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Best house-warming gift.
Ever.
Period.
Well, periodic, really...
Along with the fantastic wine, flowers and chocolates, we now have a fabulous periodic table shower curtain (Thanks Tom)! OK, we've all seen periodic table mugs and T-shirts, but a shower curtain of the elements - I didn't know such things existed...
What other periodic table paraphernalia have you come across - and can anybody beat a shower curtain!?
Stuart
Stuart Cantrill (Senior Editor, Nature Nanotechnology)
As you may have noticed (and some of you have commented on), The Sceptical Chymist has recruited a range of guest bloggers. Although NPG editors will continue to contribute, we wanted to add some new voices that can offer different perspectives on chemistry and describe their experiences from within (or beyond) the chemistry community. The team is as follows:
Materials Girl: In her own words, 'a wide-eyed undergraduate student who rambles on about anything university and [ultimately] chemistry-related that strikes her fancy'.
Sugar Daddy: A fourth year graduate student working in a chemical biology lab doing research that involves a 'little bit of synthesis, little bit of biology'.
Prospective Professor: A postdoc on the hunt for an academic position.
Rookie Rocky: Hubert is a brand new assistant professor facing up to the challenges of the job, including what it means to sit in the front row at seminars!
10 Miles from Academia: Jeff Johannes - a medicinal chemist at a major pharmaceutical company in the Boston area - offers us a different perspective on breakthroughs in chemistry.
Confessions of a former chemist: Even further away from academia, Mushy is a PhD-chemist who left it all behind to go and work in IT in the City of London, but still has a soft spot for all things chemistry.
So, there you go, an undergrad, a grad, a postdoc, an assistant prof, an industrial chemist and an ex-chemist - we hope you enjoy reading.
Stuart
Stuart Cantrill (Senior Editor, Nature Nanotechnology)
Posted on behalf of Materials Girl
These are 'stolen' from a good friend of mine who proves that chemists can be witty, too! My Facebook page - yes, that infernal, horrendous, time-wasting network - is well-stocked with his quotes. The second limerick is probably the best I've ever read.
--
There once was a fellow from Stowles
Who bred cockroaches, rabbits, and voles
Asked how he could keep track
Of this prolific pack
He replied "I just count them in moles."
--
A Chemist, gone mad with distraction
Hurled into the sea his reaction.
To atone for this loss
He was made by his boss
To recover it via extraction.
--
Can anyone out there do any better?
[Editor's note: first it was haiku... now limericks, what next?!!]
1. What made you want to be a chemist?
I actually wanted to be a scientist from a young age, and had early flirtations with zoology and physics. However, my father was responsible for my conversion to chemistry; he bought me some books on chemistry and a big bag of sulfur, then turned a blind eye to the resulting noxious vapours that emerged from the tool shed.
2. If you weren't a chemist and could do any other job, what would it be - and why?
I guess there are two other areas that interest me. I love reading, so owning a bookshop has always been an attractive idea. I've also found the ins and outs of running a small business fascinating (my father's influence again).
3. How can chemists best contribute to the world at large?
I'm sure chemistry's best contribution will come from an unexpected area, so diversity in research is essential. However, I think improving human health and lifespan will continue to be a primary concern for society. The rapid increase in our knowledge of cellular chemistry offers great opportunities for chemists in this area, and there will be a need to create new classes of highly specific drugs and biomaterials for an aging society. Finally, improving public understanding and perceptions of science is a great challenge for all scientists, including chemists.
4. Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with - and why?
I've become interested in the life of Ernest Rutherford since recently discovering that he used to live close by in south Manchester. I would like to know how he felt about his transition from resident of small town New Zealand to one of the great researchers of the modern age.
5. When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab - and what was it?
Unfortunately I don't have the opportunity to work in the lab very often; it is certainly something I miss. My last experiment was about 3 months ago, testing an experimental procedure that I'd suggested for a schools' liaison event. Pushing my diminishing experimental skills to the limit, I produced several grams of copper carbonate.
6. If exiled on a desert island, what one book and one CD would you take with you?
I'd take a nice thick history book, probably on Ancient Rome (a current passion), along with "Discofreakout", a compilation of 70s' disco hits. After finishing the book, I would burn it to attract passing ships.
Simon Webb is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Manchester, UK, and uses chemistry to mimic aspects of biological systems, particularly the structure and function of biological membranes.
In case you've been lax in your chemistry-doing this week - get to it! It's National Chemistry Week, after all!
The theme for this year is 'the many faces of chemistry,' which seems to actually refer to the many different careers that chemists have. People often think that being an editor is a pretty unusual job for a chemist, but at least we still spend our time thinking about science even if we're not doing actual experiments. Surely there are more unusual ways people are using their chemistry talents - what interesting jobs do you all have or want that would benefit from having a chemistry background?
Catherine (associate editor, Nature Chemical Biology)
Good news - our November issue has gone live. This one has a nice orange and black cover in time for Halloween, but more importantly, has some interesting science, including a story of sulfur sitting on a sugar sidechain, a synthesis of a smelly Streptomyces shape, and a saga about small signalling structures starting S-guanylation. We also announce some changes to the journal in our editorial; the most significant, perhaps, is that we will no longer be publishing Letters starting in 2008.
