by Alex Compton
Retroviruses, notorious for causing immunodeficiency in primates, cats and cows, were first studied by cancer biologists to understand mechanisms of cell transformation and carcinogenesis. In fact, the first retrovirus discovered was an agent responsible for neoplasia in chickens. Tumor-inducing retroviruses were soon revealed in mammalian species as well, effectively bridging the fields of retrovirology and cancer biology for decades to come.
Beginning in 2006, scientists and the public alike were reminded of this relationship when Xenotropic Murine Leukemia Virus-Like Retrovirus (XMRV) was implicated in two human diseases with unknown …
These links may or may not help you finish that manuscript…
Overly honest methods – How it really gets done! (or #overlyhonestmethods on Twitter)
They’ve found us out! – The Daily Show reveals what we’re REALLY up to
Awesomeness – Amazing timelapse of Pacific Northwest scenery
More awesomeness – Just because
The MCB Fall Gathering took place in November. Check out the pictures!
For the past ten years, The Scientist magazine has been doing a yearly salary survey of people working in the life sciences in a variety of capacities. A summary of their data was published in their last issue.
At this special extended election-night edition, join a non-partisan selection of local scientists and researchers to discuss the intersection of politics and science, including how scientists are involved in shaping policy and how funding affects scientific research.
Workflowy is a wonderfully free-form browser-based note-taking, journaling, or list-making program.
Last month, recent MCB grad Linda Geng was honored as one of thirteen students nationwide to receive a Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award, which is given to senior PhD students or recent grads for innovative research in biological science.
The MCB student-organized symposium on RNA: beyond the central dogma will take place on Friday, 4/27, in Pelton Auditorium at FHCRC.
This information is compiled by the MCB office, and represents the current occupations of the >90% of MCB alums that are using their degrees towards a science-related field.
With almost 60 students in attendance, this year’s Fall Gathering was a big success.
This book is an interesting read for those of us who feel reluctant or uneasy about negotiating, and can provide insights that may help when it comes time to negotiate for that first job offer after graduation.
MCB will become slightly more structured and organized, while keeping its flexible, “it is what you make of it” character that many of us love.
Think back on 2011. What did you do this year? Did you engineer E. coli to make diesel fuel? Or make an enzyme that breaks down gluten so well it’s hundreds of times more effective than what’s currently in clinical trials? Clone genes from deep-ocean magnetotactic bacteria and play with fluorescent magnet-sensing proteins in E. coli?
By columnist Nate Peters
Awakening to the soft glow of the rising sun through the thin fabric walls of my tent, I take a deep breath of cold air and reluctantly wriggle out of my very warm, lofty down sleeping bag. I am anxious to get my body moving so I throw on some clothes, lace up my boots, and unzip the door of my tent to get my first view of the outside world. Thick mist hangs over the dark, still surface of the lake by which I made my …
That time is coming up for first years… when you have to choose your third and (hopefully) final rotation. To aid in this process, the MCB Transcript editors are providing you with advice from more senior MCB students. This advice was compiled for the spring quarter last year to help first years choose a permanent lab, but much of the same advice applies to choosing the third rotation.
Here is the link to the original article on choosing a permanent lab.
And some advice more specific to the third rotation:
1) Think about …
Many graduate students experience feelings of uncertainty about their futures, but few will answer questions about what they will do next with “I don’t know, maybe I’ll buy a one-way ticket to South America and see what happens.” Even fewer would actually identify the southernmost city in South America with an airport (Punta Arenas, Chile), buy that one-way ticket, and fly there. But that is exactly what Michael Ailion did. As an undergrad, he had studied both biology and creative writing, and he joined the MCB program because he thought …
By Jennifer Lachowiec
Seattle University is a Jesuit university with almost 8,000 grads and undergrads. Patrick Murphy, PhD is an Assistant Professor there, with a passion for teaching and undergraduate research. We discussed his career path that has culminated in teaching pharmacology to nursing students. He also shares some of his advice in landing a teaching job at a liberal arts institution.
JL: How did you get into research?
PM: I went to a liberal arts college in Ohio [Wittenberg], with corn fields surrounding it. We had a small, but very good biology …
Welcome to this year’s new MCBers!
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