Research Stay

IBQ. Argelia Cervantes Ovalle, Master's student of our lab left today to Charleston, WV, USA to carry out part of her thesis work for six months at the laboratory of Dr. David  Huber, Professor, Department of Biology, West Virginia State University, Institute, USA. 

Our thanks to Dr. David Huber for accepting Argelia at his lab and for all his help in making her research stay possible.

Our best wishes to Argelia for a fruitful and productive stay in terms of learning and research with Dr. David Huber and hope her efforts will strengthen collaboration between our labs.

LAB interpretation

"Here, we describe a bacterium, strain GFAJ-1 of the Halomonadaceae, isolated from Mono Lake, California, that is able to substitute arsenic for phosphorus to sustain its growth." for me, this means GFAJ-1 can live with Arsenic instead of Phosphorus, or not?

Natalia's Visit: Thank you!!!

Our laboratory was privileged again to see Natalia Montenegro, our colleague and friend. Currently she is in her second year of a master degree in biotechnology at West Virginia State University, along with our dearest friends Cheve and Aldo (Hi! guys), Natalia is part of Dr. David Huber's Lab, and is currently working whit Anaerobic Digestion.
Through a series of photographs, recalling her stay in our school and in our lab, explaining the lasts results of her projects and admiring some landscapes of the city where she lives now, she shared with us her experiences about getting a grand, and also her insight about the opportunities and challenges for Mexican students.
Among other things she told us that when there are something you really want, you should not stop trying, and that a consistent and timely preparation is the key to success in the entrance test. Finally, she concluded that despite the hard work you always have to keep smiling and because at the very end, the attitude is everything. Besides, we enjoy a very tasteful cake cause Ale's B-Day, congratulations to her!!
We're really grateful to Natalia, and waiting for her to come back soon. Cheve and Aldo are welcome to talk to us about their own experiences too, or even so, you can send us a video guys!!!

Atte. Ale & Emilio

Ya caigo (creo)

Luego de haber escuchado diversas explicaciones de los mismo, siempre me parecía confuso el verdadero significado. Explicado desde diferentes trincheras, el término me parecía ocioso. Yo no le veía sentido y mucho menos pensar en explicarle a alguien más el porque. ¡Y es que creo que tengo la respuesta!

Me refiero a ¿por qué el título PhD? Sí, sí unas palabras raras que en español vendrían siendo Doctor en Filosofía, pero porque filosofía? ¿Qué tiene de filosófico estudiar aún cuando puedes conseguir trabajo con el conocimiento que tienes? ¿Qué tan filosófico es crear conocimiento? Me parece que todo depende del individuo y precisamente ahí la tácita respuesta. Sin embargo me gustaría compartir un video explicativo, pues son pensamientos ilustrativos que me parecen simplemente complicados de explicar en un blog.

Sería como dudar del conocimiento existente o inexistente, tirar al diablo la facilidad del conformismo y aventurarse a la libertad del descubrimiento  de más conocimiento.

Vielen Dank Sarahí !!!

Yesterday, we were fortunate that our colleague Sarahí L. Garcia could share with our group a bit of the work that she is doing at the University of Jena in Germany. Besides that, Sarahí shared with us her experience of studying in the U.S. and Germany, the way she applied for her doctorate scholarship & other things. We appreciate the time that you take to visit us Sarahí, Vielen Dank !!!

The Great Dictator

I LOVE THIS SHORT SCENE FROM "THE GREAT DICTATOR", how true is the reallity exposed by Chaplin? I PERSONALLY NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE, IT's AMAZING¡¡¡

Some of the most liked quotes:

- Soldiers! Don't give yourselves to these brutes who despise you, enslave you; who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think and what to feel! Who drill you, diet you, treat you like cattle and use you as cannon fodder!

- You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure.

- Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give youth a future and old age a security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie! They do not fulfil that promise. They never will! Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people!

- MORE THAN MACHINERY, WE NEED HUMANITY, MORE THAN CLEVERNESS, WE NEED KINDNESS AND GENTLENESS!!!

ANGER

Yesterday, I experienced a human feeling often associated with something negative, the worst sensations in human behavior: ANGER, well in fact it was almost king of RAGE. The reasons, of course are personal, however, this event has make me reflect on the nature of anger, according to Jezova et al., (1995) rage occurs when oxytocin, vasopressin, and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) are rapidly released from the hypothalamus. This results in the pituitary gland producing and releasing large amounts of the adrenocorticotropic hormone, which causes the adrenal cortex to release corticosteroids. The most amazing thing that I found was that oxytocin and vasopressin were related to anger, if oxytocin is mostly of the times called the "love hormone" and vasopressin, which is related to increase the blood pressure (now I realize, why I felt that my blood was boilling meanwhile I was playing my "rage-scene" (not-proud)), but related too, like CRH, to human behavior... so... Is this anger or rage, natural or common in human beings? Or is another i-dont-like inheritance of our pre-humans ancesters which we try to avoid?

