Baserga Lab News

Dry ice day

2010-11-03T14:35:00.005-04:00

Kat (the older) needed to cool down her water bath. Fast. Kat (the younger) obliged by adding dry ice to the boiling water. Although a few days after Halloween, the Baserga lab celebrated spookiness in its own way. Luckily, the webmistress caught it on film.

Note to Emily: you are one of the smartest scientists in the lab. I sincerely apologize for any comments that indicate I think otherwise.

YDN also features male Baserga lab member!

2010-11-02T15:19:00.002-04:00

As the most athletic member of the lab (sorry Laura D, Sam runs way more miles in cross country than you do in volleyball each week), Sam Lynch was featured in a photo in a Yale Daily News article about the Eli's performance at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships. Although the team didn't do as well as we'd hoped, we're still extremely proud of our minion - I mean undergrad - Sam.

Baserga lab women featured in YDN

2010-11-02T14:05:00.003-04:00

Three Baserga Lab women were featured today in an article published today in the Yale Daily News. Although the article missed a crucial detail that women and other minorities in the sciences (or any other field, for that matter) want EQUITY instead of EQUALITY (because what girl wants to use a urinal), the article did make a point that most universities have a long way to go to retain female faculty. Check out the pictures of Emily, Susan, and Kat (the older). Don't be fooled by the seemingly disorganized papers in Susan's office - she knows where everything is, so DON'T move her piles.

Accolades rain on Franziska

2010-10-21T11:10:00.004-04:00

Kudos are in order for Dr. Bleichert, the recipient of yet two other awards: an extremely prestigious Stanford Founders Biochemistry Prize, as well as a Miller Fellowship.

Although the Baserga lab snack drawer is significantly lower in German chocolate content, we're extremely proud of our most recent alum. Congratulations, Franziska!

Franziska Succesfully Defends her Thesis

2010-05-03T14:46:00.003-04:00

On a sunny day in April, Franziska gave her last talk as a Yale Graduate Student. The current star of the Basergas gave a well-received thesis defense to an audience delighted to hear of her success. By special request from the diva-of-the-day herself, the champagne was accompanied by an Ashley's ice cream cake.

Congratulations, Franziska!

Roger, Roger. What's our vector, Victor?

2010-05-03T13:42:00.008-04:00

Emily and Laura's bay got a little more crowded this winter with the addition of a visiting undergrad from Peru. Victor Torres gave up his sunny summer vacation in America del Sud for in stint in the chilly northern hemisphere.

While here, Victor helped Emily with one of her side projects in the lab: genetically engineering yeast to produce Alpaca fiber.

"I've been working on this for over a year with no results," Emily said, "But Victor's been able to do in two months what the Scientific Funding Agencies said was impossible!"

He was so successful, that the yeast even started to look like mini-Alpacas. As parting gifts, Victor graced Susan and Emily with Alpaca-made tokens.

We'll miss you, Victor!

No penguin genome? No problem!

2010-02-05T10:45:00.005-05:00

After Franziska's recent success in publishing on a thermophilic archaeon, Emily decided that she, too, needed to be extreme in her quest for a scientific breakthrough. Thus began her journey to Antarctica to find a cryophile in which to study ribosome biogenesis. Unfortunately, she was unsuccessful in convincing the Chilean Army's "science station" base to let her return with biological samples. But she did bring back some great baby penguin pictures!

(And when you see her, you should ask her to do her penguin walk imitation!)

Franziska makes good snack better!

2009-09-11T14:18:00.003-04:00

The Baserga lab snack drawer is usually stocked with pretzels, chocolate, and other savory delights. However, until recently we had been unsatisfied with our choice of healthy carbohydrate options. We'd tried Triscuits, Ritz crackers, Goldfish, and numerous other "multi-grain snack cracker" type foods. However, none seemed to fit the bill. As the holder of the greatest prowess in genetic manipulation, Franziska set out to design a "Super Cracker." Really, what we wanted was a snack that "walked" so readily into our mouths, we wouldn't have to waste any extra time between experiments. After unveiling the structure Franziska used to solve our snacking dilemma, it was quickly snapped up for publication. The Yale publicity office immediately came over to interview Susan.

