Candide
roman catholic by birth; scientific atheist by choice; sinner by merit. blogging on brains, evolution and language. gaidhlig-speaking neuroscience student at oxford. likes to Question Everything!
Here are some pretty pictures I made using immunostaining and fluorescence microscopy!
I like to keep up to date with the Neuroscience literature. What I’ve found, however, is that I just read the papers without really taking them in. So I’ve started this new blog to post short Neuroscience articles, distilling any interesting discoveries I’ve come across recently into manageable chunks, and briefly analyzing their significance for science and medicine. I’m going to keep jargon to a minimum and (hopefully) write like a good, critical science journalist ala Mo Costandi.
Obviously, I am still learning, so there are bound to be some mistakes. But if you are interested in Neuroscience, here is the link again.
Note: The drawings above were done by Thomas Willis, Oxford neuroscientist in the 17th century, after whom the Circle of Willis is named and who coined the term Neurology…
Help
Are any of my biologist followers able to offer advice as to my class choices next year?
I am definitely taking:
Molecular Biology
Developmental Biology
Neuropharmacology
Second Messengers and Cascades
Genes, Circuits and Behaviour
Auditory Neuroscience
I need to choose one more class, out of:
Immunology & Microbiology vs. General Pharmacology vs. Endocrinology vs. Developmental Psychology vs. Behavioural Neuroscience
Which would you choose?
Just met Richard Dawkins! I know hero-worshipping is anathema to reason and science, but seriously the Selfish Gene was what got me into Biology. He said he was pleased to hear it…
Also, I can’t put this on facebook because Oxford is a hotbed of reactionary Christianity (more so even than Uist).
Guns don’t kill people, neither do (just) the mentally-ill.
Click read more if you want to see my opinion piece on the links between mental health and violent crime. I’ve put it under read more because it deals with the Newtown Tragedy and the media’s portrayal of Adam Lanza. Criticism would be much appreciated, as this is a delicate issue, and I want to handle it as sensitively as possible as this will likely end up in my uni newspaper.
So I spent today playing with human brains. The first time you hold someone’s loves, hopes and fears between your hands is really quite a numinous moment. It is just amazing to reflect that a person’s entire memory, their desires and hates, their quirks and oddities, are all written as a pattern of neural connections onto that orange-sized chunk of porridgy stuff. It makes me remember why I’m here, that in spite of how heavy and difficult the work load is, I really am in the privileged position of learning how our biology, our brains, our behavior, really works.
Just thought I’d like to share…
My Day As A TV Star
I did an hour long television interview yesterday, sitting on a rock in the middle of the sea.
Then I had to walk inspirationally along the beach, with the wind howling and the waves pounding.
Then I had to look out to the ocean and think deep thoughts as I did so.
I felt like Brian Cox. I had the aweinspiring backdrop and I got to expound about neuroscience and biology. (Also had to talk about uni which was less fun). (Also it was in Scottish Gaelic) (Also they are filming me again in Oxford, with the dreaming spires behind me - it will be humiliating! :[)
On another a note, Brian Cox was on Doctor Who. He should be the next Doctor!
