Visit to Rutherford Appleton Laboratory

Hello fellows, what's new on this special 29th Feb? Did anyone of you just get engaged? Hmmmm, I didn't. Well, this time I'd like to share something related to my own research, and this exciting journey to Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.

I am currently looking into how Amyloid beta peptides (25-35) interact with membrane, and I use this monolayer made of pure lipids as a membrane model. In order to "see" what's actually happening to the membrane resulting from the interaction, we need some special instruments, or "eyes". Brewster angle microscope is one of them.

So we were heading to Rutherford Appleton Laboratory to use this microscope to have a look at the surface of our membrane. The pic shows how the surface looks like when it's not disturbed. Cool huh?

See, one of the many( well, maybe not many :p) great things about being a phd is that you get the chance to learn the very developed tech, and to know people who are really good in your research area, eg. how they do their research, how they manage to keep a balance on work and life, how they think. I am really happy to see and learn from the top people from this trip. They really love what they do, they really know how to deal with difficulties in both research and life, and most important, they really believe in themselves. All those inspire me!

I hope you enjoy your life and work, either as a phd student or not. Smile!

9 months look back, part 2

Greetings from France!

Sorry, I've gone for a while. July was a very busy month for me. I spend a lot of time with my parents, who came to Edinburgh to see me. And then, I was preparing to go to Grenoble, France, for a 9-day scientific visit.

Now, enough of the excuses. :p

I've seen a lot in Scotland during the past 9 month, I mean, as a foreigner. And, of course, as a Phd student, I've known a lot. I wasn't trained as a researcher when I was at college, but a vet. Clearly, my supervisor figured it out very soon :(. Being a Phd could be hard, if only you see it that way. I admit you have to be very determined and diligent to work it out, and yeah, with good attitude. That's all. I do the Alzheimer stuff and biophysical thing, which I absolutely had no idea at all, so I started from all the beginning. I'm not a quick learner, but I knew I had to learn by heart, or I wouldn't get through the Phd life. At the start, it was difficult, since you had to be an active learner. No one force you to do anything, neither do you get any pressure from the exams. You are alone! But, if you don't behave yourself, you know what happens next- no Phd degree. So, to me, after months of struggling, I started to know what to learn and how to learn things by myself- either to ask people, your supervisor, your colleague, anyone handy; or, to look into literature. That worked pretty well on me. So if you ask me what I am doing right now, I can talk about it for several hours. That's what I'm supposed to learn at the first year of my Phd, to know how to be one.

So friends, Phd life can be dull and Phds can be nerts. But it all depends on what you want from your life, and how you live it. I will talk to you later about the motto I have about life. Bye for now! Big smile!