We’re following in the tradition of open discussions among scientists that has resulted in important advances in both science and society.
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Thanks for making 2011 a great year! We’re going to step out of the lab for the next week to recharge our batteries and to prepare for a number of big announcements we have prepared for 2012! Have a happy holiday season and we’ll see you in the new year!
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Becoming more efficient as a scientist is constant struggle. This post will touch upon a couple of methods to help increase productivity that only take a few minutes to setup, but can pay serious dividends – standardization and delegation. While you may not find yourself in this exact situation, hopefully there is something you can take away. If you have any tips, tricks or systems of your own you’d like to share feel free to leave a comment.
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Dear Dora,
With all of the talk about kids getting bullied in school these days, do you think the way some PIs treat their students would be characterized as bullying in lab?
-Den, postdoc
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Having a well-stocked pantry has never been something I’ve had, a fact that is brought home to me every time I’m in my mum’s kitchen. She reaches into her baking cupboard and pulls out all sorts of spices and powders and sugars, and half an hour later has created a cake. Me, on the other hand? Well, I have half a bag of flour, a can of Dominoes granulated sugar, and some brand new baking powder and vanilla extract that I had to run out to the store and buy so I could attempt a batch of cupcakes. By the end of the (two-hour) baking process I had wasted one batch of batter due to forgetting to add the egg before the flour, covered myself and the countertop in said flour, and generated nine slightly over-cooked cupcakes.
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Dear Dora,
I was wondering if you could settle an argument for me – what came first: the grad student or the PI?
-EJ, grad student
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Right now I’m in “pre-conference crunch mode” along with “manuscript writing mode” so “digging through popular science posts” has taken a bit of a back seat. Please forgive me! I do have some good ones saved for next month, but for now I want to follow up on last month’s analysis of science in the media. Then I focused on the big TV network’s websites, and how the displayed science news. This month I’ve picked some of the top English speaking newspapers from around the world (four from the US, one from the UK, and one from India) to see how THEIR website’s fair.
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Dear Dora,
My parents are both non-scientists and have no idea what I do, despite hours of attempted explanations. Am I a jerk for getting frustrated at their lack of ability to grasp my project?
-Short fuse, graduate student
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Isn’t the official language of science…science? Well, there’s no doubt science is a language of it’s own, but international conferences have opted for English as the primary means of communication. Talks, poster sessions, and exhibit halls all expect registrants to speak the same language. Yet once everyone returns home to their respective labs, should the language rules still apply?
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“Grr”. That’s about as close to impersonating a lion’s roar that you, or I, or even Austin Powers, will ever be able to get, thanks to the lack of fat in our vocal folds.[Continue Reading…]
