Don't underestimate the power...

...of a class that you assume has no relevance to your life.

I've done it. You've done it. We've all done it. You take a class, perhaps because it's a requirement, maybe because it's the lesser of a couple of evils. You set your sights on completion and revel in the fact that once it's over, it's over. It'll never pop up in your life again.

LIEEESSSSS!

Two particular instances come to mind.

1. In undergrad I was required to take Chemical Oceanography. Yes, it's just as painful, if not more painful, than it sounds. Equations that I'll never remember, my first (and only) academic warning, a cruise spent curled up in the fetal position on the deck from a bad case of sea sickness. But I fought through it and celebrated the end of that class and all that came with it.

That summer I attended an REU, and my project required running hemolymph (AKA crab blood) samples through a spectrophotometer. The grad student in my lab explained that I first had to create a standard curve with samples of known concentrations and then run my actual samples. My mouth all but hit the floor. I almost laughed out loud at the irony. Of course I knew how to do this.....it was all I had done in my Chemical Oceanography lab. The student proceeded to watch me run through a standard curve and a sample in a matter of minutes. If nothing else, I was able to impress a grad student with my stellar spec skills.

2. This semester I am taking a seminar on evolution and speciation. During the first class, the teacher asked us to describe our projects and say whether the knowledge of species was important. I didn't think it was important for my project. I mean, I'm studying pesticide toxicity in well known mollusc species, how would that matter?

Fast forward a couple of months. I'm completing my thesis proposal and one of my committee members questions our certainty that we're working with the right species of clam. I stated that I'm using the Northern quahog, Mercenaria mercenaria. But as the hatchery I'm using is in Florida, was there a chance I was actually getting the Southern quahog, Mercenaria campechiensis? We realized that answered that question would require extensive genetic testing that I didn't have time for. I ended up going through my proposal and changing it to say that I am using Mercenaria sp. My teacher would surely laugh in my face if he knew that speciation managed to affect my project.

So lesson learned: everything is useful. Don't say I didn't warn you.


Fact of the Post: A video of an octopus caught walking on land!

Race....and sea piggies

Yes, not what you might expect, yet I've come to a revelation. I'm going to start writing about whatever science I come across - marine biology or not. See, while marine biology is my first passion, I have a curiosity and appreciation for all fields of science (mmmm maybe not organic chemistry). Also, marine biology may be a huge portion of my life, but I think it'll be nice to mix things up once in awhile....and it might help me stay on top of blogging : /

So about a month ago I went home for my fall break and - as I usually do - looked up the Smithsonian Musuem of Natural History to see if there were any new exhibits. Lo and behold, there was! I hopped on over for the temporary exhibit "Race: Are We So Different?" I was drawn in by the website's explanation of the exhibit as a look at race from all angles: biological, social, economical, historical. I thought I'd spend 10 minutes in there, read a good tid bit and move on.

I was in there for about an hour.

The different angles were so interesting. The biological background of why people's skin look different and how that has been influenced by our evolutionary history. The history of the word "race" and how it's meaning has changed. Statistics on racial differences in income, education, and health - and how they don't always match our assumptions (Did you know that Mediterranean people also have a high occurance of the sickle cell allele?! I didn't! There was a story about a man of Italian descent who took years to realize and then convince doctors he has sickle cell because people assume it only occurs in people of African descent). There were movies and photos of people of all races, of all mixed ethnicities, sharing their stories. It was really one of the more insightful exhibits I've seen in a long time.

So take a minute to check out the site, and please go to the exhibit if you happen to be in DC before January.

Fact of the Post....comes from the Natural History Museum! The museum's Species of the Day is the sea pig, Scotoplanes globosa. Read about it here!



Oink oink!



On the Water

My new home has opened my eyes to many new possibilities - one of which seems to be water sports. Everyone at the beach is surfing, Boogie boarding, and the like. Well, this weekend I took a wack at a water sport - wakeboarding.



This is how I spent a good portion of the afternoon.

 I was surprised to find out that the hardest part wasn't getting on my feet, it was holding on. Turns out it's not quite as easy to hold on to a moving boat. Still, it was so relaxing to spend an afternoon in the water. We ended the day withshrimping and made shrimp and grits for dinner. No better way for a bunch of marine scientists to end a day in the South.

Fact of the Post: A group of researchers, including two students from my awesome alma mater, are studying acoustic communication in mantis shrimp.

I'm excellent at serenading.

What to do when I Grow Up...

Today I participated in a prospective student lunch. It was so much fun, talking about our grad school experience in a low-key environment. The student was very easy-going and interactive, which was awesome. One of the questions she asked us was what we planned on doing once we were done here. It forced me to admit out loud that I have no idea what I'm doing. Half of the time I want a research position, half of the time I want to teach, and a slim number of times I play with the idea of a PhD program.

See, I'm the type of gal that's always had a plan. Always knew what the next step would be. And for the first time in my life, I don't have a plan. Some people many find that thrilling - I find it terrifying. I suppose that's a testament to the manny routes that marine science can lead you. For now, I'll focus on finishing my proposal.

Fact of the Post: A researcher at Georgetown has indicated that a dolphin's ability to quickly heal from shark bites may provide insight to the care of injures in humans.

I Suck at Updates

So unfortunately the whole month of July has gone by without an update. Since my last post, I have been caring for my larvae, running some tests, and writing my project proposal. Now comes something else to add into the mix of lab work and writing - classes begin in less than two weeks. I'm very excited to be a second year...less classes, no longer the one learning the system. I'm also just excited to meet a new class. This week is orientation for new students, so we'll be meeting the first years on Thursday at the latest. Which reminds me - that means I've been here for a whole year!

In addition to my own work, I've been able to help with other projects going on at my campus. More specifically, I went sharking! I ended up being more nervous than I thought I'd be, but it was still fun, and I hope to go out again.

Love me some rays

Fact of the Post: The smell of dead lampreys seem to scare the crap out of live ones.



PLLEEEAASSEEE NOOOOOOO



These Critters are Growing on me...

My second day in the lab. Friday wasn't terribly exciting - just looking at larval clams and oysters and practicing moving individuals around (actually not as hard as it sounds when you consider that you can barely see them with the naked eye). Today I actually ran a trial of my actual experiment and helped with another project in the lab. I must say though, these larvae are kinda cute when they're just floating around...

They're winning me over...

In other news, I have office space in my lab! I feel so official :) And I just signed the lease on a lovely house that I get to move into with my two best friends in August. I'm so excited!

Fact of the Post: Not marine science-related, but still cool - researchers at Washington University in St. Louis found that negative emotions can actually enhance memory. I won't include a picture...I'll let you come up with your own scary image...

Conflicting Loves

I'm back from a week in the mean streets of DC. The streets are comforting and familiar though. They're home.

DC is not, however, a popular gathering ground for marine scientists.

I wouldn't try this in the Potomac river.

I've been feeling so much more conflict lately about how I was raised and where my career is leading me. For better or worse, I'm a city girl. I love the lights, the energy, the wealth of things to do. But I also love nature. It's calm, it's pure. I don't think one is more beautiful than the other - they're just different. I feel like many in my field would disagree, but that's my opinion. Hopefully one day I'll be able to experience both.

Fact of the Post: Andrew Huxley won the Nobel Prize in the 1960s for using the giant axon of a squid to describe action potential in neurons.



Say WAAA!?