“It looks like a wheat thin with feet,” Susan said. “When you can discern structure, you can often figure out function.” And in this case, the function is making our tummies happy.

Check out the Yale Office of Public Affairs' story on the story here.

Erica's papers come out

2009-07-23T09:23:00.005-04:00

After a few months of arm-wrestling the reviewers, both of Erica's papers generated from her thesis work were published. In addition to the arm-wrestling, she completed other feats of strength needed to demonstrate intellectual superiority (including lab chores like autoclaving hundreds of liters of media, bench-pressing cases of latex gloves, and "walking over hot coals", simulated by broken lab glassware that had P-32 drizzled over it).

You can catch your own glimpse of the papers here and here.

New lab mascot!

2009-07-21T13:59:00.004-04:00

Last month the Baserga lab got a new mascot. Phoebe came in for a few hours to say hello to everyone, and got pretty tired out playing with all her new best friends. Luckily, we have Sam's lap to serve as a suitable napping surface. No floor for this spoiled pup. Welcome to the Basergas, Phoebe!

A late Champion update

2009-02-09T10:30:00.003-05:00

Erica A. Champion successfully defended her thesis Friday July 18th, 2008. Attended by an audience of near 100 persons, Erica showcased her Utp6 protein with a tip of her half-a-tetratricopeptide repeat (HAT). After stunning her committee with her results and impeccable presentation skills, Erica, her parents, the lab, and her friends enjoyed some potent potables with noted notables, including her former advisers Chandler Fulton and Elaine Lai, pictured below.

We're all proud of you, Erica!

(and we hope you'll come back often to help us with the crosswords and oreo consumption)

Freezin' for a Reason

2009-02-09T10:14:00.003-05:00

David Dunbar, alumnus of the Baserga lab, has taken the plunge! David chose to help raise money for Eastern Pennsylvania Special Olympics by wearing nothing but his bathing suit in the frigid Delaware River. Read more about what this Cabrini College professor did here.

Bennett sees the forest through the trees

2008-07-16T12:10:00.004-04:00

This summer, the Baserga lab mourns the loss of their undergraduate, Bennett.

"But now who will trouble shoot my protein purifications!" Emily cried.

The department of MB&B was immensely pleased with his progress while here, especially his work on saving the rainforest, one bonsai tree at a time. For this, he was awarded the prestigious Paul Siegler Memorial Prize, and given a token to wear during the commencement ceremonies (see pictures below).

Bennett now continues on to a more illustrious career in Boston, evaluating the economic and environmental impact of picking up peanut shells from the Green Monster after Red Sox games and feeding them to free-range swine.

Christmas in July

2008-07-16T11:57:00.003-04:00

Emptying out old pictures from the lab camera, Emily and Kat hit the jackpot.

What do the Basergas do on a snow day in lab? Well, Franziska works harder because the roads aren't safe to drive home on, Erica bugs Bennett for more slave labor - I mean data, Laura works with radioactivity, Neal doesn't come in because he's shoveling his driveway, Mike tends to his family, and the youngest members? Well, they just play. Outside. Because Kat didn't have a snowy childhood in Florida.

Below are pictures of the snow person Kat, Kara, and Emily created, as well as the snow yeast, made especially for the Baserga lab, by the Baserga lab.

Definition of a biochemist

2008-02-25T11:51:00.001-05:00

(lifted from The Daily Transcript, Taxonomy of the Sciences)

Biochemist: Basically biochemists play with proteins. Usually this involves fancy machines that cost a ton of money. Proteins are subjected to centrifugation, electrophoresis, fast protein liquid chromatography, gel exclusion chromatography .... Incidentally these techniques are just sophisticated ways of pushing and shoving proteins around. If enough proteins clump together, biochemists get excited and call the clump a complex. If the complex is really big, the biochemist will call it the somethingosome. If you ask a biochemist to show you pretty data, he/she'll show you his/her bands. Biochemists kill cells for their precious bodily fluids.(author: The Daily Transcript)

Ribosome slogans

2008-02-13T16:22:00.001-05:00

Because So Much Is Riding On Your Ribosomes.

