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Meet the Scientist- Kathryn De Abreu

June 20, 2018June 17, 2019

Real science vs movie science

June 8, 2018June 14, 2019

Skincare secrets

May 25, 2018November 28, 2018

The truth about hay fever

May 17, 2018November 28, 2018

Meet the Scientist- Kirsten Hawkins

May 10, 2018June 17, 2019

How do Plants know when to flower?

April 24, 2018November 28, 2018

Turning a bad day round

April 12, 2018November 28, 2018

Natures Medicine Box

April 6, 2018June 14, 2019

There is more to plants than Photosynthesis

March 20, 2018November 28, 2018

Youth STEMM award

March 15, 2018June 17, 2019

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Western blot take 2! 🙄 - So after staining with the secondary antibodies and looking at my blot I saw.... not a lot 😂 - After saying a string of words along the words of "well, isn't that annoying" I sat giving the western the evils for a while, before deciding to give it one more shot for luck! - See, the problem with westerns is that several things can go wrong and trying to figure out where it went wrong is a bit tricksy. I did notice that the western looked less than perfect running yesterday, so I am starting with repeating that, after having concentrated my sample a bit more. If still nothing... then maybe it was something that went wrong in the co-immuno stage? 🤔 - Don't you love a bit of trouble shooting! - - - - #realscience #postdoclife #postdoc #postgrad #laboratory #research #researchlife #academia #scientist #science #scientistsofinstagram #biology #plantscience #stem #womeninstemm
When you go check on your western and give it the hairy eyeball. 😠😒 - - I am trying out a co-immunoprecipitation. This works on the principle of having an antibody against your target protein in your sample. The antibody is bound to some beads which you run your sample through. Your target protein binds to the antibody bead support. - Next you wash away any proteins in the sample which aren't bound to the antibody. Finally you wash through yout protein of interest+ any of interacting partners (i.e proteins bound to it). - Using this method you are able to identify binding partnets- other proteins which interact with your protein of interest. - I am just getting the initial co-immuno precipitation to work, and am busy running my 🤞hopefully🤞 isolated protein of interest + partners on a gel before staining the blot as per usual. - But... as with all new protocols I am a bit unsure of how successful this protocol will be! So I am watching my western like a hawk!! - Tomorrow will tell if it has been successful or not! - #science #scientistsofinstagram #instascience #biology #plantbiology #plantscience #postdoclife #postdoc #academia #research #westernblot #labs #experiments #stem #womeninstemm
***Meet the Scientist*** Say hello to Alice Godden a developmental biologist @uniofeastanglia - Alice is a 2nd year PhD student studying tissue development, where she uses the model 🐸 to study tissue growth and development. - Alice is also a fantastic #scicommer and has written some great articles about her work and microRNAs for @wonkscience which I highly recommend you go and check out! - In this interview we talk about her work, the life of a developmental biologist and also science communication. Check out the link in my bio for the full article! - As someone who hasn't done much developmental biology I loved finding out all about the work she is doing, and how it relates to us- I hope you all enjoy it as much! - You can find Alice tweeting as @AliceGodden and hear more from her lab @lab_wheeler and their blog wheeler-lab.blogspot.com - - - #womeninstemm #womeninscience #meetthescientist #sciblog #scicomm #whatscientistsdo #biology #developmentalbiology #science #phdlife #phdchat #instascience #research #stem #scientist
***New Blog Post*** How do we effectively talk about what we do in the lab? - One of my favourite things to do is talk about my science to others- be that other scientists or friends and family. Over the years I have been extremely lucky to be involved in a heap of scicomm events, from school outreach events to things like pint of science. - There is a lot of confusion, unease and lack of understanding about science out there- and in part thats our (scientists) fault as we forget how to talk about our science "normally"- without the jargon and to people who don't know the background of that complex pathway. - So what is the best eay to effectively talk about our lab work, our research and our science to those outside of our science bubble? - In this post (link in bubble) I share some of my tips for giving an effective science talk to non-scientists, from my experiences. Hopefully this may help