December Delights…
…by Katherine / from Canada / PhD Biomedical Sciences 2015-2018
I know this blog post is a few days late, we can just blame it on jet-lag or the weather. To make up for it, not only have I included a picture of George Square Gardens from December, but also a picture of the view from my bedroom here in Montreal. Isn’t the snow so fluffy and magical? I am definitely blaming it for delaying this post.
Lab work
It has been a bit of a whirlwind since getting back from SfN. I had originally planned to get all of my imaging done before I went home for the holidays so that I could do data analysis during the break. So that didn’t happen… I was testing out a new imaging protocol and I just couldn’t quite get it to work properly. Although the live-cell fluorescence imaging assays that we do in our lab are relatively straightforward, there are so many little things that can ruin your timetrace acquisition. In my case, my cells were jumping in and out of focus during your 10-minute long experiment, making it practically impossible to track my fluorescent molecule. No one said science was easy. I did still manage to gather some data which I have yet to analyse. My biochemistry/ molecular biology experiments worked quite well however and all the analysis has been done for the experiments I’ve completed. Although the results weren’t what we had hypothesised (and will require tonnes of reading to make sense of them), the fact that I finally got the assay up and running and working with my different mutants definitely gives me that morale boost. You have to celebrate the small stuff in science! It doesn’t always work, but when it does, it is magical!
December delights
I have always loved the run-up to Christmas. Despite the lack of snow, Edinburgh definitely does its best to get everyone into the festive spirit. Between the Christmas Market on Princes St, office Christmas parties, turkey dinners, lab lunches, and departmental festive drinks in the Anatomy Museum, it is a wonder that anyone actually got anything done! The city is engulfed in Christmas lights and mulled wine spices. It is a lovely place to be! Currently, I am in Montreal. I get back to the warmer albeit wetter Edinburgh weather next week. I’ve taken advantage of my time off to do lots of yoga as to be more chilled and be able to start off this new year relaxed and peaceful (though that inner-peace will probably melt away as soon as something stops working or the lab fairy interferes).
Happy 2017 everyone! May your year be filled with significant results!