Generated by the Advertising Slogan Generator, for all your slogan needs. Get more ribosomes slogans.

Laura "Kamikaze" Dutca spikes again!

2007-11-30T11:44:00.000-05:00

In an effort to increase fitness in the lab, Neal, Kat and Laura have joined a rec league indoor volleyball team. Little did we know that Laura would be stealing the show from the rest of the team. Diving, spiking, and serving to beat the band (yes, there's a pep band she hired just to cheer her on), each game Laura displays super-human athletic abilities. And now we know we definitely have grounds to push for a C-wing summer sports league.

Go Team Baserga!

(and not just on weboggle)

Neal's photo shoot

2007-11-20T15:51:00.000-05:00

Since having his offer accepted to buy a house, Neal's been feeling like a movie star. Although he hasn't even closed on the property yet, he's been giving autographs and posing for pictures in front of anything that even remotely resembles a home. Small cottages, condos, cardboard boxes that get delivered to the lab...

Recently we caught him in a nicer looking sweater than usual, and decided to try our luck.

At first, he was ok with the photo shoot.

By the second take, he got a little bored.

Then he got really... um... strange.
(Ask Emily - she's looking on worriedly from the background)

We decided that we'd rather not have that many pictures of Neal, and that we should instead send him on vacation. But not until he made us more plates.

Erica re-learns Northern Blots

2007-11-20T12:59:00.000-05:00

After completing nearly 6 years of graduate work, Erica has decided she should start running Northern blots. ("Again!", she adds.) While her project has been mainly concerned with protein-protein interactions, her committee members decreed that since she works in an RNA lab ("Technically!", Erica interjects), there should be more Northern blots in her thesis.

Unfortunately, as it's been more than 4 years since she ran her last Northern, Erica found she had a little trouble pouring such a large gel.

"You mean I have to pour it into the gel tray? Not right into the buffer circulation tank?"

Better luck next time, Miss Champion.
Don't worry, you still don't have to give RNA seminar.

Mike wins a poster prize!

2007-10-31T12:27:00.000-04:00

Recently at the MB&B departmental retreat, J. Michael Charette represented the Baserga laboratory and took home second place in the post-doc poster contest! Instead of taking a life size representation of himself as Kat suggested, he decided instead to make a graphically stunning presentation of the massive amounts of work he did in August - a record 4500 western blots! These blots were represented in small figures 1 cm x 1cm in various color shades to form a magic eye image of a euglena - an organism that Mike's had a soft spot for (and I don't mean chloroplast) since his lowly graduate school days.

Congratulations Mike!

Funny things that happened today:

2007-09-26T13:44:00.000-04:00

Kat called Kara "trash".
Emily got asked out by the burrito cart guy (who wears hot pants). And he said goodbye by kissing her on the cheek.

Rememberance of days past

2007-09-25T09:52:00.000-04:00

Our more avid readers may have noticed a change in the decor at the Baserga Lab. (If not, scroll up to the pretty chromatin spread. Isn't it pretty? It took about 5 hours to make; it had better be pretty!) Besides the website decor, many more changes have been made:

We have four new lab members! Their pictures can be found here. Perhaps we'll also introduce them in forthcoming blog entries.

Our blog (news) and publications are now hosted by Blogspot. This is because Yale Med now allows web publishing only from Yale Med IPs. It's dumb, I know.

You can no longer comment on our posts. Sorry. It was too much of a hassle to code, and we weren't getting many comments anyway. If you have something to say, you know our emails.

We're planning to update the lab tour. Don't rush us.

But oh, how times have changed! Remember our first look?

