Lyndsey Wright

So as I come towards the end of my third week into my internship, I thought it seemed an appropriate time for some reflection on what had happened so far. The first week or so, I shadowed a PhD student (who is lovely, willing to help you at the drop of a hat and answers any questions no matter how silly they seem!). My project is looking at HDAC1, a histone deacetylase that is recruited into a co-repressor complex with various proteins such as Sin3A and SDS3. We started by splitting our cells we will be using for our experiments on Monday, followed by a transvection on Tuesday. Wednesdays are fairly quiet, there isnt much to do because you are waiting for your cells to express your proteins but you cant get too lazy because Thursday and Friday is jam packed full of things to do including SDS gel electrophoresis, Western Blotting and HDAC assays. Lets just say it has been a big learning curve! It is very different from practicals which have been set up and should (you hope!) work... more... - Lyndsey Wright

Doing the "real thing" is always going to be different to practicals, but hopefully this will help you a lot with your research project next year. - Dr Alan Cann

Know what you mean with the 'lightbulb moments'! So pleased you're enjoying it. - Roisin Thomas

Today was the Biological Sciences Careers Day in Bennett 2. There weren't as many people as I thought there and they really should have taken advantage of what was available to them. The sessions covered what I could do with my degree, networking and how to promote the skills that I have to potential employers. There is such competition at the moment for jobs and funding so I think that it is incredibly important to be able to sell yourself and the skills that you have in order to make yourself stand out from the other candidates. Today highlighted this to me and showed me key areas that I need to work on in the future to get the job of my dreams :) - Lyndsey Wright

I would loved to have gone too, but i had an interview at 12pm. - Emma Mitchell

Did anybody watch this last night? It is a new documentary series following patients and staff at the neonatal unit at Liverpool Women's Hospital. My baby cousin was born prematurely and spent the first few weeks of his life in the neonatal unit so I always find programmes like this interesting to watch. It was quite emotional and at times, difficult viewing as you watched decision being made about the future of the babies in the facilities such as no resuscitation or whether the child has brain damage as the result of asphyxia during the delivery. Well worth a watch but have the tissues ready as you may need them! - Lyndsey Wright

I'm wondering whether there will be more in the later episodes now they have introduced the programme as a whole? Was certainly interesting though. - Lyndsey Wright from iPod

Hello everyone, how are you all? I am sorry for the lack of communication on here in recent weeks with revision and exams it has been very hard to fit Friendfeed into my day. Hopefully now they are all over I can get back into some sort of a normal routine! Lets catch up on what has happened since we last spoke: Exams have finished and I have to admit, they were a lot less stressful than I imagined they would be. #BS2058 Proteins was the most difficult exam I think and the lack of past papers was a slight hindrence as they would have helped to direct my revision somewhat but, as it is a new module this year, I understand why they were not available. I have won two lots of funding for my summer internship: one is from the Nuffield Foundation and the other is from the Wellcome Trust. My supervisor has decided to accept the funding from the Wellcome Trust and I start on Monday- I am very excited not least by the fact that I can have a swipe card to enter the building (how grown up!). Just waiting for results now but I am sure they will be okay. Good luck to you all, let me know how you get on :) - Lyndsey Wright

If you didn't, I would thoroughly recommend that you go on iPlayer and have a watch, it was fantastic. Last night it was about all the biological events that lead to birth, looking at fertilisation, twins, conjoined twins etc and it used some state-of-the-art graphics to show you how it all happens. Have a break from revision and go have a watch: http://www.bbc.co.uk/program... - Lyndsey Wright

Just been to the hairdressers with my sister-in-law and there were people discussing it in there saying how nice it was to have a science programme that was easy to understand :) - Lyndsey Wright

Just been told that we have got funding for my summer internship with Dr Cowley... Very excited :) - Lyndsey Wright

Congratulations Lyndsey! What will you be doing? - Dr Jo Badge from iPod

We are looking at class I HDACs (histone deacetylases) and how they are recruited into co-repressor complexes to see the effect on gene expression :) - Lyndsey Wright

Well so far this holiday, I have managed to finish all of my essays/practical reports/TB report so now I can focus on revision.. I have started with #BS2058 @Dr. Willmott's lectures. I have had a read through Stryer and Alberts (my best friends this holiday, how sad) which has been useful. Things that hadn't clicked in the lecture have finally clicked so feeling very positive :) The cat has now decided that Stryer is a good thing to fall asleep on so going to have a break for lunch and then carry on :) I hope revision is going well for you guys! - Lyndsey Wright

As UoL announces £9000 fees for students entering in 2012, I am so glad that I am already here and don't have to decide whether £9000 is too much. Even with all of the scholarships and other funding available for students, I think that price would be too much for me :s I just hope it doesn't put people off who have the brains and the talent to do well at university... - Lyndsey Wright

Capable people will still go to University, they will simply have more to pay back when they get out of Uni. Don't forget you also have a student loan, which can be up to £6000 per University year at the moment. If a person genuinely wants to go to University, they will still get a loan, and they will be under the same pay agreements (must be earning a certain amount before they begin... more... - Sebastian Sansom

