Second presentation of the quarter tomorrow. I think I have at least three more to go, at least two of which should require powerpoint. Oddly enough, even the prospects of doing a lab presentation is no where near as intimidating as the presentation I'll be facing tomorrow. Although lab presentation is presenting my own work, the presentation tomorrow involves me facing off the instructor who was so exasperated with us on Tuesday that he did an actual face-palm and said "Aaaaugh" in the middle of the class. He also (semi) joked about how if we're the graduate students that he really has to speak to the admissions committee and how at metaphase we're the chromosome that lagged behind and caused the whole cell to be delayed through M-phase.
On one hand, this is possibly the most educational class I will be taking this school year. On the other hand, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about being insulted by the instructor. I am, however, very clear on what I feel about the instructor, which is mostly along the lines of "stop trying to fish for answers, I have no idea what you're trying to get at" and lucky for me (and unlucky for the instructor, as proven by the face-palm) I am not alone in my sentiments.
Well, we shall see what we shall see. If you guys don't hear from me in a week, assume that the instructor has bitten my head off due to my gross incompetence at presenting research articles.
...
My current PI is fascinated by the gene gun. He wants me to try to use it to blast brain slices (we're trying to transfect a construct with glowing GFP reporter into neuronal tissues). I am slightly apprehensive, since my knowledge of the gene gun is that it's to be used on plant cells, when all other transfection methods have failed because of, usually, the type of cell wall involved. I also have trouble taking the instruction manual seriously, since it uses words like trigger and bombardment and includes instructions on how to shoot animals with it (which I think is silly and a waste of material, but explaining why will take me too long). That the PI has made a pun about aiming it at thieves to give them cancer has not helped one bit.
The fact that we make our own cartridge out of a suspension of gold (I assume because it's relatively inert) and DNA gives "the gold bullet" a whole new meaning.
Though...brain slices. I can feel vegetarianism lurking in my future.
2 comments:
I was going to offer something along the lines of coming over to protect you from any head-biting instructors, but then I read the words "gene gun" and forgot everything.
Gene gun? Gene gun? That sounds like it could be the title of one awesome scifi movie.
You know, I get the response comments you leave on these posts in emails, but I never see them here on the page. What's up with that?
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