Plains of Paradox: Lost Villages, Great Bustards and Evil Badgers

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Wiltshire! The mystical land that my husband hails from. It’s a rural English county that is mostly made of green velvet and gently glowing scenery. The natives decorate the rolling hills with white horses (see above) and sprinkle them with sheep.

Actually, pretty much all of the landscape looks like promotional posters for some a rural propaganda campaign:

KEEPCALMMUNCHON

COME TO THE COUNTRYSIDE. LOOK HOW HAPPY THE SHEEP ARE.

Wiltshire is the kindly West. It’s basically the Shire.

With abandoned tanks in it.

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TANKS FOR STOPPING BY!

Which is kind of a contradiction, and one that interests me.

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The Rainbow In Your Hands: Protocols for Hand-Painting Yarn

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this is an artsy craft blog now. artsy craft blogs are cool, right? ...?

Figure One.

What did you do this weekend, Elodie?

Nothing much. Met the Awkward Army, put the world to rights. Learned a bit of materials science and inadvertently created a new kind of polystyrene plastic in my kitchen.

Made a rainbow.

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In the aftermath of the unicorn dissection…

The richly glowing skein in Figure One is a sumptuous, hand-painted rainbow yarn that I dyed myself. With food coloring. And SCIENCE. You won’t find colors like that in a store…

And at the risk of becoming a craft blog (SCIENCE CRAFTS!) I’m going to tell you how to do it.

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Elodie’s Compendium of Illustrated Search Terms, Volume II

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Let’s lighten the mood in here with another Illustrated Compendium! All of these search terms are 100% genuine reasons why various people found my blog. What were they looking for? Did they ever find it? What do they want? Who are they? The following illustrations are my attempts to solve these mysteries. (For the interested and confused, partake of Elodie’s Illustrated Compendium of Search Terms Part One)

“A wild animal shouting is also tired”

a wild animal shouting is also tired

wild animals get cranky!

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SMASH SEXIST SCIENCE REPORTING: “Lady in the Lab”

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casadeii
Cover of “Heart Matters,” Jan Feb 2013, vol 47. A woman must be an angel in the kitchen…

Disclaimer: This is a personal blog that is not affiliated with any research institution, funding body or charity. The British Heart Foundation is a very nice charity that does amazing things – donate your used goods to them today! This piece has not been endorsed by Professor B. Casadei or any member of her research group, and should not reflect upon her or her opinions in any way. As someone who writes frequently about sexism in science culture, I believe that criticizing the following article from a gender-egalitarian perspective will move the field forward, reduce the levels of sexism in science, and possibly improve reporting quality in the future.

       The British Heart Foundation is a popular and beloved charity in Britain, funding over half of the cardiovascular research performed in the British Isles. Non-academic readers may be surprised to learn that charitable funding is how a lot of scientists pay the rent.

   For me, this is one reason why consistent, trustworthy, high-quality science communication is so important. The public pays our wages, whether by charity or by tax dollars. Public interest and public trust is vital if we want to cure cancer, heal hearts, save the environment, fight off meteors, survive climate change and understand the meaning of life. None of this can happen without you guys. Thank you so much for your help and support.

    So when I see really terrible, sexist science reporting occurring in the pages of the British Heart Foundation’s magazine, well … it breaks my little heart. (Which is ironic.) I believe that science communication at every level is charged with moving the field forward, and I believe that it should be held responsible when it breaks that trust.

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[GIRLS IN SCIENCE] Part Two: It’s Okay to Like Science As Just A Friend

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“Back to Origins” by Jonathan Williams for Nature Magazine.

“Back to Origins” by Jonathan Williams for Nature Magazine.

There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.

- Charles Darwin, in the earlier editions of Origin of Species. 

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate two phrases.

First we shall consider the poetic truth of “endless forms most beautiful.” Let us pause and ponder the truth of these words. In the middle of our busy lives, let us stop to weigh this in our hands. Yes, life is made of endless forms most beautiful and wonderful.

Now let us turn our minds to “There is grandeur in this view of life.“

Because there is.

Even if you’re deciding to make Science your ex, Science is an ex you will never regret having, an ex who is patient and respectful of your boundaries, an ex whose experiences made you slightly better, more rounded, with more exquisite edges.

If you have left the field of academia or research to pursue another career,  well done: you have not failed but become more evolved. If you are a graduate student right now, thank you for your work: these pains, too, shall pass. If you are a science lover or a science groupie, be glad. Rejoice, for the sun is coming again.

You will never regret pursuing your interests in science. When you practice research or academia, you are merely engaging in a form of work in a cultural environment that may be unsupportive or frustrating. It is not Science that hurts you or holds your head underwater; it is not Science that you are bad at, it is not Science that you hate. It cannot kill, but it does love, and you cannot be unfaithful to it for your other loves are its other faces (Humanities, Mathematics, Higher-Arts and Competitive Scherenschnitte). Fear not, and do not be afraid: your passion walks with you, as it always has and always will. Your curiosity, your education and your experiences will nourish you for your entire life. Forever and ever. Amen.