some of you new to the world of scicomm and who are just beginning to start talking science outside of your institutes. - Please share your tips and tricks in the comments below- its great to spread our knowledge between ourselves. - And if you have been to public science talks- what do you wish had been different? Are there things you wish scientists would talk about better? Please do share your experiences as this will help us to develop our skills and better talk about our science 🙂 - #sciblogger #science #scicomm #sciencecommunication #womeninstemm #scienceselfie #scientistsofinsta #postdoc #academia #gradlife #biology #plantscience #scientist
Would you believe that this goofy girl has been a Postdoc for nearly 6 months now?! - Me neither!! - This postdoc was a bit of a change in direction for me... yet again! My PhD had been in plant science and human health, and my postdoc is much more focused on plant science. - There has been a bit of a learning curve- I have swapped plant systems from the 🍅 to 🌾 and have had to learn a lot of new techniques. I have ❤ this though! And luckily my new boss has been amazing in teaching me all the new skills I need! - Of course there were a lot of skills I already had-PCR, Western blots... but thats the thing about science. If you know how to do a western blot with ptotein extracted from human cells you will still know how to do a western blot with proteins from plants! - If you are thinking of changing routes in science absolutely go for it! Those skills you have learnt are the important thing, and you can take that knowledge and apply it to new fields. Just ask- see if they are willing to take you on and train you up! - I am so so happy that I have continued in academia, and am continuing my training in science. 6 months in and I think I am getting more used to my new role... maybe! - If you are getting to the end of a Phd and considering a postdoc, I want you to know that postdoc life is VERY different from PhD life. Its all the excitement of discovery without the pressure of the thesis. You get to pursue more things, expand your research, and get involved with new areas like publications... its just different. So if you see a postdoc you fancy- apply! Go see the lab, have a chat with them, see what they do and how they do it and if it tickles your fancy...! - Meanwhile this excited girl is going to have tea and make figures and contemplate the next 6 months! - #postdoclife #postdoc #gradstudent #academia #researchlife #science #biology #plantscience #scientist #scientistswhoselfie #womeninstemm
#throwbackthursday to last week when I gave my pint of science talk! - My talk was all about starch. It may not sound the most exciting of things, but I assure you it is! Starch is essential in our diets-it is our major source of carbohydrate 🍌🍞🍔. But, is also super important in industry and manufacturing. Did you know that starch is used to make glue? How about to give the creamy quality to fatless yogurt? Or to stiffen paper? - I ❤ my research and having the opportunity to talk about it is amazing! I also love knowing that people are suddenly like "huh, plants actually are quite interesting". - 🌿 science is often forgotten about a bit- its the boring cousin of human cell biology.... thats definitely what I thought about it a few years ago!! But, as I have delved into the world of plants more, I have realised that there is a lot more to the humble 🌿 than first meets the 👀 - I am super glad I got the opportunity to talk about my research in such a great environment, and would highly encourage other young researchers to get out there and communicate their science! Communication is absolutely key, and I think it is our responsiblity as scientists to not just do the science, but to also explain the science. - As many of you know I have anxiety, and let me tell you in the days running up to PoS I had really been feeling it- (in a general things getting on top of me way). Talks like this are hard, but they are so so rewarding. I am so pleased that I worked through the anxiety and gave the talk 💪 to anyone out there with anxiety- don't let it stop you. It can be hard, but everytime you are able to beat it, it gets a bit easier. It will never be easy, but the less I let anxiety run my life the better I will feel. - 👀 for a upcoming blog post about effective science communication (things I have learnt along the way..) and check out my latest blog via my bio for a bit more info about starch and why it is so important and unique! - Did you take part in pint of science? What was your best experience from it? - - - - #Science #womeninstemm #womeninscience #scicomm #plantscience #biology #blogger #instascience #thisgirlcan #anxietywarrior #pint19 #postdoclife

