an excellent holiday!! Some of the highlights:

- I'm engaged!!! I still can't believe Sweetie said "yes". I also can't believe how many people "suspected" it was going to happen (though I'm getting use to it!). I truly am a lucky man and Sweetie is so wonderful (I know this because Mum keeps telling me... not that I didn't know it already!).

- Mothers are always mothers... While still at the airport after arriving, Mum asked about the flights and, after I noted that Sweetie slept, Mum remarked: "That's not surprising! She looks great. You look like crap!"... Two days into our stay she remarks: "Do you have a receeding hairline?"...

- Family and friends. It was so cool seeing everyone again!! They all love Sweetie (who wouldn't!?) and she loves them.

- Beating a friend of Mouthfulofpancakes and her hubby in a WWII-style computer game. This was even more enjoyable as my character was a scientist (complete with lab-coat!).

- The Ute!! I got to drive JollyRgr's powder-blue ute, complete with "cheeky" hula-girl. It was a great ride and apart from running the battery flat (thanks again JollyRgr) and an incident with a bus (watched by JollyRgr who, unknown to us, was 4 cars back) we had a blast in what a friend described as "the manliest car I've ever driven"!

- Sydney!!! We loved Sydney and it was a perfect way to end the trip. We rode the ferries and had a ball, saw the 'Bridge, the Opera House, and the zoo, and generally had a blast! I loved the irony of stepping aboard for a sunset cruise only to hear the theme from "Titanic" playing!!!

- Too many others to mention, and I'm sure I'm missing some great ones!

Still, it's nice to be back. We really knew we were back when we were driving in the car and came across a billboard declaring "Gun Show!!"... It's good to be back! It was also nice that my lab-mates kindly decorated my office for me... Complete with pink streamers and balloons, and this little fellow:

Countdown to Oz!

As my dedicated readers would know, Sweetie and I are about to embark for our Australian adventure! In less than a week we will be flying off to visit friends, family, and Richard Burton (as a 3m high 3D hologram).

So, what can we expect from our journey?

- Cooler weather! It's been really hot here (I'm sure Odyssey know's what I'm talking about!): We've averaged 99F for August so far, with 15+ days over 100F. Needless to say we're looking forward to some relief, and relief we shall get: The average maximums we're expecting on our trip are 65-70F... For a comparison, that's cooler than our minimums so far in August!

- The definition of irony... I'll be flying from American to Australia, and in the process I'll be missing out on cricket! How that works I'm not so sure, but there you have it.

- A different perspective: I'll get to see Australia, where I grew up, and things that I know through the eyes of my Sweetie. Part of what I love about her is the way she sees things, and I can't wait to see what she makes of my country (okay, so I don't own Australia, but you know what I mean!).

- Fun!! We have so much we're looking forward to: Family, friends, places from my past, good food, an anniversary, and a few days in Sydney at the end of our trip just for the two of us!

We can't wait!

Cricket in a Foreign Land

Avid readers of my blog may remember that I am the vice-president of a university cricket club. This would not be particularly note-worthy if not for the fact that the university is in the good old US of A! Cricket in America is an interesting experience, and certainly has novelty value.

The club I am involved with is competitive, enthusiastic, and reasonably competent. We are like any cricket club: We have a 5 member committee made up of players - The president has been largely absent during the season, the secretary always forgets to bring a pad and pen to meetings and cannot see the value of taking minutes, and the treasurer doesn't handle the club finances as the chairman is obsessed with making sure they are done correctly!

Last weekend was our big tournament: 6 teams from 3 states, 100 F weather, and around 70 players born in the subcontinent (of all the players in all the squads myself and a New Zealander were the only caucasians).

A few random observations:
- We lost the final. A visiting team needed 6 runs from the final over with 9 wickets down. A four, a wide, and a flick over the close in fielders, and it was all over! Having said that, we lost the first two of our four league games, so to make it through to the final was quite something!

- Over 150 gallons of Gatorade was consumed during the two days!

- Of 15 games played, 12 went down to the wire (including a tie!).

- One team had two flat tires on their way to the tournament in their team van! They arrived at their hotel at 5am, but were first to the ground at 9am the same morning, were on time for every game (winning 3 of their 4 league games), and were by far the most courteous team at the tournament (including our own!).

- Finally, when running behind on the first day and needing to shorten the one hour lunch break, a team complained that 20 minutes was insufficient time for lunch. When asked the shortest time they would need for lunch, they replied "One and a half hours"... They got 45 minutes.

Kiwis, Quizzes, and a Failed Nerdship

Readers (read: siblings) may remember a previous post in which I bemoaned the fact that the Australian on the "Outback Steakhouse" adverts is in fact from New Zealand.

The Kiwi in question is part of a duo called "Flight of the Conchords", New Zealand's fourth most popular digi-folk paradists who have a self-titled show on HBO.

Last weekend I got to watch "Flight of the Conchords" and they are hysterical! For those with time on their hands, YouTube "flight of the Conchords" and enjoy!!

My siblings have all posted their "Nerd Type". I took the quiz and I am, not surprisingly, a "Science Nerd". Where is the post I hear you ask? Well the link you are meant to copy and paste onto your blog had a number of errors (aparently), so I couldn't even post it! Hence my failed nerdiness...

Finally, a quiz question:
Who invented frequency hopping (the technique of changing frequencies, originally used to prevent radio-jamming, commonly used in cell phones and WiFi)?

I'll give you a hint... She was one of the first actresses to appear naked in a major film.