The very talented Jonathan Bernstein made that site. That was back when we looked like this:

Then we changed to that minty green:

And we took group photos at the RNA meeting:

And when Madhu left everyone was sad:

Ah, the good old days. We can only hope the future will hold even better times.

For further nostalgia, read the news archives! (Links are up there in the right-side menu.)

The Push-Up Game

2007-09-14T12:54:00.000-04:00

We invite our readers to try the newly invented sport (but soon-to-be party game sensation): The Push-Up Game. (Note: It has nothing to do with bras. . . . Except that it helps to wear one while participating.)

The Play:
Competitors stand at a fixed distance from the wall (or lab bench, file cabinet, lab tech, whatever you have lying around that will stay put). Players let themselves fall toward the wall, and catch themselves before they hit the wall. You can decide whether they can use both arms or only one arm to catch themselves. A player is disqualified if any part of her face touches the wall-- no broken noses allowed! Next, players push off from the wall and try to stand up again. If they have to take a step, they lose.

See the video. (Really, you'll want to see this.)
Or, opt for still photos. (Almost as good.)

How to win:
Competitors repeat play, gradually adding distance from the wall as they go. The first person to take a step loses.

The prize:
Upper body soreness for the next 24-36 hours. And a cookie!

The emerging sport has been submitted to the IOC for inclusion in the 2008 Bejing summer games.

Kat's still not famous...

2007-07-03T10:47:00.001-04:00

...but her brother is! Read the latest about Kat's remarkable brother and his illustrious pursuits, and realize why she felt overshadowed during most of her childhood.

Poser post-doc becomes actual post-doc

2007-06-04T14:48:00.000-04:00

Michael "Cap'n Hubert Sharkbait" Charette has been posing as a post-doc in the Baserga lab for several months now, but only recently has he actually earned his credentials. According to the Dalhousie News, the Cap'n and his wench donned their ship's colors to collect their PhD booty just this weekend.

Erica dated to the Jurassic period

2007-05-04T15:04:00.000-04:00

In a conciliatory gesture demonstrating that Erica, as the most senior member of the Baserga lab, may have indeed lost touch with the changing dynamic of C114, Erica has allowed Kat to post to the Baserga Lab website. As part of Erica's penance for holding on to a moderator monopoly, she has been banished to doing public service categorizing boxes of dead reptiles held in storage at the Peabody museum. While she claims to have volunteered for this post herself, the arrival of her parole officer Monday morning to make sure that she attended her first session spoke to the contrary. The Baserga lab eagerly awaits her return with some promised "dinosaur BBQ" as a peace offering.

Franziska referred to by her last name

2007-05-02T17:38:00.001-04:00

Because of her acute geniousity, Franziska has been interviewed as a feature in B Magazine. (See Vol. 8, Issue 1, page 7.) This is the first taste of stardom for Franziska, who has never before been referred to primarily by her last name. Since publication, she has begun to feel the effects of the limelight, insisting on only European chocolate in the candy drawer. (Apparently one bad kiss can spoil the bunch.)

Kat gets even with Bennett

2007-04-13T08:46:00.000-04:00

Not to be outdone by an undergrad (see previous entry), Kat writes, submits, and wins an NSF grant, all in one (business) week. "I'm thrilled about it," she says upon hearing of the reward. "I would have been really bummed if I had spent those four days writing a grant that didn't even get funded. What a waste of time that would have been!" She celebrated by sticking her tongue out at Bennett.

Bennett wins the lottery

2007-03-27T15:04:00.000-04:00

As reported in the Yale Daily News, Bennett has won $750,000 in the Yale Undergraduate Lottery. Open only to undergraduates, this isn't your typical "Pick 5" lottery, but entry requires a research proposal, an exceptional GPA, piles of professorial accolates, and a posthumous "A-OK" from Barry Goldwater. The money will be used to fund his research on elitist sports cars.

Lab Hazard Rating System

2006-07-25T13:56:00.000-04:00

We've been notified by the department of safety of a new Lab Hazard Rating System. Our lab rates as shown here.

