Starting things but then failing to fully complete them: a topic close to the heart of many academics #LifeOfPI
We are not alone
TIL at #EMBOat60 that when RNApolII starts chugging along a gene, 9 times out of 10 it will not make it to the end to generate a full transcript #LifeOfRNAPolII
A great talk from Steve West (the Exeter one) on mechanisms that control unproductive transcription
Nick Lane presents #EMBOat60 with exciting data about chemical reactions that could explain the origin of life. This talk was a most excellent use of ten minutes of my life. Check out Nick's book "Transformer"* on this topic.
*not about Lou Reed
Wisdom from one of my scientific heros, Ottoline Leyser, at #EMBOat60 yesterday
Overly-narrow criteria for success fuel anxiety, inhibit creativity, and crush the joy out of science.
She points out that "Groundbreaking' is an analogy from the building trade.. the first step before carefully putting one brick on top of another.
If you only fund groundbreaking research then you might only end up with lots of small holes in the ground.
TIL at #EMBOat60 that sperm have many mitochondria, but all of them have eliminated their genomes
That's one reason all your mitochondria come from your mum. I previously assumed this was only because eggs are bigger than sperm
Hansong Ma uses drosophila to show uniparental mitochondrial inheritance is important for fitness
She suggests we thank our mums for our mitochondria, but also thank our dads for taking a lot of trouble to make sure we don't mess this process up.
I learned such a lot in only 10 mintes from Olivier Hamant's talk at #EMBOat60
* Plant cells are under the same pressure as a bottle of champagne!
* Water can be a morphogen!
* And most importantly: efficiency is the enemy of robustness, and not only in biology. Read Olivier's manifesto on this topic here: https://tracts.gallimard.fr/products/tracts-n-50-antidote-to-the-cult-of-performance-robustness-of-nature
I'm on a looooong train journey to Germany for #EMBOat60. Anyone else going?
My German-themed playlist is predictably cosmic š
... but maybe I should venture beyond the 1970s. Suggestions welcome @steveroyle @SteveRuss
Sally Lowell