Well it's day 2 of the Easter break and I am in the library working away :) The aim is to finish the #MB2050 report today so I can focus on the #BS2058 practical write up and hopefully get that finished by the end of the weekend but since my parents are moving house on Friday (leaving the childhood home :s), I am going home to help them move which means I won't get as much work done this week as I would have hoped so I'm hoping a few full days in the library this week will make up for that! I am trying to get as many of my deadlines done as possible early on in the holidays so I can then concentrate on my revision. The exam timetable is lovely I have to say, I have plenty of time between exams so there won't be so much pressure like last time when I had 4 in 5 days (not fun). Anyway, hope you are all having a lovely break so far, hope the sun will come out soon for you! - Lyndsey Wright

and won 49-12! - Rachel Bell

Go and give blood if you haven't already, they are in desparate need as stocks are running low so go and do something amazing! It was my 10th donation today :) - Lyndsey Wright

Just submitted my last pieces of work until after the Easter break :) Feels quite exciting, the pressure is off slightly. I have finally figured out my #BSproject choices which is good, just waiting for module choices to be sorted out and submitted over the internet and then that's finished too. Spent this afternoon doing more research for my report on TB for #MB2050 and adding a few bits in my #BS2026 essay after some tips I got before the #BS2058 practice essay when writing a "compare and contrast" essay. I now have a lovely table in my essay :) Looking forward to tomorrow; we are watching our ethical videos in #MB2050 so it will be interesting to see how everyone has put theres together. It was a lot of work but I think it will pay off in the end :) - Lyndsey Wright

I went to this lecture this evening and I must admit, rather enjoyed it. The complement system is something we covered briefly in #BS2058 this year and although it was brief, it was something that I enjoyed and had gone away and read about elsewhere. The complement cascade provides a vital bridge between innate and adaptive immunity by destroying invading cells and helping to stimulate an effective adaptive immune response and so consequently can be associated with a wide range of diseases. This lecture covered the basics on immunity (useful revision for #MB2050) as well as going into some more in-depth knowledge on the complement system and protein involved in it :) Maybe I should stick around more often when these guest lectures come up, they really are quite interesting :) - Lyndsey Wright

Had a meeting with my tutor yesterday to go over my module choices for next year. I have gone with #BS3031 (Human Genetics), #BS3003 (Cancer Cell and Molecular Biology) and #BS3010 (Gene Expression). I am in particular looking forward to the Human Genetics and Cancer Cell Biology modules; the lectures that we have had relating to these topics this year have been the most interesting so the opportunity to do a whole module of them excites me :) I also discussed my final year project choices, I have it down to 7 (I need 6!!) but I think things will be a lot clearer after the meeting with supervisors and staff tomorrow put on by Dr Wells which I think will be very useful. So far this week, my group has nearly finished the #MB2050 video, I have done the last few bits on my essay for #BS2026 and I have revised like a maniac for the #BS2058 exam essay on Thursday. I am hoping it will go well, its worth 8% which may not seem a lot but will be a very useful 8% to get. Fingers crossed! - Lyndsey Wright

#BSproject - Dr Alan Cann

Very useful afternoon spent discussing the options for third year modules and project choices. Was a very good opportunity to question the conveners about their module about things that may not be present in the information as well as getting some insights in topics that will be covered (very useful when you are stuck between 2 modules to choose like me!) :) Loved Prof. Eperon's comments about "gene jealousy"- he really does make me smile! We also covered 3rd year projects, what they would entail and how to go about researching into them before making a final decision. I now have lots of thinking to do about which projects to go for.. Off to email a potential supervisor! - Lyndsey Wright

#BSproject - Dr Alan Cann

Again, not sure if I should take this as good news or bad news... :-s - Jasper Estranero

Message from Dr Tata re concerns about missing lectures and not covering material: "It is not possible at present to say whether lectures will be scheduled after Easter but that might be possible. If some topics are not covered then the exam assessment would reflect that." - Lyndsey Wright

Just woken up after an afternoon snooze, just what I needed! I helped out at the Open Day this afternoon, was very nice to see all the interest in the courses offered here at Leicester. It has been an exciting week, module choices and project info is out. Having a hard time choosing between 2 modules- do I do another biochem module or do I do a genetics one? Hmmm... think I need some advice off my tutor! Really enjoying looking through the projects, another thing to discuss with my tutor. It's such a busy time of year with one thing and another and I have to admit, my energy levels are flagging. Not long til Easter so I can have a few days break and recharge- cant wait! - Lyndsey Wright

you'd better e-mail your tutor to make an appointment then - Dr Chris Willmott

Will do :D - Lyndsey Wright

Just had a go and it seems to be down for me too - must be something going on at uni - Laura

Maybe its unexpected? They do usually let us know if there is going to be disruption but I;'m sure I haven't seen or heard anything :S - Lyndsey Wright

