ELECTION REFLECTIONS – POST.. Sort of..
WOW – what a crazy election. It is tight as a drumhead with several states still undecided – AK, AZ, GA, NE and PA. At the time of writing, Candidate Biden is within two or three EC votes of 270, while Incumbent Trump is far behind, but ahead on all the counts except for NE. … Continue reading ELECTION REFLECTIONS – POST.. Sort of..
ELECTION REFLECTIONS…. PRE
Way back in 2016, I was astonished how people paid attention to the fairly outspoken nature of then candidate Trump, while ignoring what appeared to me to be the established and deeply ingrained entitlement of his opponent, candidate Clinton. It wasn’t about policy for very long, after all, the Democrats were saying what politicians always … Continue reading ELECTION REFLECTIONS…. PRE
REINVENTING THE JUNIOR TECHNICIAN
In the olden days, kiddies, it was possible for a high-schooler with a flare for science to work hard, get their high-school exams tucked away and then leave school to work in a lab [1]. When they started work, they were taught and learned everything the lab needed. That included all the basic stuff such … Continue reading REINVENTING THE JUNIOR TECHNICIAN
JUST RETIRE, ALREADY!!
Not to focus on him particularly, but Dr Fauci popped into my LinkedIn feed recently as the subject of an article in “InStyle” magazine [1]. The article highlighted a quote of his, “With all Due Modesty, I think I’m Pretty Effective.” and I’m not going to debate that here. The interview focused on topical matters, … Continue reading JUST RETIRE, ALREADY!!
THERE’S TIMMUNITY AND THERE’S BIMMUNITY, AND THEY’RE DIFFERENT.
For those of us who have been living under a rock, or so enjoying the blissful benefits of domestic lockdown that we haven’t cared to pay attention, there’s a lot of interest in vaccine development to this pesky COVID19 thing. COVID19 is the disease that humans develop as a result of contracting the SARS-CoV-2 virus. … Continue reading THERE’S TIMMUNITY AND THERE’S BIMMUNITY, AND THEY’RE DIFFERENT.
THE CURSE OF “ADDITIONAL DATA”.
In a Simpler Time… Once upon a time, Gentle Reader, in a Faculty office Far Far Away, an newly-minted Lecturer (Assistant Professor in the American and many other systems) found in their mail the very first paper they had ever been asked to review for publication in a Scientific Journal. Opening the magical envelope, they … Continue reading THE CURSE OF “ADDITIONAL DATA”.
REVIEWING FOR THE NIH – HOW IT (ACTUALLY) WORKS – PART 3
So, how is the sausage made? Every grant received by the study section head is assigned to three reviewers, Primary, Secondary and Tertiary. One or occasionally two of these may be an ad-hoc reviewer brought in specifically for that proposal. Usually, all three are regular (“Permanent”) members. These reviewers have self-certified that they don’t have … Continue reading REVIEWING FOR THE NIH – HOW IT (ACTUALLY) WORKS – PART 3
MERGERS, REDUNDANCIES, AND OUTSOURCING
The company I work for is currently hiring for Ph.D and non-Ph.D. scientists, and I’ve been helping the lab heads with interviews. Interviewing is always interesting of course, particularly when one doesn’t have a direct interest in the outcome. However, I interviewed one person whose story definitely rubbed me up the wrong way. The person … Continue reading MERGERS, REDUNDANCIES, AND OUTSOURCING
REVIEWING FOR THE NIH – HOW IT (ACTUALLY) WORKS – PART 2
The review process is an interesting one, and it has changed a lot in the time I was a part of it (2005 – 2019). Two major events helped shape the change. The first was an attempt by NIH to, I believe, make the process of applying for funding more straightforward and accessible, particularly to … Continue reading REVIEWING FOR THE NIH – HOW IT (ACTUALLY) WORKS – PART 2
WHAT IS A Ph.D. ANYWAY, AND HOW DOES ONE GET ONE?
The degree of Doctor of Philosophy, usually called “Ph.D”, but sometimes called “D.Phil.” in universities such as Oxford for example, is universally recognized as the key to the door labelled “This Way to be an Independent Scientist.” It is a scientific apprenticeship, and like any other such, requires the production of a piece of work … Continue reading WHAT IS A Ph.D. ANYWAY, AND HOW DOES ONE GET ONE?
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