High Rate of Turnover in Baserga Lab

2006-07-07T14:48:00.000-04:00

A catalyst, which remains elusive, is predicted to have caused a significantly higher rate of turnover than usual in the Baserga Lab. While the lab is experiencing a depletion of Kara, Sander, and Chewie, their absence is being suppressed by an upregulation of Kat and Bennett, as well as a temporary increase of Indira. Additionally, we have observed an increase of Susan in the lab, which may or may not be associated with the decrease of Kara. Continuing work seeks to quantify the increase in the turnover number, kcat, as well as to investigate a proposed link of the kcat to Kat.

Meet the new Basergas!

Kara aims higher (at skyscrapers)

2006-03-09T15:26:00.000-05:00

On the eve of her third wedding anniversary, Kara successfully defended her thesis, entitled "Human cloning: An ethically depraved exercise in elevated self-esteem." Her presentation demonstrated how she spent her first four years in the lab working to clone herself, so that she (and her clone) could get more work done. During her final year in the lab, she took advantage of this double efficiency to perform experiments in two labs at the same time.

"It was very helpful," Kara says, "to be able to send Kara-2 to New York for the elutriation experiments, while I stayed here and did some 35-S labeling." The lab agreed that Kara-2 helped Kara-1 complete an unprecedented amount of work, and asked to keep the clone. Unfortunately, Kara decided to take the clone with her to her post-doc position in New York. It seems Kara-2 has a penchant for 5th Avenue.

The Baserga lab will miss Kara-1, and hopes she'll come back to visit often.

The Mechanical Contrivium: Trivia About Susan

2006-01-20T17:56:00.000-05:00

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Susan!

A chimpanzee can learn to recognize itself in a mirror, but Susan can not!
It takes a lobster approximately 7 years to grow to be Susan.
In Japan it is considered rude to talk with Susan in your mouth.
If you toss Susan 10000 times, she will not land heads 5000 times, but more like 4950, because her head weighs more and thus ends up on the bottom!
Moles are able to tunnel through 300 feet of Susan in a day.
If your ear itches, this means that someone is talking about Susan!
Susan can smell some things up to six miles away.
Susan is the only one of the original Seven Wonders of the World that still survives.
Banging your head against Susan uses 150 calories an hour.
There are more than two hundred different kinds of Susan!

Happy hour 2006

2006-01-09T14:57:00.000-05:00

We are pleased to announce that our happy hour was a huge success. The food was lovely, the beer was intoxicating, and the company was delicious. Thanks to our patented "Rock the Happy Hour" promotion technique, we had guests coming from the far corners of the medical school.

Notable appearances were made by the Glazer and DiMaio labs, the "cheap date" flies, and both new and old popes, who both agreed, "It was better than 'Cats'."

We need a theme!

2005-12-02T16:14:00.000-05:00

On January 6, 2006, the Baserga lab will be hosting Genetics Happy Hour. With only a month before the event, it is time to choose a theme. Last year's theme was the 15 year anniversary of The Simpsons (flyer). Here are our choices for this year:

Three King's Day/Epiphany ... The 12th day of Christmas. We'd decorate with gold, frankenstein proteins, and mirth. Maybe advertise with three pictures of Sherm, "the three Weissmans".

Schoolhouse Rock premiere (1973) ... Knowledge is power...

Al Gore concedes the election (2001) ... Not quite a reason to celebrate, but interesting nonetheless.

Benjamin Franklin's birth (1706) ... American statesman and inventor

John Maynard Smith's birth (1920) ... English evolutionary biologist and genetecist

Place your votes now!

Helicases influence lab unwinding

2005-11-18T17:36:00.000-05:00

With not just one, but two (TWO!) helicase papers accepted for publication this week, the lab took the opportunity to unwind a bit.

Neal enjoys his share of the bubbly, while Sander does his best to ignore Neal's swig.

Chewie had no bubbly, but nevertheless found his way to crapulent.

