My current rotation lab is the best of all possible labs. I feel like I'm turning into B. Carlson, what with my long hours spent in the lab. But I'm spending them here because I really have a lot of fun with what I'm doing. Both at Gladstone and in the Welch lab, I was looking at the clock, waiting for the day to end. Now I feel a little cheated when I have to go home. It's not that the procedures that I'm doing are any more exciting; I'm just doing various FPLC runs and concentrating proteins. But the goals I'm working towards are a LOT cooler. If these projects work out, I'll have solved two structures (both of a molecule Lisa must know a bit about: Topoisomerase II). First is the ATPase domain of yeast Topo II (this would be the first eukaryotic TopoII ATPase domain structure), and the second is the entire TopoII from the Chlorella virus PBCV-1. That would be the first whole-enzyme structure solved by ANYONE.
I know I'm sounding pretty goddamn geekily sappy here, but this damn lab has made me excited about science again. Remember how down-in-the-dumps I was a month or so ago? My current happiness is the inverse of that.
I just hope I can get into the lab for my thesis project.
(Side note to Doug/Lisa: James Keck, the previous UPS student that visited Wayne and gave a talk in Genetics was a post-doc in this lab.)
Posted on November 22, 2002 06:43 PMyou solve those enzymes! you make history! go, jacob, go!
Posted by: michele on November 22, 2002 07:03 PMGlad to hear that you are enjoying your rotation. I have been having a good time in lab too lately. My arrays are finally working and giving me lots of interesting data. It seems that caffiene causes Drosophila to start transcribing all kinds of lipase, neuro receptor, and respiration-related genes. My PI is excited about the data I am getting too. He has been modifying his "l33t pe4r1 scr1ptz" to make analysis easier. I have been somewhat Carlsonian as well lately- I had two 10:30/11:00 nights in lab this week. As the A$$ Merchants say "science is fun".
For my next rotation, a lab that might be doing structural stuff on the spliceosome is a possibility. I might also try one that works on tRNA. I am having trouble making the choice, but I will keep you posted on what I am doing.
wow, I'm so glad you're happier. albeit incoherently happier. now be honest: you just made all that lingo up, didn't you? secretly you're just sitting in your parents' basement in new jersey watching fuzzy VHS tapes of space ghost and playing with tinker toys.
am I right?
Posted by: didofoot on November 23, 2002 09:18 AM