Jan 12
adminIndustry News
For those of you attending Science Online 2010 (#scio10), Janet Stemwedel (aka Dr. Free Ride) of Adventures in Ethics and Science poses an interesting question: “For which topic do you expect online civility to collapse the fastest?”
At the time of this posting, her poll (posted yesterday) already has 80 votes with ‘It depends completely on which raging trolls show up’ in the lead. Other answers include ‘Climate change’, ‘Vaccination’, and ‘Health care reform’.
You can answer the poll or view the results at #scio10 preparation: Where does civility hit the skids?
Jan 11
adminIndustry News
Laboratory notebooks are essential for reproducing experiments. For years we have been raised in our labs knowing that every action must be written down in our lab notebook.
Take a look at this picture of a lab space, which I’m sure looks familiar to most of you.
Check out this image titled “A well-organised mess” on Flickr. It was posted by easternblot who commented on each item in the picture in great detail.
Notice those notebooks on the shelf at the top right of the picture? Those are the accumulation of three years of hard work. THREE. YEARS. All the work of this researcher is sitting on a top shelf in a room off the lab. What happened if there was a fire? There goes three years of research. How can we guarantee the survivability and security of that data? When that researcher eventually leaves the lab, what insures that the data won’t leave with him?
Take the latest scandal in the science world as an example. Two retractions were published in November 2009 in Science and Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS). The story in short: Two papers were published in 2004 by a Postdoc and several other co-authors from the laboratory at The Scripps Research Institute. A problem arose when others in the lab tried to replicate the Postdoc’s work and could not find his lab notebooks. The rest of the story and its sordid details can be read in A Dark Tale Behind Two Retractions.
The big question we are left with is *what happened to those missing lab notebooks*. (Pondering Blather appropriately reacts to the missing notebook announcement with You lost WHAT?!? )
Perhaps it is now time to ask the questions: Are written lab notebooks a thing of the past? How can we adjust our lab notebooks to the 21st century, taking advantage of technology?
How would you suggest scientists deal with the survivability and security issues of laboratory notebooks? What do you think about ELN and LIMS systems?
Reference: Service, R. (2009). A Dark Tale Behind Two Retractions Science, 326 (5960), 1610-1611 DOI: 10.1126/science.326.5960.1610
Jan 11
Susan Steinhardtscience quote of the week
This week’s quote comes from Bryce Lynch of Max Headroom. “Deities,” written by Michael Cassutt.
“There are no experimental failures. There’s only more data.”
Thanks to Dr. Zen Faulkes for submitting this quote.
Jan 07
Susan SteinhardtIndustry News
Our weekly compilation of science news for the week of January 3, 2009.
Gene identified for canine compulsive disorder: A canine chromosome 7 locus that confers a high risk of compulsive disorder susceptibility has been identified.
Hubble goes deep and wide for new view of galaxies: Space telescope’s multiwavelength compilation image shows 12 billion years of cosmic evolution.
Moss counters shortness with A-bomb-style clouds: Sphagnum overcomes drag by launching spores in vortex rings.
MyoD helps stem cells proliferate in response to muscle injury: The master regulator of muscle differentiation, MyoD, functions early in myogenesis to help stem cells proliferate in response to muscle injury.
To read the study:
Zhang, K., Sha, J., & Harter, M. (2010). Activation of Cdc6 by MyoD is associated with the expansion of quiescent myogenic satellite cells The Journal of Cell Biology DOI: 10.1083/jcb.200904144
Pediatric cancer survivors at risk for diseases that predispose them to heart disease: Survivors of pediatric cancer are at greater risk for high cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure, all of which predispose them to heart disease.
To read the study:
Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, 19 (1), 170-181 DOI: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-09-0555
Seaweed Overload In Great Barrier Reef: A ridiculous amount of green seaweed has taken over much of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, leaving scientists worrying about the health of the coral structure.
Silencing brain cells with yellow and blue light: Neuroscientists at MIT have developed a powerful new class of tools to reversibly shut down brain activity using different colors of light.
Jan 05
adminIndustry News, Tips for your lab
BiteSize Bio’s Suzanne Kennedy has put out a list of upcoming conferences in the life sciences located in the USA.
She points out that it is important to attend any conference, whether it is one of the more popular ones or be it a smaller local one, as conferences “invigorate your mind and rejuvenate your passion for your work.”
See Suzanne’s list of the bigger, more popular life science conferences at Bitesize Bio’s blog.
Comprendia also has a comprehensive calendar of Bioscience Marketing Events.
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