I don't know, maybe is a non-desirable feeling, but... In fact is a feeling, that make us humans, am I right? Is like happiness and sadness... no?

Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.
Mark Twain

Anger is one of the sinews of the soul.
Thomas Fuller

Finalmente... ¿indignados mexicanos???

Hoy en la mañana me sorprendió ver por primera vez una protesta física en el Congreso del Estado contra el endeudamiento de Coahuila, y en cierta manera en contra de la clase política mexicana... y a parte con máscaras de Guy Fawkes.

De acuerdo a las noticias, estos indignados son artístas locales, antitaurinos y estudiantes, los cuales protestaron en contra del endeudamiento del estado, el incremento de los impuestos y las corridas de toros.

Me pregunto si algún día llegaremos a ver un "Occupy Bolsa Mexicana de Valores"

Por cierto, a la gente que está en favor de las corridas de toros: eso NO ES ARTE, NO ES CULTURA.

A todos los demás... disminuyamos o eliminemos nuestros consumos de carne (esas tambien son vidas).

Madame Curie

Joyeux 144eme Anniversaire, Madame Curie¡¡¡

Como estudiante, la vida de Marie Curie siempre me ha parecido fascinante, si no hubiera existido Marie Lavoissiere, consideraría llamarle la Madre de la Química a esta polaco-francesa, doble ganadora del Nobel, primera profesora de la Soborna en París, con motivo de su cumpleaños, quiero postear estos dos artículos que ví en el NYT ayer, el primero, muy interesante (algo que ya hemos comentado en el Lab) sobre el desinterés del estudio de las Ciencias Exactas; y los otros dos, sobre el rol de la mujer en la ciencia (que mejor manera de honrar a Madame Curie) y el status de ésta (donde éstan las mujeres en la Ciencia), por increible que parezca, jejeje están enfocadas en la Biología, haber que piensan mis compañeras sobre ésto:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/education/edlife/why-science-majorschange-their-mind-its-just-so-darn-hard.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=general

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/education/edlife/closing-the-girl-gap-in-science.html?_r=1&ref=edlife

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/education/edlife/where-the-women-are-biology.html?ref=edlife

The real 5th of November

Remember, remember the fifth of November,
The gunpowder treason and plot,
I know of no reason
Why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot...

Really, this is one of my top 5 movies... V of Vendetta. Why? 'Cause I love dystopias, besides, there's Natalie Portman on it.

But, what many of us didn't know is the true behind the identity of this popular mask ... Guy Fakes... is this guy for real? does he try to blow up the british parliament? The answer for both questions is... YES.

On 5th November 1605 a York man, Guy Fawkes, was discovered about to ignite 36 barrels of gunpowder underneath the Houses of Parliament. His aim was to spark a Catholic revolution.

Fawkes was born in York in 1570, probably at a house in Stonegate. He was baptised in St Michael le Belfrychurch on April 13. His father Edward, a church lawyer and a prominent Protestant in the city, died when Guy was only eight years old.

His mother remarried, to a Catholic, and they moved to the village of Scotton, near Knaresborough. Fawkes’ schooling continued in York, at St Peter’s. His schoolmates included brothers John and Christopher Wright, who were later destined to join the gunpowder plot. Christopher, or ‘Kit’, was the same age as Guy Fawkes.

In the 1570’s and 80’s York was a centre of the Catholic resistance. About the time that Fawkes himself converted he would have been aware of a particularly brutal example of the religion’s suppression. In 1586 Margaret Clitherow was publicly executed for protecting Priests in her home.

As an adult Fawkes inherited property in York, at Gillygate and Clifton. But on his 21st birthday he sold his estate and enlisted in the Catholic Spanish army. He spent his next ten years fighting for Spain, becoming commander of a unit of soldiers and an expert in explosives. In Madrid Fawkes met up again with Kit Wright and they joined a group of conspirators, who together plotted to murder King James and replace him with a Catholic monarch.

The plan was audacious and brutal. The plotters hired a cellar under Parliament and smuggled in the barrels of gunpowder. Fawkes stood guard. It was his role to light the fuse, then head to Flanders to raise forces who would join in the Catholic uprising in England.

After his arrest Guy was tortured. His school-fellows, John and Kit Wright, died in November 1605 when they were caught with other conspirators at Holbeche House in Staffordshire.

Then, in January 1606, Guy Fawkes himself was put to death in Westminster by hanging, drawing and quartering. His remains were sent to the four corners of the Kingdom as a warning to other plotters.

Will there be a real modern Guy Fakes out in our complicated time?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBadSmt2CIY