Fun stuff to do when I'm done with my PHD

When deadlines are looming, I get easily distracted. It seems as if there is a whole world of fun stuff out there that I must partake in. However I realize that if I do, I will not finish my PHD in the timeframe I have set out. Hence I am making this list so that my mind can rest free that I will still remember to do all the fun stuff when the serious part is over (before the next serious part begins :)


Read Remembering the Kanji and spend more time learning Japanese

Read: Slovo o slovah (A word about words by Lev Uspenski)

Play my cello and go to more yoga classes

Catch up on Youtube :)

to be continued, I'm sure, as time goes on...

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say it right

The reality of language is that it is not a static thing, but that it is constantly changing. Words acquire new meanings over time, slang twists words and even makes then change their lexical categories, outdated words are discarded and new words are imported from foreign languages. It is in our nature to resist change therefore as we get older the bastardization of language becomes increasingly jarring. I am sure many people have their own criteria of word mis-use that they find appalling; I would like to share a few of mine.

In line or online? I often hear people referring to the act of lining up for something as waiting online. This makes no sense to me. You wait IN LINE, whereas you go ONLINE to surf the internet. While on the subject of the internet, I often hear advertisements that say "Log onto our website ... " when in fact most websites do not require a login, just that you visit their web address.

Sort of speak/so to speak. The phrase is "so to speak" nuff said. Along the same lines are the phrases "bide time" and "for all intents and purposes", which are often said as "buy time" and "for all intensive purposes", respectively.

I'm not sure why these particular phrases bother me when said incorrectly. I suppose it is because the error is needless, and just shows a lack of knowledge of the language. Some phrases, although grammatically incorrect add emphasis or a particular nuance to what is being said, and therefore I find to be acceptable. One of my favorites is "That ain't right," convenient when commenting on a situation that elicits feelings of indignation.

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change of heart

Very recently I made a decision about my future. For quite some time I have been seriously planning on leaving the bench upon completion of the phd and seeking a job as an editor. I do, afterall, love to edit. However I came to the conclusion that I am not ready to leave experimental research, because I suddenly remembered why it was I started to do research in the first place.

When I first embarked on the journey of becoming a scientist I was driven by vague notions of brining dinosaurs back to life and making photosynthetic people (giving people the ability to make food from sunlight, like plants). However I became disillusioned by the petty things: competitiveness, secrecy, false or inaccurate data in publications, incomplete methods, waste and seeming pointessness, because one scientist can only do so much. And yet science moves forward in leaps and bounds. Cooperation and collaboration are widespread, sought out, incouraged and generally productive. I was blinded to all that by some setbacks I had in my own research.

What changed? I went to see the Star Trek movie. Let me backtrak here and say thay Star Trek TNG was one of the first tv shows I watched (and was able to understand) in the US. I was instantly in love with it. Exploring the vast unknowns in space: what could be better? I particularly like the concept of discovering something noone else has seen or experienced before. I was therefore drawn to science, biology in partcular becuase there is so much yet to be learned; it seemed certain that I would be the first to discover something. My expectations were high, I don't know what I wanted to discover, but something BIG, and as years passed I didn't see that happening. What I completely missed was that scientists make new discoveries all the time. They are often very small, tiny bits of the puzzle and often puzzling themselves, but they are completely new nonetheless. Over time the smal bits accumulate to reveal a whole picture. I missed that at first and really didn't see the wonder of what I do anymore. Seeing the Star Trek movie made me realize that what I do everyday, most people mght regard as science fiction. Cloning genes, making fish cells glow, manipulating enzymes in test tubes to cut and paste pieces of DNA together in exactly the way I predict based on sequence I see on a computer is amazing. I am a trained biologist, I can do and have done a great many interesting and new things. Sure I haven't made the BIG discovery, but if I leave research I never will. I will not give up now, not after I have come so far. I will continue on the path of a research scientist and see where it leads me. In the foreseeable future it is leading me to Japan. I am embaking on a postdoc search in Tokyo. This is exciting and scary. WIll I be able to function as a scientst when I don't speak the languge? Will they even reply to my emails? Only one way to find out. Full speed ahead.

