A scientist called Erica

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A scientist called Erica

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Meet the Scientist plant biology SciComm Women in STEM

Meet the Scientist- Kathryn De Abreu

Posted on June 20, 2018 by A Scientist called Erica
Reading time 19 minutes
Science Science communication

Real science vs movie science

Posted on June 8, 2018 by A Scientist called Erica
Reading time 6 minutes
SciComm Science

Skincare secrets

Posted on May 25, 2018 by A Scientist called Erica
Reading time 9 minutes
plant biology Plant Science SciComm

The truth about hay fever

Posted on May 17, 2018 by A Scientist called Erica
Reading time 8 minutes
Meet the Scientist PhD life SciComm Women in STEM

Meet the Scientist- Kirsten Hawkins

Posted on May 10, 2018 by A Scientist called Erica
Reading time 19 minutes
Plant Science SciComm Science

How do Plants know when to flower?

Posted on April 24, 2018 by A Scientist called Erica
Reading time 9 minutes
Mental Health

Turning a bad day round

Posted on April 12, 2018 by A Scientist called Erica
Reading time 6 minutes

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The struggle to put on gloves when your hands are hot is real. • • • • • • • #scientistsofinstagram #sciencelife #scienceproblems #labwork #postdoc #postgrad #science #scientist #womeninsceince #womeninSTEMM #biology #sciencestruggles #sciencecommunity
On this #internationaldayofwomenandgirlsinscience lets celebrate all the amazing women in STEMM who have come before. The Rosalind Franklin's, the Mae Jemison's, the Mary Jacksons. These amazing women have paved the way for us to become scientists, engineers and mathematicians. Without these inspiring women the door would have remained closed for so many of us. Unfortunately, for some women and girls, it still is. In 2019 women in STEMM are more represented than they ever were, but still only 30% of researchers are female. In some countries women and girls will never get the opportunity to become scientists or engineers. Long standing biases against women in STEMM subjects still exist, but we stand together to help change this. We are told that #scienceselfies make us look vain and silly, but maybe through our actions on social media platforms we will inspire and encourage and support young girls and women to pursue a career in STEMM. So lets support all 👩🏻‍🔬👩🏼‍🔬👩🏽‍🔬👩🏾‍🔬👩🏿‍🔬👩🏻‍🔧👩🏼‍🔧👩🏽‍🔧👩🏾‍🔧👩🏿‍🔧👩🏻‍🏭👩🏼‍🏭👩🏽‍🏭👩🏾‍🏭👩🏿‍🏭 and help change the future. • • • • • #womeninSTEMM #womeninscience #instascience #STEMM #Scienceisforeveryone #equalopportunities
Some quick science! Yesterday I set up some starch samples for an overnight hydrolysis. This involves incubating a boiled starch extract (in which the starch has become gelatinous) with a-amylase and glucosidase. These two enzymes hydrolyse the glycosidic bonds which hold glucose moleucles together in starch, releasing free glucose. On day 2 of the experiment, glucose is assayed via NADH production, allowing us to calculate starch in samples. Mainly this part of the experiment involves me opening and closing lots of tubes! • • • • • #Instascience #scientistsofinstagram #science #biology #plantscience #postdoc #research #lablife #whatsciencelookslike #experiments #scicomm #sciencecommunity #womeninSTEMM #womeninscience
