What I Do All Day

I heard that a few of you are disappointed that I don't talk about myself a little more often, so I figure I'll write a little post about how I'm doing and what my schoolwork is like. The short answer is that I'm doing great. I love being in school. I love it. I feel like this is what I was made for. At first I was really worried about coming back after being out of the game for three years; not just out of school, but not having even thought about science for those years. So I was relieved (and more than a little surprised) when everything came right back to me, as though I'd never left.
They definitely keep me busy around here. I'm only taking one class, but believe me, it's enough. Luckily for me, though, it's a really interesting class. Not only that, but after each lecture I feel like I'm just a little bit closer to the cutting edge of my field. It's a weird feeling. You go to school for years and years, and it seems like there's always more to learn, and now I'm getting to the point where people ask questions and the answer is, "We don't know yet." It's exciting to think that I'll be helping to push the boundaries of human knowledge.
On top of my class, I've been teaching a general chemistry lab class. It's similar to the TA work I did at Eastern, so I'm not too out of my element, but it's definitely more labor intensive. Aside from doing all the grading, I have to actually keep a grade book, prepare short (really short) lectures, and even discipline the class if necessary (I've only had to do this once, thankfully). I'm like a real teacher now; some of them even call me Mr. Lowry, although I try and get them to call me Josh. There is still a bit of a difference, though; I doubt too many high school teachers have students asking for their phone numbers.
And of course there's my research, which is the really exciting part. In fact, I can't wait until I no longer have to take classes so I can spend my time doing my research. I've been working on a few different projects since I showed up this summer, and one of them has yielded some exciting results. What we do is something called RNAi, where we feed our worms this special food that targets one of their genes and shuts it off. Then, we look at one-celled embryos, watch them divide, and see if there's any difference between our mutant and a normal cell. Most of the time there's no difference; I mean, worms have ~30,000 genes, and we're shutting off one. But every once in a while, you get something exciting, and that's what happened to me. Here are some videos I made of this first cell division:



In this one, the DNA and the centrosomes (no, I don't expect you to know what they are) are labeled with a special protein that glows green when you shine a laser on it.


This one shows microtubles labeled in red. These both show the same mutant, just with different cell parts visible. I know they're not in color, but when I look at them under the microscope those are the colors I see. When we process them, they lose their color. Still, it's pretty cool to be able to watch all this happening right in front of you. The first cell division actually takes between 10-15mins, so this is time-lapse video you're watching, but still, this is an actual cell going through an actual division. I think it's cool every time I watch it.

So yeah, that's what I've been doing. It keeps me busy, but I'm loving every minute. And with that, it's back to work for me.

Ayn Rand would be proud...

I've been saying for a while now that I want to get a tattoo. Thing is, tattoos are permanent(duh!), and so if I'm going to get something that will last forever, I want to make sure it's something I really, really want and that will be meaningful my whole life. This is not a decision to be made lightly(for me, anyway).

So I have finally decided on what I'm getting: Atlas and Prometheus. They'll be two separate tattoos, Atlas on my back, Prometheus probably down the length of one of my arms. I don't have a good picture of my Prometheus idea, but here's a pic of Atlas:

The reason I chose Atlas is that he's a symbol of strength and determination. It's a reminder to me that the world as we know it rests on the shoulders of a few determined individuals(politicians, business leaders, religious leaders, even artists) and that I should strive to be like them. I chose this image in particular because here Atlas looks as though he's carrying his burden easily, while in most others he's faltering. In the original mythology he was being punished, and even though it appears he's handling it well, there's another punishment that goes along witht the physical burden. As the saying goes, it's lonely at the top, and this is something I've come up against in my schoolwork time and again. If you're good at something, people want to tear you down, not because they're jealous, but because you make them feel inadequate. I definitely feel excluded by my classmates, and it seems like I always get those resentful looks when I'm answering questions in class or poking holes in people's arguments during study groups. I may be reading too much into it(after all, I am comparing myself to a god, how much more egotistical can you get), but that's how it comes across to me. Inscribing this image on my skin seems like a good way to remind myself to continue to persevere, even if I have to do it alone.

Prometheus will have a similar design, a tall, muscular body, holding a bright shining orb above his head for all to see. In the accounts of many Greek authors, Prometheus was the creator of man, shaping him from clay and breathing life into him. And of course we've all heard the tale of Prometheus stealing fire from the gods and delivering it to humans. To me, this is what science is all about. Our job is to uncover the secrets of nature, understand them, and then present them to mankind so that we may all benefit. This is our role in society, and so it seems only fitting that a scientist should have this embedded in his skin. Again, most depictions of Prometheus focus on his punishment of being chained to a rock and having his liver eaten by an eagle, day after day for all eternity. If I were concerned with treading on the toes of the gods, then maybe I would focus on that aspect as well. But I'm not. In fact, I think we should tread on them. The more we understand the world around us, the better life becomes for everyone. It offers new opportunities, new experiences for us all. Instead of being afraid of new discovery, we should be embracing it and trying to push our boundaries as far as possible. That's why I want to see Prometheus standing tall, proudly presenting his gift to mankind, and providing us with light in the darkness.