A subdued hush has settled over the upper levels of Bourne Lab as third year project season has begun. The gentle squish of a pipette, the buzz of the centrifuge and the dulcit tones of radio 4 (pHd students . .) is all that breaks the unsettled quiet of intense concentration. There are nervous exhanges between shelves of agar, as we try not to break the unfamiliar equipment or incorrectly calculate our dilution series. It's safe to say that we all feel out of our depth, but there is also a certain satisfaction at finally being here. Here being the coal face of science, the gritty reality of original research, the cusp of a radical upheaval of our current understanding. The first ebbs of enthusiasm not withstanding, it is now providing just enough dogged determination for me to hall myself into the lab for an 8am start each day to research bacterial infections in caterpillars. This is my project and no matter how irrelevant it may seem, not matter how many caterpillars try to escape, not matter how many plates of LB Agar I have to pour, I shall see it through!
No comments:
Post a Comment