The puppy looks down her very large nose at us all.

Fap7 Paper Accepted

2005-09-16T13:03:00.000-04:00

After several months of waiting, each day checking the MCB author's website, only to read the words "in review" or "decision pending", and then spend the rest of the day speaking in mumbled gripes, we are proud to announce that Sander and Madhu's Fap7 paper has been accepted for publication.

The seventh Freaking annoying protein (Fap7) had been little studied before Sander got his hot little hands on it. Through a series of experiments utilizing biochemical, genetic, and cell biological techniques, he and Madhu have shown that this protein is, indeed, freaking annoying. However, Sander has now shown that it is not only freaking annoying, but also frequently annoying.

Initially, the reviewers' comments were not good. "But that's nothing new!" they spat. "It was named for its excessively annoying behavior in vivo and in vitro. To be suitable for publication in this fine journal, your paper must provide indisputable evidence that Fap7 has cause to act in an annoying manner." With a few carefully worded rebuttals and an extra experiment or two, Sander has successfully pled his case. It will be listed on our Publications page as soon as the webmaster gets around to it.

Autoantibodies and Autoantibodies

2005-09-02T14:35:00.000-04:00

We are proud to announce that our masterpiece, our seminal work, our magnum opus, will be published by the end of October. This piece, entitled War and Peace: The Autoantibodies Version, is a comprehensive summary of, and verily defines the vast quantities of research done involving autoantibodies and autoimmune diseases.

As the most important chapter in the book Autoantibodies and Autoantibodies (left), War and Peace: The Autoantibodies Version, chapter 17, is available for a mere 199 Euros (~249.51 USD).

Note: this price is roughly (+/-1E) equal to the honorarium we have been promised--but have not yet received-- as compensation for this pastiche. However, our generous publishers have offered us a special author's discount, due to our ingenuity, of %30 off the cover price, with an additional %12 off if we order 10 or more copies, or %20 off of 50 or more copies.

Place your orders now.

Madhu ships out

2005-07-29T14:38:00.000-04:00

Madhu recently got a job with CSI:Hyderabad, and so he's cashed in the funds in his Swiss bank account and left us. Luckily for us, he didn't sneak out under the cloak of night; he warned us of his impending departure, so we could celebrate --I mean, um, plan accordingly.

During Madhu's last week in lab, we had the traditional five days of celebration:

Day 1: Tawkindalab is the first day of celebration. This day is meant for reflection on the time spent in a particular place. The traveler is required to discuss his experiences and accomplishments in a formal presentation to his friends and family. This is usually accompanied by a small feast of donuts, muffins, bagels, and cream cheese. (Dunkin' Donuts has a special package-- just ask for the Tawkindalab box.)

Day 2: The second day, known as Freezayeesties, is the day of organization. The traveler groups the items he has collected or created during his stay and record their existence for posterity. Traditionally, this is done by taking a small sample of each, placing it in a small well-labeled tube, and placing it in cold storage.

Day 3: Taggasail is the most difficult day of celebration, because it requires the traveler to decide which of his belongings he will take on his journey, and which to leave. Instead of giving away the unwanted items, however, he sells them to friends, family, or perfect strangers who happen to be walking by. Not only does this relieve him of the burden of material objects, but it provides some travel money with which to buy postcards for the people he will soon leave behind.

Day 4: On Taekdabenchy, the traveler is required to remove the remainder of his personal belongings from the space he inhabited during his stay. This is terribly sad for his friends and family, who typically respond by first collecting the items he leaves behind (as a sort of keepsake or memento), and then placing their own items in the empty space.

Day 5: Eetalotafeud, the final day of celebration, is the day of feasting. Originally intended to prepare the traveler for the long journey ahead (during which there may not be enough food available to sustain the high amount of energy required in travel), Eetalotafeud consists of one continuous meal that lasts the entire day. In addition, the friends and family of the traveler must accompany him in the feasting, as a symbol of their desire to spiritually travel with him. Here we are early in the day of feasting. (You can tell because we aren't yet bloated from the huge amounts of food.)