#TimeToTalk 🧠 health affects so many of us, and can affect anyone at any time- after stress at work, the death of a loved one, or loss of a job. In science amd academia in general mental health is often swept under the rug. We think its normal to be stressed doing our PhDs, to panic before a talk- but when does it become more? When does it become something we should address? I started to openly talk about my anxiety 4 years ago, and more recently have taken to social media to talk not only about science but also mental health in science. As scientists we can be logical-but mental health isn't always logical! In our nature is perfectionism, the strive to do well, but this can also make us more prone to mental health problems. Since talking and sharing my experiences I have built up a really great network in which I can talk about my problems openly. I don't feel I have to lie about why I don't want to go to a event, or why I have had to come back to work to check the blasted incubator door! On this day, please take the opportunity to be involved in the time to talk events happening,or simply take the time to have a coffee with a friend or colleague and see how they are. It can be so hard to open up, but take the first steps today! I hope in my small way I have helped in the fight to break down the stigma of mental helath in science. There are plenty of us science mental health warriors around, and we are more than happy to talk to you guys and help each other out ❤ • • • • • #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #timetotalk #mentalhealthinscience #scientistsofinstagram #sciencecommunity #postdoc #postgrad
Separating starch Swipe 👉 to see starch getting separated from all the proteins in a starch extract! I thought this was super nifty 🤓 . I made a starch solution from some wheat grains (by grinding the wheat grains in some extraction buffer) and then added the extract to percoll. Percoll is made up of colloidal silica particles which have been coated with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). This forms a density gradient. At first the starch solution sits on top of the percoll (image 1), but then over time starch begins to sink (image 2). We can speed up the seperation by centrifigation, which ends up giving 2 layers (image 3) the first layer is made of gluten a protein found in wheat (the protein which those with celiac disease are sensitive to), and the starch which forms the pellet at the bottom-and is the bit I am interested in! #instascience #plantbiology #biology #science #postdoc #plantsci #researchlife
After a week of illness I am back in the lab! 🤗🤗🤗 Today I am doing a western blot (with some precast gels- which are so much nicer than hand-cast ones !)- so I can test out the efficiency of some new antibodies. I will take this gel and transfer onto one membrane. From this one membrane I will be able to blot, and test out 2 antibodies at 2 concentrations. Additionally, I am using a new western blot system called Odyssey which uses fluorescence antibodies. The great thing about this system is I can blot with my primary antibody (specific for my taregt protein) and a loading antibody at the same time! A loading antibody is used to make sure you load the same amount of sample in each lane, it targets a loading protein (we use actin) which will be expressed equally in all samples. If you have loaded your samples equally, the band intensity for the loading control will be the same in each lane. Often once you have blotted and imaged a membrand you then remove all the antibodies and re-probe with a loading antibody, which may not always work- this stripping process can be too harsh for example, causing complete removal of the protein from the membrane. Therefore, being able to probe for my protein and the loading control protein at the same time is pretty exciting! 🤞 the new antibody works well! • • • • • • • #instascience #research #biology #plantscience #postdoc #postgrad #science