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  • Meet The Scientist- Alice Godden June 11, 2019
  • How to effectively communicate science June 6, 2019
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Western blot take 2! 🙄 - So after staining with the secondary antibodies and looking at my blot I saw.... not a lot 😂 - After saying a string of words along the words of "well, isn't that annoying" I sat giving the western the evils for a while, before deciding to give it one more shot for luck! - See, the problem with westerns is that several things can go wrong and trying to figure out where it went wrong is a bit tricksy. I did notice that the western looked less than perfect running yesterday, so I am starting with repeating that, after having concentrated my sample a bit more. If still nothing... then maybe it was something that went wrong in the co-immuno stage? 🤔 - Don't you love a bit of trouble shooting! - - - - #realscience #postdoclife #postdoc #postgrad #laboratory #research #researchlife #academia #scientist #science #scientistsofinstagram #biology #plantscience #stem #womeninstemm
When you go check on your western and give it the hairy eyeball. 😠😒 - - I am trying out a co-immunoprecipitation. This works on the principle of having an antibody against your target protein in your sample. The antibody is bound to some beads which you run your sample through. Your target protein binds to the antibody bead support. - Next you wash away any proteins in the sample which aren't bound to the antibody. Finally you wash through yout protein of interest+ any of interacting partners (i.e proteins bound to it). - Using this method you are able to identify binding partnets- other proteins which interact with your protein of interest. - I am just getting the initial co-immuno precipitation to work, and am busy running my 🤞hopefully🤞 isolated protein of interest + partners on a gel before staining the blot as per usual. - But... as with all new protocols I am a bit unsure of how successful this protocol will be! So I am watching my western like a hawk!! - Tomorrow will tell if it has been successful or not! - #science #scientistsofinstagram #instascience #biology #plantbiology #plantscience #postdoclife #postdoc #academia #research #westernblot #labs #experiments #stem #womeninstemm
***Meet the Scientist*** Say hello to Alice Godden a developmental biologist @uniofeastanglia - Alice is a 2nd year PhD student studying tissue development, where she uses the model 🐸 to study tissue growth and development. - Alice is also a fantastic #scicommer and has written some great articles about her work and microRNAs for @wonkscience which I highly recommend you go and check out! - In this interview we talk about her work, the life of a developmental biologist and also science communication. Check out the link in my bio for the full article! - As someone who hasn't done much developmental biology I loved finding out all about the work she is doing, and how it relates to us- I hope you all enjoy it as much! - You can find Alice tweeting as @AliceGodden and hear more from her lab @lab_wheeler and their blog wheeler-lab.blogspot.com - - - #womeninstemm #womeninscience #meetthescientist #sciblog #scicomm #whatscientistsdo #biology #developmentalbiology #science #phdlife #phdchat #instascience #research #stem #scientist
***New Blog Post*** How do we effectively talk about what we do in the lab? - One of my favourite things to do is talk about my science to others- be that other scientists or friends and family. Over the years I have been extremely lucky to be involved in a heap of scicomm events, from school outreach events to things like pint of science. - There is a lot of confusion, unease and lack of understanding about science out there- and in part thats our (scientists) fault as we forget how to talk about our science "normally"- without the jargon and to people who don't know the background of that complex pathway. - So what is the best eay to effectively talk about our lab work, our research and our science to those outside of our science bubble? - In this post (link in bubble) I share some of my tips for giving an effective science talk to non-scientists, from my experiences. Hopefully this may help some of you new to the world of scicomm and who are just beginning to start talking science outside of your institutes. - Please share your tips and tricks in the comments below- its great to spread our knowledge between ourselves. - And if you have been to public science talks- what do you wish had been different? Are there things you wish scientists would talk about better? Please do share your experiences as this will help us to develop our skills and better talk about our science 🙂 - #sciblogger #science #scicomm #sciencecommunication #womeninstemm #scienceselfie #scientistsofinsta #postdoc #academia #gradlife #biology #plantscience #scientist
Would you believe that this goofy girl has been a Postdoc for nearly 6 months now?! - Me neither!! - This postdoc was a bit of a change in direction for me... yet again! My PhD had been in plant science and human health, and my postdoc is much more focused on plant science. - There has been a bit of a learning curve- I have swapped plant systems from the 🍅 to 🌾 and have had to learn a lot of new techniques. I have ❤ this though! And luckily my new boss has been amazing in teaching me all the new skills I need! - Of course there were a lot of skills I already had-PCR, Western blots... but thats the thing about science. If you know how to do a western blot with ptotein extracted from human cells you will still know how to do a western blot with proteins from plants! - If you are thinking of changing routes in science absolutely go for it! Those skills you have learnt are the important thing, and you can take that knowledge and apply it to new fields. Just ask- see if they are willing to take you on and train you up! - I am so so happy that I have continued in academia, and am continuing my training in science. 6 months in and I think I am getting more used to my new role... maybe! - If you are getting to the end of a Phd and considering a postdoc, I want you to know that postdoc life is VERY different from PhD life. Its all the excitement of discovery without the pressure of the thesis. You get to pursue more things, expand your research, and get involved with new areas like publications... its just different. So if you see a postdoc you fancy- apply! Go see the lab, have a chat with them, see what they do and how they do it and if it tickles your fancy...! - Meanwhile this excited girl is going to have tea and make figures and contemplate the next 6 months! - #postdoclife #postdoc #gradstudent #academia #researchlife #science #biology #plantscience #scientist #scientistswhoselfie #womeninstemm
#throwbackthursday to last week when I gave my pint of science talk! - My talk was all about starch. It may not sound the most exciting of things, but I assure you it is! Starch is essential in our diets-it is our major source of carbohydrate 🍌🍞🍔. But, is also super important in industry and manufacturing. Did you know that starch is used to make glue? How about to give the creamy quality to fatless yogurt? Or to stiffen paper? - I ❤ my research and having the opportunity to talk about it is amazing! I also love knowing that people are suddenly like "huh, plants actually are quite interesting". - 🌿 science is often forgotten about a bit- its the boring cousin of human cell biology.... thats definitely what I thought about it a few years ago!! But, as I have delved into the world of plants more, I have realised that there is a lot more to the humble 🌿 than first meets the 👀 - I am super glad I got the opportunity to talk about my research in such a great environment, and would highly encourage other young researchers to get out there and communicate their science! Communication is absolutely key, and I think it is our responsiblity as scientists to not just do the science, but to also explain the science. - As many of you know I have anxiety, and let me tell you in the days running up to PoS I had really been feeling it- (in a general things getting on top of me way). Talks like this are hard, but they are so so rewarding. I am so pleased that I worked through the anxiety and gave the talk 💪 to anyone out there with anxiety- don't let it stop you. It can be hard, but everytime you are able to beat it, it gets a bit easier. It will never be easy, but the less I let anxiety run my life the better I will feel. - 👀 for a upcoming blog post about effective science communication (things I have learnt along the way..) and check out my latest blog via my bio for a bit more info about starch and why it is so important and unique! - Did you take part in pint of science? What was your best experience from it? - - - - #Science #womeninstemm #womeninscience #scicomm #plantscience #biology #blogger #instascience #thisgirlcan #anxietywarrior #pint19 #postdoclife
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