Test your gene knowledge with the Talking Glossary of Genetic Terms
Animal Cell: Courtesy: National Human Genome Research Institute.
By far, one of the best sites on the web for learning about genomics is the NIH’s Talking Glossary of Genetic Terms. The website has a menu with a comprehensive list of relevant terms. Clicking on the hyperlinks gives you access to animated tutorials narrated by some of the best minds in the business along with non-copywrite images and 3D animations that help give viewers a clear understanding of the topic they are interested in.
For the experienced scientist, the website is a useful resource for helping explain to your friends and family exactly what you do in the lab and for finding illustrations to use in any way you choose (the site is in the public domain and therefore information may be freely distributed and copied).
For some extra fun, there is a “test your gene knowledge” quiz, which contains 10 questions that I expect all Canadian Biotechnologists to answer with ease. Here’s an example of a question below.
I took the test and scored a 10/10 and I am attaching the certificate below to prove it. (I’m not going to tell you how many times I took the test before I received a perfect score;-)
Woohooo! Perfect Score!
And of course, the Talking Glossary is also available on the app store. Be sure to check it out today!
Canadian excellence in diabetes research
Congratulations to Dr. Daniel Drucker, Investigator at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Banting and Best Diabetes Centre at the University of Toronto, on receiving a 2011 CIHR-CMAJ Top Achievements in Health Research Award.
Dr. Drucker was one of six recipients of the award, included among exceptional researchers in Canada whose achievements changed the course of health care delivery in their field of work.
Click here for the full story.
Discovering complex molecular mechanisms in development
Discover why a world class lab loves the Gel Doc EZ system.
The dark ages of Canadian scientific communication
Back in March 2010, the Canadian government enacted a policy restricting federal scientists from speaking to the media without receiving prior government approval. At that time, we told you about the concern this caused among the Canadian Science Writers’ Association, and asked whether the “gag order” represent a significant restriction to academic freedom and integrity. Unfortunately, as is evident in today’s edition of the Globe and Mail, the gag order policy remains in effect almost 2 years later and has thrown Canadian scientific communications policy back into the dark ages.
This stands in stark contract to the United State’s “scientific integrity policy” which allows scientists to speak to whomever they choose, whenever the choose. I love Canada, we are a bastion of freedom and equality for anyone that chooses to live here. Nonetheless, do you believe that these restrictions placed upon our federal scientists threaten our status of a True North Strong and Free?
Stuff Scientists Say
There’s a crazy trend going around YouTube these days called “Stuff (only another word is used) that (fill in the blank) say.” Many of these videos are a tremendous waste of time. Unfortunately, scientists are not immune from engaging in such frivolous, time-wasting behaviour. In the following parody, a group of “scientists” (if they really are scientist…we’ll never know), produced a video with a collection of statements that scientists say. While I am hesitant whether or not to post this video on our blog, as of this posting, it has been viewed over 37,000 times and it seems as though some of the statements actually resonated with a genuine scientific audience. One viewer left the following comment:
A parody, you say? I hear these every day. My PI excused himself to ‘do some grant writing’ during a conference. We found him at the condo watching UFC wrestling.
The statement that I identify with the most is “in conclusion, more research is required.”
What about you?
