The Biochemist Blog

‘Introduction to DNA’ for primary pupils

By Sharon Williams, Coventry University, UK

On the 7th and 8th of July, six staff and ambassadors from Coventry University ran a fun and interactive DNA activity for children age 7-11 and their families. The activity took place at the Coventry FabLab in the city centre. The idea behind the DNA workshop is to give the community an opportunity to have free family science activities. The event has allowed 7-11 years old to do hands-on activities related to Molecular Biosciences, with the support of their families.

August 14, 2017 Research

Unseen waste in our waterways: a hidden environmental problem

By Brittany Maule, Indiana Department of Environmental Management, USA

Coffee is the most popular beverage in the world. Americans in the U.S. consume 400 million coffee cups per day, and about 30% of those coffee drinkers add some sort of sugar or sweetener to their drink. Where does all that caffeine and sweetener go? What about all the other stuff we use every day? The answer that is becoming more and more concrete is in our waterways.

August 11, 2017 Education & careers / Student-focused

PhD reflections: lessons and advice

By Ralitsa Madsen, Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge, UK

As a driven PhD student who is dedicating most of my waking hours to a very ambitious project, I often need to justify my choice to others. Wouldn’t I be set up for success with fewer hours in the lab, less scientific reading and a bit more faith in my own talent? My usual response is to ask the following question: how do elite athletes succeed?

July 28, 2017 Education & careers / Policy / Student-focused

Overcoming the so-called ‘male, pale and stale’ world of STEM

By Nabila Juhi, Urmston Grammar School

I was going to find a cure for cancer, seven-year-old me decided. From a young age I’ve always been interested in science. It was perhaps one subject where I felt I’d found my niche: it was logical, I was good at it and it provided me with answers to questions I’d yet to even consider. Coming from an immigrant family, with parents who didn’t continue onto higher education, I was encouraged to stick to it.

July 26, 2017 Science communication & public engagement

A novel use for CRISPR – use of narratives in public engagement

By James Brown, Education and Public Engagement Manager, Biochemical Society

To Hoover. To Google. To CRISPR. As Jennifer Doudna pointed out at the launch of her new book, A Crack in Creation, once your invention has become a verb, you know you’re onto something big. And CRISPR (or CRISPR-Cas9) is certainly big; it doesn’t seem like hyperbole to describe it as a ‘game-changer’ in molecular bioscience.

July 24, 2017 Research

Frontier forensics: the rise of environmental DNA analysis

By Alexander Evans, University of Leeds

The natural world is under threat from many anthropogenic sources, such as the spread of harmful invasive species and the decline of native populations due to habitat loss and climate change. Finding new technologies and methods to assess and tackle these increasingly global problems is crucial. However, in order to tackle big problems, sometimes you need small solutions. One such emerging tiny tool is the sequencing of environmental DNA (eDNA)!

July 21, 2017 Events

The View From Nowhere

By Helen Albert, Editor

The story of a brilliant biochemist ‘Prez’ and his discovery that the fictional weedkiller and endocrine disruptor ‘atraphosphate’ is dangerous to human health, as well as the subsequent professional and emotional fallout from this finding, is the focus of The View From Nowhere at the Park 90 theatre in Finsbury Park, London.