biology
You are viewing stuff tagged with biology.
You are viewing stuff tagged with biology.
“Ok, so is everybody clear - any questions?” It was a nice thing of my lab professor to ask - I appreciated the fact that he checked in with the zeitgeist of our knowledge midway through our four hour lab marathon. In my mind, I responded: “I do have a question - but it’s of a rather general nature. What’s that? I should ask it? Oh, ok … what the crappin’ heck is going on?”
After weeks of physical chemistry, biochemistry, and cell biology, I finally took Friday off to play some piano; it was physically cathartic to produce some creative work. In addition to the usual stress of trying to cram so much information into my head, I find the lack of creative outlets in my classes stifling. Spontaneously, unexpectedly, I find my hand drawing things, as if the urge to create inside of me refuses to be held back any longer. I end up sketching crappy trees.
The calmodulin protein has two sites where it binds calcium ions in the cell; after it has bound them, it serves as a signal to other proteins of calcium levels within said cell. As an introduction to some of the basic conformational changes proteins undergo, we covered this figure in our cell biology slides yesterday.
Three and a half hours into my cell biology lab, as I dated my lab notebook, I turned to ask my randomly assigned lab partner a question.
“It’s the 26th, right?”
“I don’t know.”
“… I see.”
My worries here, I think you will understand: not only do I have a lab partner who doesn’t even know what day it is, but said partner has absolutely no motivation to find out.
If you’re writing with an erasable marker, bring a tiny sponge. This stuff doesn’t taste good.
— Chester E. Wilson