Please help :) - Lyndsey Wright

Maybe you could email the course convenor. If it's something that you can't get from googling I'm sure they won't mind. - Roisin Thomas

Spent most of the day today filming my #MB2050 video only to find that the font for most of the writing we had used was too small so need to redo most of it :S If only we'd have tested it before we shot it and maybe I wouldn't be feeling like I has wasted most of the day :( It's a learning experience I guess, just not a very nice one. On the other hand, this week has been considerably brightened by the presence of the bright thing in the sky people call "the Sun"! Life seems so much better now there is sun in the sky! I should hopefully finish my #BS2026 essay by the end of the weekend and I can then make a solid start on revision for the #BS2058 exam. That module hasn't been how I imagined it would be but it has started to get interesting now we are talking about actin and myosin which I find a lot more enjoyable than enzyme kinetics it has to be said! - Lyndsey Wright

Well its the end of another busy week. Not got much work due in because most of my deadlines are now in May but busy in the sense that they all take a long time to research, plan and then execute. I am currently looking at a couple the sessions that the SSDS run about essay writing because it seems so long since I had to write one so a refresher would be useful :) Got a nice 3 hour gap now that I am going to read some review articles for my Rett and ICF syndromes essay for genetics, I chose this one because it was something we quickly covered in lectures and I found quite interesting (also has some relevance to my summer project as it involves DNA methylation!) so its quite nice to pull lots of things together. Off to London this weekend so won't have much time to work so I had better get cracking! - Lyndsey Wright

Sorry for the lack of writing diary but it has been a manic few days! Finished the last of my #BS2026 labs today which is a little disappointing since there is no more playing around with Drosophila :( I have to admit, have enjoyed this mdule the most this semester but we still have the tutorials to look forward to which are very useful for the exam as the first question is all problem based like the tutorial :) Have made a good start on my #MB2050 ethics video- the script should be fully written in the next couple of days hopefully then filming next week :) Had a very interesting with one of my lecturers about the possibilty of giving annoymous feedback to convenors/lecturers throughtout the semester... Need to do some follow up to find out if there is a protocol in place for this to happen. Lots to do and so little time- must keep organised! - Lyndsey Wright

First of all, Happy Valentine's Day one and all :) Just found out I'm on the pass list so I'm happy! It's good to know that the work I've put in last semester has paid off and one lot of exams have been successful! Going to enjoy the rest of my day off by finishing off reviewing my notes from last week (didn't really understand lodscores very much so going to hit the textbooks and work through a few examples! #BS2026) before writing the introduction to my TB report #MB2050 :) Hope you all are having a wonderful day :) - Lyndsey Wright

congratulations.!! - Paskuwal Kosalie Mendis

Thank you :) - Lyndsey Wright

Cannot believe it is Thursday already.. This week has flown past (must be having fun!) Had a huge gap today so spent it doing a huge chunk of research for my #MB2050 report on TB- the stats about it are rather shocking: one person dies of TB every 18s and somebody contracts it every 4s. The research on new drugs and vaccines is extremely interesting though, the WHO Stop TB campaign particularly. Trying to get as much research as possible done early on- it isn't due in til after Easter but I'll need to revise then so trying to be a bit organised. The CABS talk yesterday was also worthwhile. I didnt attend the whole event but what I did see was very insightful :) Thanks Dr Willmott for organising it :) - Lyndsey Wright

Stand Out Week is a joint Union-Student Development campaign that aims to give you the edge in the highly competitive graduate job market. The Stand Out campaign highlights opportunities which will empower you to set yourself apart from other students. Taking part in activities such as work experience, extra-curricular activities and volunteering can really bolster your applications and help you to develop important employability skills. - Lyndsey Wright

What an exciting week so far and it's only Monday! Had a meeting with my personal tutor and my research supervisor for my summer research project. Everything is now signed and will be in the post by 3pm this afternoon :) Last week was also an interesting week, I take back everything I had previously said about the video project for #MB2050. After having the intro lecture into what we need to do, it doesn't feel so overwhelming and I am actually quite looking forward to it. It is nice to get back into the routine of uni life- I have Monday's off which is very useful for getting a solid chunk of work done. Today I have finished off my practical write up and tutorial questions and I am now going to make a start on next weeks tutorial questions while it is quiet. If I have time< I'm going to do some reseach into my #BS2056 essay; it isn's due til after Easter but would prefer it not to be hanging over me :) Just hoping this motivation lasts into the term when the work piles up! - Lyndsey Wright

I need to get mine sorted quick!! ahhhh 6 days 6 days! It took me forever to decide between biochemistry or microbiology! - Dammy

The essay topics look interesting too.. May make a start early on while the workload isn't too bad. - Lyndsey Wright

Intravenous drip? - Dr Alan Cann from iPhone

I'm hoping there will be a break in the lab session, there usually is. It's a shame the practical schedule isn't on BB else I could take a quick peek to see what we're doing and plan ahead. Toastie is the MSB cafe I think :) - Lyndsey Wright