Lately, there’s been a lot of movement on the Search for Research Leaderboard. Not the kind of movement caused by prunes – we’re talking about the kind caused by votes. So coming into the homestretch, we’ll keep a close eye on how many votes separate the top contenders so we can help give our favorites the final pushes they need to win.
11 Days Left to Make Your Votes Count!
by
How Important are Scientific Conferences?
by
Conference season is in full swing and many of our poster tubes have logged more mileage than Mark Hamill got from Star Wars. Coming off of the recent American Chemical Society (ACS) and American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) meetings, there is little rest before the summer Gordon conference schedule begins. Although a scientific conference rarely lasts for more than a week, we often prepare for months on end – performing last-minute experiments, designing beautiful posters and battling large-format printers. So how many times a year should we be putting ourselves through this wringer?
Search for Research: The Race for a Microgrant is On!
by
There are exactly three weeks left in Search for Research and the proposals are fantastic! It’s going to come down to the wire so we’ve listed the top 20 entries to encourage people to vote for proposals they think deserve the money and to inspire them to submit their own ideas. The titles alone could be the names of books, Hollywood movies, kids toys or country songs, and the research proposed is even more interesting!
Isn’t Reviewing Papers My Boss’ Job?
by
Dear Dora,
My PI asked me to start reviewing papers that are sent to him by journals- is this allowed? Isn’t that part of his job?!
– Suspicious in San Fran, Grad student
How Scientists Really Get Trained
by
For novelists: books, imagination and Microsoft Word. For pilots: classes, flight simulators, and wingmen. For athletes: coaches, teammates, and addiction counselors… Developing into a true professional requires a few indispensable resources tailored to the craft. So what would we say “For Scientists:”?
Back-of-the-Envelope-Calculations (Should be on the Front of Our Minds)
by
Science is an incredibly precise profession. Adding two, ten, or twenty times the amount of a reagent could be plenty to ruin an experiment. Yet despite the importance of details, calculating everything to the third decimal place can cause us to lose focus of the bigger picture – and losing perspective in science can be a very dangerous proposition.
How Big is the Tenure Carrot?
by
First it’s “graduating”, then it’s “finding a job”, then it’s “get tenure”, and on and on… While the goalposts may shift over the course of our career, it’s clear that some of them are more important than others, at least to some people…
Larry’s Luxurious Artichoke Dip
by
What do Lamborghinis, Rolexes, elevators in your house, and artichoke dip have in common? They’re all things we dreamed of as kids. Hold on- not everyone’s a Rolex fan. Actually, they’re all objects you can use to impress your friends! Luckily, one of those items costs less than our annual salary…
My Labmates Want Me to Be Their Dealer
by
Dear Dora,
I have a great relationship with my boss, but others in lab aren’t so fortunate. Now, many of them expect me to use my relationship for their benefit (ask him to move group meeting, ask him for a new vacuum pump, etc.). I’ve worked hard to foster the relationship and am not crazy about the idea of doing the labs’ bidding. However, I feel like I’m in a bit of a pickle.
– Anna, Postdoctoral Fellow
Politics in Science? Surely We’re Not as Bad as Congress…
by
These days, it’s hard to ignore Washington. With increasingly partisan bickering and near record low congressional approval ratings, it’s clear to see how politics in the workplace (especially when it’s politics itself!) can affect job performance. But as a career, how does science rate- are internal politics preventing real progress?