Madhu added his own contribution to the traditional week of celebration, which he called Maika-dapee-ayekrai. Drawing on the traditional Guru Purnima festival, he told us how the parents and teacher are respected and revered as deities, because they remove one's ignorance. It says, "Gurubrahma Guruvishnu Gururdevo Maheshwaraha”: The guru is Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh (Shiva). Also, "Matru Devo Bhava, Pitru Devo Bhava, Acharya Devo Bhava, Atithi Devo Bhava": Revere your mother, father, preceptor and guest as God. He also cited the Hindu axiom that says, "A river cannot be clean if the source is polluted." Like a river, the quality of the lab depends on the quality of our mentor, and because Susan is happy, the rest of the lab is happy. And clean.

The Cast

2005-07-22T16:00:00.000-04:00

Chewie has bred a bonsai bonanza. So far he has three in his brood: Eenie, Meenie, and Miney. (We can only assume that Chewie is Moe.) He's very proud of them, so don't laugh.

Click on the above photo for individual photos of each.

Vote for your favorite bonzai buddy (leave a comment)! It's like American Idol, only the contestants can't sing or dance! And they're miniature trees.

Kamikaze flies

2005-07-18T14:23:00.000-04:00

Upon opening the autoclave today, Franziska found a horsefly floating in her media.

"Is it alive?" Chewie suggests we forget about ribosome biogenesis and instead try to identify the genes responsible for its resistance to the extreme environment of the autoclave.

After taking its vital signs, Franziska pronounced it dead. Following a moment of silence, it was determined that the yeast media would only benefit from the additional nutrients.

We later determined that this was just one of thousands of flies that Sander is raising and training to act as kamikaze flies. He will soon release them in the labs of our competitors, hoping that at least one will find its way into the minimal media, thereby adding the essential nutrients that were intended to be dropped out.

Susan discovers eBay

2005-07-15T15:42:00.000-04:00

With a barrage of broken equipment this week, Susan is in search of replacements. Chewie takes this opportunity to teach her the wonders of eBay. "You can get ANYTHING!" She cries, astounded.

We've shopped for intensifying screens ("I was outbid at the last second!"), power supplies, incubators, post-docs, centrifuges, pipetmen...

Our first purchase: a power supply, with a winning bid of $152.

Despite the unmitigated success of this experience, we haven't begun selling our own equipment yet. But it can't be long now... Sander is considering selling himself to the highest bidder. Keep your eyes out for him.

RNA Meeting Part 3: The Adventures of Chewie's Poster

2005-06-21T12:05:00.000-04:00

Once the science was taken care of, we realized that Chewie's poster had disappeared. "I put it in my bag last night, I swear!" Chewie exclaimed. "But now it's gone!" We had to search all over the Banff Centre campus in search of the poster, and here's what we found:

Presenting The Adventures of Chewie's Poster...

Chewie's poster is confused about Banff "art".

Chewie's poster checks its email.

Chewie's poster uses the meditation tepee.

Take one: Chewie's poster.

Chewie's poster plays hide-and-seek.

Chewie's poster attends a talk.

Caution! Chewie's poster is dangerous when icy.

Chewie's poster uses the bear-proof trash can.

Chewie's poster eats at the banquet.

Chewie's poster presentation.

RNA Meeting Part 2: The Presentations

2005-06-17T15:07:00.000-04:00

Last time we checked in, we showed you some lovely pictures of Banff, where the RNA meeting was held. Today we present our presentations. And some group shots.

Left to right: Chewie, Nick, a telescope, Sander, Kara, Ellie, and Franziska.

Franziska presented her poster on the second day of the meeting, all by herself. That allowed the rest of us to scope out the competition, as well as play lookout for any grizzly bears that might want to find out what her project is.

It was SO hot in those poster rooms, and SO loud that we were sweating and shouting. So it took lots of water to keep us happy. And we drank every one of these.

