This Boy Elroy

When scientists email.

This email arrived in my inbox this afternoon, right around lunch time:

I am about to start working on a pilot study in which we will attempt to digest a whole mouse brain and sort the neurons on a FACSCalibur (because we don't have a high speed sorter yet). Can anyone offer me some protocol advice on how to go about digesting the brain without it disintegrating completely and/or point me to some groups that do this

sort of thing? I hear there is a group in Australia that works with sorting neurons, but I don't know where/who.

 

Thanks!

Laura R.

This email makes perfect sense to me.  However, when I stop for a minute and take it out of professional context it's pretty hilarious. 

 

The Anna Madrigal School for Biochemistry

Because there's absolutely nothing going on in my life right now I was going to post an American Idol video showing a recent contestant doing a superb cover of Billie Jean. However, there are things that can top even that fine performance.

I present to you a video from 1971, a musical psychotropic happening representing protein synthesis inside a cell. Skip forward to 3:30 to avoid scientific explanation, or listen and learn.

I did something similar in college actually. In immunology our professor choreographed the class in a dance that represented the V(D)J recombination that occurs in our DNA in B Cells so that we may develop a diverse repetoire of antibodies against bacteria, viruses, cancer cells and other antigens. I never forgot that dance, and I never forgot my V(D)J recombination.

Found through Cynically Optimistic.

What does God want with a starship?

...is what I think about when I read that some people want to start offering creationism as a masters degree in Texas universities.

What does one do with a masters in creationism?

Oh! How foolish of me. I forgot that the media gives air time to idiots, assholes, and zealots in the vain of being "fair and balanced."

My Daemon is pretty.

Imagination Retardation

The sibling in my family that is closest in age to me is fourteen years older than I am. Basically I grew up like an only child and developed an uncanny ability to entertain myself when alone and with limited resources. This was demonstrated today upon returning to work from lunch when I took an ordinary strip of plastic, which normally serves as a shade for the fluorescent light over my desk, and transformed it into Geordi La Forge's visor.

Sexy English

Where I work if English is your first, or only, language then you are in the minority.  It doesn't bother me one bit, I thoroughly enjoy helping my colleagues improve their English skills.  Actually, I quite enjoy it as I don't feel all that time we spent in HS and Middle School learning grammar rules and conjugation went to waste.  On many occassions I get asked to proof read emails so as to avoid embarassment when writing to others within the institute and espeically when writing to others outside the institute.  Today though, someone didn't ask for a proofread and this is an email everyone received:

Come to Room 207 and take it like you like it. Thanks.

David XX

David recieved a package with some Alexa Fluor 568 goat anti-mouse IgG that he didn't order and was alerting everyone that he had it if it was theirs.  David is also available for bachelorette parties.