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podcasts

I tend to be slow and resistant to new technologies. I didn't own a computer until I started grad school (2002). I didn't get a cell phone until by parents gave me one on my birthday (2004). I only started blogging last year (very hesitantly at that). Although I've had an apple computer from the onset and have had an ipod for the last three years it was not until last year that I started to explore podcasts. Actually, just one, Japanesepod101 for learning Japanese, and not until last week that I started listening to science related podcasts and realized that I have been missing something great.
A couple of years ago I heard a talk by Peter Fiske. He mostly talked about exploring other careers outside of academia for phds. He described that being a grad student is like living in a small, dark room. You have a very narrow focus and then coming from that into the real world can be shocking. So it is important to keep abreast of the many developments in the scientific world, not just one's own field. Last week I read a discussion of whether listening to an ipod is good for lab work. There was a bit of a debate in the comments, but I was struck by one comment, saying that listening to science podcasts made lab work bearable. I was intrigued. I was resistant to podcasts because I don't like talk radio, such as NPR and I envisioned it to be something similar. However in my beginer experience I found that science magazine editors interview on interesting topics in an inteligent way. It was repfreshing and stimulating. I found that listening to great scientists talk about their work is both educational and inspirational. It reaffirms my desire to do something that educates the publish about life science research.

Update: I've since found that not all podcasts are created equal. Nature has a great podcast, whereas the one made by Science is a bit dry for my taste.

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What's in your genome?

A genome is just a word to describe all the genetic (inheritable) content of an organism. It is a way to describe a full set of chromosomes. Each cell in the human body contains a full genome. The cells are different because a different set of genes are active at any given time. That is why a liver cell and a skin cell look different and perform different functions and yet have the same genetic material. An exception are the germ cells (the egg and sperm) that contain half the the full set of chromosomes, so half of the genome. Just a few years ago finding out the sequence of a single gene was a big deal. These days the human genome is sequenced along with many other organisms making it possible to compare genes between species. Genomics (the study of genomes) is becoming an everyday thing. To keep up with all the latest news genomics news check out:the genome web.

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Intellectual freedom

I read an article today that has made me really happy. There is a lawsuit out there aiming to abolish the patenting of genes. Companies have been engaged in a disturbing practice of patenting genes. This means that any research or clinical testing involving these genes requires a license. This concept is ridiculous! How can anyone own the rights to a gene?! Luckily many people, scientists and patients, hold the same opinion and it looks like this lawsuit might be the one to do away with gene patenting once and for all.

This week, the ACLU, several breast cancer survivors, and professional groups representing more than 150,000 scientists, sued Myriad Genetics over their breast cancer gene patents. Those genes, mutated forms of BRCA1 and BRCA2, are responsible for most cases of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. They’re also very lucrative, because Myriad has created something of a monopoly. It charges $3,000 per test, which often isn’t covered by insurance. No one else can offer the test, and researchers can’t develop new or cheaper ones (or new therapies for that matter) unless they get permission from Myriad and pay a steep licensing fee. So women have no choice about who performs their tests, and they can’t seek those second opinions. That is no small thing. Tests aren’t 100 percent accurate, and results sometimes come back inconclusive. Women with the BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations have a 40 to 85 percent chance of developing breast cancer, so a positive result helps them decide whether to have their breasts and ovaries removed to prevent future cancer. But with its lawsuit, the ACLU isn’t just fighting Myriad’s patent—it hopes to end the practice of gene patenting entirely on the grounds that it’s illegal, unconstitutional, and interfering with science.

read the rest of the article by Rebecca Skloot...

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chicken and carrots

This is a recipe I came up with last night for dinner. I liked it a lot and it went well with buckwheat, although I'm sure any grain would be just as complementary.


Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 carrots
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 fresh red pepper
12oz tofu (any tofu is fine, but I like the silken Mori-nu firm tofu.)

Peel the carrots and cut into any shape you like. I like to just cut them into disks. Cut the chicken into small cubes or strips, add salt, pepper and a bit of dry or ground ginger and set aside. Heat a medium pan on medium heat with 2 teaspoons of olive oil (extra virgin if you have it). Add frozen peas to the pan and stir to cook. Add carrots let them cook for 2-3 min, stirring frequently. Turn the heat to medium high. You don't want the veggies to turn watery. Remove the veggies and add the chicken to the pan. Dice the red pepper and add it to the chicken. Stir frequently to get the chicken and pepper cooked evenly and quickly (3-5 min). Slice the tofu in any shape you want and add it to the pan. Keep stirring. The pan should be pretty hot and the chicken should turn golden where it touches the pan. Add the carrots and stir together for a couple of minutes. Turn off the heat. Add salt to taste.

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