Nick was the first visitor to my poster, so I very dilligently explained my thought processes and the many reasons I chose that specific blue for the backdrop of my poster.

Chewie used a similar blue, and was very proud of it.

Kara also used that blue. There seems to be a trend emerging here.

Ellie (J. Steitz lab) also chose blue. Very interesting.

After talking so much science at the poster sessions, we were exhausted!

Kara found an alternate use for her poster.

Back to front: Erica, Chewie, Kara, and Franziska.

You must be on the edge of your seat, waiting for part 3. And let me tell you, it's a doozy!

RNA Meeting Part 1: The Setting

2005-06-16T17:23:00.000-04:00

Banff is a ski resort town in the middle of the Canadian Rockies. It's basically a street with shops (selling mostly clothes and chocolate-- not bad!) surrounded by snow-capped mountains.

There were lots of mountains and lakes with really blue water. We haven't decided why the water is so blue (I think it has something to do with glacial till), but we've assigned that research to Bennett, who will report on that at lab meeting on Monday.

Kara liked this lake because it brought out the blue in her eyes and the pink in her coat.

Lake Louise.

One of the lessons Sander still needs to teach Chewie is, "Never go back to the scene of the crime." Here is proof that he had no regrets about what happened to that helpless little mother elk.

Chewie took these pictures. He was fascinated by the squirrel-like animals he insisted were called "pikas". Anyone with information regarding these creatures should contact Chewie.

Parts 2 and 3 to follow...

Grants galore

2005-03-20T14:04:00.000-05:00

The lab gets in line early on the day that grants are being handed out. Sander earns a renewal of his Anna Fuller grant for his proposal studying the role of the iPod photo in recreational activities in the US Virgin Islands, and begins looking at airline tickets. Franziska earns a grant from the German Society of German Speakers, thanks to her unparalleled background in being German, and being able to speak German, albeit with a different accent than most Germans.

Lab talk marathon

2005-03-04T14:03:00.000-05:00

Today begins the lab talk marathon. Starting with Kara's hall seminar today, the Baserga lab attempts to talk for one week without stopping for sleep or sustenance. Kara, Madhu, and Erica make valiant efforts, but soon realize that they could have stopped at four days, since the previous world record is for only 81 hours 15 minutes.

The Return of Jen

2005-02-18T14:03:00.000-05:00

Jen announces that she misses the snow too much, and simply can't stand the darn California sunshine any longer, so she's moving back, and she wants her bench back from Franziska, pronto. Fortunately for Franziska, six days in Connecticut is all Jen needs to convince herself that warm weather isn't so bad, and she vacates the coveted bench shortly thereafter. Meanwhile, Kara is so alarmed by Jen's return that she starts looking for retirement homes in Florida. Erica flees a bit farther, to London, to share her results with the appropriate labs. Sander makes it the farthest, going to the Netherlands, where he is coerced into combing his hair and putting on a clean shirt in order to impress his extended family. Needless to say, he returns to the states days later.

RNA Meeting preparation

2005-02-07T14:01:00.001-05:00

The Baserga lab prepares abstracts for their attendance at the RNA Meeting. In preparation for the trip, the focus of lab research shifts from rRNA processing to Banff area maps and the locations of the closest pubs and clothing stores in order to facilitate the assembly of the small subunit RNA meeting attendees.

New Year's Celebrations

2005-01-25T13:59:00.000-05:00

More than three weeks after the New Year, most of the Baserga lab recovers from its collective hang over, only to find that Madhu is still in lab, soberly restreaking stock strains. Since everything seems to be in order, the rest of the lab goes back to TK's to celebrate Sander's birthday a few days early.

Happy Hour

2005-01-15T15:32:00.000-05:00

Basergas

The lab hosted the Genetics Department happy hour. Our chosen theme was loosely based on the fact that 15 years ago today (January 15), the first episode of The Simpsons aired. We designed advertisements accordingly.

homer117

Susan no function beer well without.