Welcome to Girls in Science Part Two: It’s Okay to Like Science As Just A Friend.

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[GIRLS IN SCIENCE!] Part One: Kids Don’t Rule The World, Even if They’re Sexy.

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One of these kids grew up to be a weather wizard and the other grew up to cure cancer.

A young pair of friends. One of these kids grew up to be a weather wizard, and the other grew up to be a mad scientist.

Hello my darlings, and Happy Darwin Day! If you have a moment, spare a thought for the beardy father of evolutionary biology and maybe stop by this post to enjoy his timeless charm.

Today we’re launcing a Girls in Science series of blog posts! If you haven’t been paying attention, I am a Woman in Science. During the day I work as research assistant in molecular biology, although I am a more broadly trained biological researcher. I am a gender egalitarian and a feminist. A passionate science communicator, I am an award-winning science writer who has been shortlisted for exciting prizes, and I’m working on an even cooler project that I hope to share with you all soon. I am really passionate about this stuff, you guys. Science & ladies. Hit me up anytime.

And these subjects have been appearing in the news a lot lately. For some reason, the media has suddenly noticed the fact that There Aren’t Enough Girls In Science (Yay!) and it’s tying itself in knots trying to figure out ways to fix this without actually addressing any problems or providing any solutions (Aww.) This requires some remarkable contortions of thinking. So I’m going to talk about some solid, real plans and propositions to REALLY get little girls interested in science, right?

Well.

Er.

Frankly, I think it would be disingenuous and hypocritical of me to do so.

And I’m going to tell you why. Welcome to Part One of Girls in Science: Kids Don’t Rule the World (Even if They’re Sexy.)

 

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[SMASH BAD SCIENCE]: The Guardian Sees Its Shadow, Declares 10 More Years of Societal Regression

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"Hahahahaha! What's a pipette?"

The Guardian’s alt-text here was “girls science math.”
“Wow! We’re science and mathing! We’re science and mathing SO HARD!”

A few people have asked me to weigh in on the Guardian’s recent foray into SCEINCE JOURNLISM, “Girls and science: why the gender gap exists and what to do about it.” With its discussion of nature, culture, science and female gender roles, it is scandalously encroaching on my turf. There’s nothing I love more than a rousing discussion of How To Get More Girls Into Science! And yet, the article seems calculated to enrage pretty much any female scientist who reads it, with suggestions for getting girls interested in science that include “use lots of bright toys and colors!” and “have her cook!”

The author, one Emma G Keller, uses the word “domestic” four times. She asserts that the gender gap in the STEM fields can be closed by getting girls to bake more cookies.

Because girls can't aspire to being PIs, amirite?

Lady-science should always be performed in pairs, because females are better at socializing and giggling than males are.

Click to read more, but pour yourself a 1950′s drink first.

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BRITAIN! And housekeeping.

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Below is a selection of titles for an online form that Dr Glass was filling out. Have a look.

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Excuse me, but where is the option for REVEREND Doctor?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Oh, just had to scroll down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRITAIN! Possibly the only place in the world where Right Reverend Monsignors can be correctly addressed by their proper titles in their student loan correspondence.

 

  • Now, if you’re interested in Facebook at all, there’s a Facebook page for ElodieUnderGlass, which will be primarily be used for screaming at the news and pictures of animals in sweaters. Your input is warmly encouraged.
  • There is a new Contact Form for complaints and suggestions.
  • You look super hot today.

 

Coming up next, the Guardian is once again encroaching on my turf:

girls science math Pictured here are two young females struggling to load an agarose gel using a simple pipette in preparation for electrophoresis. According to recent findings in the Guardian, young females find science easier to cope with if it contains lots of bright colors and shiny moving objects.

The Ghost in the Microscope

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when you see it...

Garner, Kathryn. Fluorescent Fibroblasts (2012). Fluorescent microscopy.

Friend-of-Blog Kathryn is a molecular biologist and fine artist, and she’s kindly sharing this beautiful image of cardiac fibroblasts with us. (Thank you, Kathryn!)

Not sure what we’re looking at? Well, each of those structures is a highly magnified cell. The black circles at the center are the nuclei of the cells. The fluorescent green dye illuminates the strand-like structures which give these cells their name. Fibroblasts: fibrous cells. They form connective tissue, patching wounds and holding other cells together.

The image is scientifically, aesthetically and metaphysically appealing. Scientifically, it’s a really nice image that shows that the cells present are largely fibroblasts, and it demonstrates their characteristic stringy nature – what scientists call “morphology.” Aesthetically, it is pleasing, with the drifting cells resembling jellyfish or nebulas or -

O HOLY MOTHER OF DARWIN

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