Howdy folks!! With the British summer round the corner, CSG saw discussion on a varied world and ‘Our world-The Lab’ concerns. So let’s have a looks at what turned the heat on for our fellow scientists.
‘Trump-et’ controversies in the globally warmed-up village
As Donald Trump walk out of Paris climate accord, the energy system of our global village is at stake. CEOs of mammoth companies creating markets for cleaner technologies and climate policy makers, comment on Washington’s bad manners. Discussions are ongoing to analyse the aftermath of this atrocious behaviour by the Trump administration.
It’s all about the ‘Zika’
As Zika virus reaches the shores of India, the government decided to keep information under wraps instead of educating the masses about ways to avoid the infection. The pre-history of Zika is being probed as individuals with no travel history to countries with ongoing transmission indicating the virus’ existence in India locally.
Science to rescue medical maladies
This week’s lab news is encouraging for patient suffering with bones and blood ailments. 3-D bio-printed cartilages at Department of Textile Technology at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi show potential as a cure for osteoarthritis and in-vitro assessment of drug delivery studies as they are molecularly similar to ones seen in human knees. In line with this artificial innovation scientists Chennai’s Apollo Specialty Cancer Hospital resort to natural ‘stem-cell’ transplant in young thalassemia major patients with not one rejection. Although the success rate of this approach has to be investigated in older population, young patients see hope with the rising rejection rate of tissue transplants and regular blood transfusions.
Bench-science improvers
Nature publishes bumps in the CrispR-Cas9 technology in a study that shows that it introduces hundreds of unintended mutations in clinical trials, emphasizing the importance of genome-wide sequencing. While the favourite gene-editing strategy is being scrutinized, Madhavi Ganapathiraju invites molecular biologists to preview and participate in a user-study of a website featuring novel predicted protein-protein interactions. As these tools promote new innovations by the bench, LabMate helps the ‘bench to business-side’ mantra as it ties top-tier universities to collaborate and get in touch with bio-pharmaceutical companies and investor firms for consulting projects and job prospects.
Real to Reel : Story of the week
The geeky neurobiologist, Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler of the Big Bang Theory fame has a ‘Real PhD’ in neuroscience. Keep reading to know her thoughts on STEM women scientists and why she chose to do a PhD whilst acting. CSG makes a debut in local news as New Indian Express applauds Ipsa Jain and Vignesh Narayan as they organise a sci-com picnic introducing their audience to the world of proteins. These talks are conducted by Science High and organised by Gathr.
CSG : The new Hogwarts
CSG instigates a Data Science initiative for Informatics enthusiasts led by. If you are keen on improving your CV with some data-science skills to give you an edge in your next job applications, sign up here to our Informatics group. The Mentor Mentee Program GURUKOOL 2017 (June-Dec 2017) is open to applicants prepping for an industrial transition. Send your letter of intent and resume to SCIWRI2016@GMAIL.COM. Shout out to all CSGians in Europe for our annual meet-up. Kindly participate in this poll to suggest your convenient dates.
Resume Roadmap
For PhD graduates aspiring to get a foot in door in R&D industry jobs here’s a list of life-science and genomic industries world over and specific pathways to get there with a snapshot of how life is different in the industrial background for a research scientist. While you work on your CV, here’s’ some advice from GFP discoverer Martin Chalfie on applying to post-doc jobs, list of independent post-doctoral fellowships and some pointers to bear in mind before you send it off to the recruiter. On the networking front this is how you could improve your story-telling skills and network effectively. Do not forget to maintain a work-life balance though, once you land in your ‘dream-job’
Opportunities
Here’s an opening for our artsy-scientists or just an opportunity to dance your science to the beat (quite literally!!)
ArtSci Workshop in Singapore
Dance Your Ph.D.’ contest, 2017
Other opportunities advertised this week were :
Writer/Editor, Development
Scientist – Cardio-Renal and Metabolic Diseases at Merck
In Vivo Pharmacologist, Novartis
Department Head Assay Development, Roche
Proposal Development Officer – University of Dundee
About the cover image
This week’s cover image titled ‘Global Warming’ is by Vinita Bharat at Fuzzy Synapse.
About the author
Nisha Peter is a recent PhD graduate from Genome Damage and Stability Centre,UK and is now working as Research Fellow at Sussex Drug Discovery Centre,UK. Her research interest involves cell biology (I’ve spend a lifetime admiring mitotic cells during my PhD!!) and oncology. She works for Club SciWri as a freelance writer to pursue her love for “words”. Apart from being bench scientist she actively participates in science communication events, enjoys teaching, globetrotting and experimenting with music.