Top Posts

  • Mental health chat: Progress
  • PhD looking for... someone
  • Inside the anxious brain
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  • Mental Health chat: When is it not "normal" anymore?

Most Recent:

  • Guest Post- There and back again: A personal journey from doctorate to diagnosis December 12, 2018
  • Bad science in the headlines November 21, 2018
  • Balancing conservation and agriculture November 7, 2018
  • Tips and tricks for the final thesis push October 23, 2018
  • Mental health chat: Progress October 18, 2018

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The struggle to put on gloves when your hands are hot is real. • • • • • • • #scientistsofinstagram #sciencelife #scienceproblems #labwork #postdoc #postgrad #science #scientist #womeninsceince #womeninSTEMM #biology #sciencestruggles #sciencecommunity
On this #internationaldayofwomenandgirlsinscience lets celebrate all the amazing women in STEMM who have come before. The Rosalind Franklin's, the Mae Jemison's, the Mary Jacksons. These amazing women have paved the way for us to become scientists, engineers and mathematicians. Without these inspiring women the door would have remained closed for so many of us. Unfortunately, for some women and girls, it still is. In 2019 women in STEMM are more represented than they ever were, but still only 30% of researchers are female. In some countries women and girls will never get the opportunity to become scientists or engineers. Long standing biases against women in STEMM subjects still exist, but we stand together to help change this. We are told that #scienceselfies make us look vain and silly, but maybe through our actions on social media platforms we will inspire and encourage and support young girls and women to pursue a career in STEMM. So lets support all 👩🏻‍🔬👩🏼‍🔬👩🏽‍🔬👩🏾‍🔬👩🏿‍🔬👩🏻‍🔧👩🏼‍🔧👩🏽‍🔧👩🏾‍🔧👩🏿‍🔧👩🏻‍🏭👩🏼‍🏭👩🏽‍🏭👩🏾‍🏭👩🏿‍🏭 and help change the future. • • • • • #womeninSTEMM #womeninscience #instascience #STEMM #Scienceisforeveryone #equalopportunities
Some quick science! Yesterday I set up some starch samples for an overnight hydrolysis. This involves incubating a boiled starch extract (in which the starch has become gelatinous) with a-amylase and glucosidase. These two enzymes hydrolyse the glycosidic bonds which hold glucose moleucles together in starch, releasing free glucose. On day 2 of the experiment, glucose is assayed via NADH production, allowing us to calculate starch in samples. Mainly this part of the experiment involves me opening and closing lots of tubes! • • • • • #Instascience #scientistsofinstagram #science #biology #plantscience #postdoc #research #lablife #whatsciencelookslike #experiments #scicomm #sciencecommunity #womeninSTEMM #womeninscience
#TimeToTalk 🧠 health affects so many of us, and can affect anyone at any time- after stress at work, the death of a loved one, or loss of a job. In science amd academia in general mental health is often swept under the rug. We think its normal to be stressed doing our PhDs, to panic before a talk- but when does it become more? When does it become something we should address? I started to openly talk about my anxiety 4 years ago, and more recently have taken to social media to talk not only about science but also mental health in science. As scientists we can be logical-but mental health isn't always logical! In our nature is perfectionism, the strive to do well, but this can also make us more prone to mental health problems. Since talking and sharing my experiences I have built up a really great network in which I can talk about my problems openly. I don't feel I have to lie about why I don't want to go to a event, or why I have had to come back to work to check the blasted incubator door! On this day, please take the opportunity to be involved in the time to talk events happening,or simply take the time to have a coffee with a friend or colleague and see how they are. It can be so hard to open up, but take the first steps today! I hope in my small way I have helped in the fight to break down the stigma of mental helath in science. There are plenty of us science mental health warriors around, and we are more than happy to talk to you guys and help each other out ❤ • • • • • #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #timetotalk #mentalhealthinscience #scientistsofinstagram #sciencecommunity #postdoc #postgrad
Separating starch Swipe 👉 to see starch getting separated from all the proteins in a starch extract! I thought this was super nifty 🤓 . I made a starch solution from some wheat grains (by grinding the wheat grains in some extraction buffer) and then added the extract to percoll. Percoll is made up of colloidal silica particles which have been coated with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). This forms a density gradient. At first the starch solution sits on top of the percoll (image 1), but then over time starch begins to sink (image 2). We can speed up the seperation by centrifigation, which ends up giving 2 layers (image 3) the first layer is made of gluten a protein found in wheat (the protein which those with celiac disease are sensitive to), and the starch which forms the pellet at the bottom-and is the bit I am interested in! #instascience #plantbiology #biology #science #postdoc #plantsci #researchlife
After a week of illness I am back in the lab! 🤗🤗🤗 Today I am doing a western blot (with some precast gels- which are so much nicer than hand-cast ones !)- so I can test out the efficiency of some new antibodies. I will take this gel and transfer onto one membrane. From this one membrane I will be able to blot, and test out 2 antibodies at 2 concentrations. Additionally, I am using a new western blot system called Odyssey which uses fluorescence antibodies. The great thing about this system is I can blot with my primary antibody (specific for my taregt protein) and a loading antibody at the same time! A loading antibody is used to make sure you load the same amount of sample in each lane, it targets a loading protein (we use actin) which will be expressed equally in all samples. If you have loaded your samples equally, the band intensity for the loading control will be the same in each lane. Often once you have blotted and imaged a membrand you then remove all the antibodies and re-probe with a loading antibody, which may not always work- this stripping process can be too harsh for example, causing complete removal of the protein from the membrane. Therefore, being able to probe for my protein and the loading control protein at the same time is pretty exciting! 🤞 the new antibody works well! • • • • • • • #instascience #research #biology #plantscience #postdoc #postgrad #science

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A scientist called Erica
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