The issue also includes a commentary that talks about the intersection of science and art. In particular, David Goodsell is a practicing professor who creates artwork that, by faithfully capturing the molecular details of biomolecules, and their concentrations, locations, and functions, provides new insights into the workings of biological systems.
Along those same lines, I have been thinking recently about how people really internalize an understanding of different chemical and biological systems. Since (like many people, I assume) I learned about biology by looking at drawings that show a small nucleus and a couple of folds of the ER in a vast, otherwise empty cytosol, my first response to Dr. Goodsell's images is always, 'Gosh, it's so crowded in there!' A friend also recently passed along this YouTube video of people recreating protein synthesis in an elaborate outdoor dance (and, of course, there's always the integrin dance which I discussed a long time ago). Finally, I will never forget an organic professor I had who taught us about the relative flexibility of 5-membered rings vs. 6-membered rings by linking his arms together at various points and flapping them all around. What explanations or images have stuck with you guys such that you will never forget about 'random science thing X'? Or - what topics need to have their own imagery/dance/art to help you understand/remember how the process works?
Catherine (associate editor, Nature Chemical Biology)
I only have time for a quick post, as I'm about to run off to a meeting - but I was in a baby gear/toy store yesterday, and I'm sorry to report that the children's chemistry sets were in the "Science & Magic" section.
That pairing really threw me for a loop - I guess any sufficiently advanced technology really is indistinguishable from magic...
Joshua
Joshua Finkelstein (Senior Editor, Nature)
1. What made you want to be a chemist?
It’s not really a 'what', more a 'who'. My high school teacher, Mr Corkhill, who was so passionate about chemistry, he'd snarl and growl at us if we got a question wrong. His passion rubbed off on a few of us, and hence an unremarkable high school in the north of England seems to have generated quite a few graduate chemists.
2. If you weren’t a chemist and could do any other job, what would it be - and why?
If I'm allowed to lapse into fantasy, I'd like to play American football for the New York Giants - I've followed them passionately for the last twenty years after watching them one night when I was thirteen. A complete lack of ability in that direction means a more realistic answer would be a primary school teacher, something I've always wanted to do. I just enjoy teaching, especially the little ones. I tried working in science policy but it’s not for me - wearing a suit and tie (what’s the point of a tie?), going to meetings for the sake of it, clocking in, clocking out, fifteen minutes breaks, etc. I felt like I was being left behind and realised I needed to get back to a bench. I lasted five months then I got my lectureship.
3. How can chemists best contribute to the world at large?
Wow - not sure I can answer that - everything we touch and use is driven by innovative chemistry - new materials, new drugs, new technology. Each chemist thinks their own area is the key one - or they wouldn't be doing it.
4. Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with - and why?
My first thought was Edgar Allan Poe. Anyone that dark, moody and brooding must be fascinating company. Then I realised he'd just sit there being dark, moody and brooding, so I actually think Lawrence Taylor, ex-linebacker of the New York Giants. I always wanted to call my first child 'Taylor', which my wife thought was a nice name, until she realised that Taylor was a 6'4" 17 stone ex-drug addict who got paid to beat people up, so I have to rethink that.
5. When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab - and what was it?
According to my lab book, a month ago, which is quite a while ago - I'm usually in the lab once a week. I was phase-transferring some quantum dots from toluene to water for a biologist.
6. If exiled on a desert island, what one book and one CD would you take with you?
My bad music taste is legendary (Level 42, Enya, UB40, etc…), but I'm sticking to my guns, and my favourite album is Roachford's first self entitled album. As for books, I have a stack of comfort books by my bed, ones I can pick up and read anytime - and they're quite varied (Henry V, Wuthering Heights, His Dark Materials, Critical Mass by Philip Ball, Emergence by Steven Johnson) any of which would do, but at the moment, I'm fascinated with Freakonomics, a real eye opener.
Mark Green is in the Department of Physics at King's College London, UK, and works on the synthesis of new nanomaterials, especially for biological applications.
Posted on behalf of the Rookie Rocky
Chemical biology is certainly one of the fast-growing fields these days, and has become an eye-catching term. The sheer fact that high-profile journals and departments have named or renamed themselves with this phrase demonstrates the promise and potential of this interdisciplinary study. Naturally, it is not surprising to see more and more chemical biologists emerging above the horizon. Though what does chemical biology really concern? The best answer may be "it depends”. According to my humble understanding, it could cover anything that is relevant to chemistry and/or biology. However, sometimes, the categorization may affect your career development to some extent - especially to a person who just launched his/her career, this explanation becomes rather crucial. The culture of chemistry is distinct from the one of biology: in chemistry, new investigators tend to start in a different field from their previous work, while many biologists carry on projects started with former senior co-workers. What are you supposed to do if you feel that you are standing right on the borderline? To modernize Hamlet a bit: "To study chemistry or biology, that is the question." Again, the best answer may be "it depends”. It certainly depends on the people on your tenure committee, the journals to which you send your manuscripts, and the study groups that review your grants. Just like many things in life, being vague might not be a bad strategy.
(ed’s note: we at Nature Chemical Biology have also thought about these issues. Check out this editorial for more.)
[Editor's note: another guest blogger has joined our team...]
-------------
Posted on behalf of the Prospective Professor:
After eleven years of being entrenched in higher education, I am finally making a break for it. It’s my big moment to chase my wildest professional dreams! Yes, I am looking for my first job… But instead of being deterred after many years of late night studying, failed and repeated (and repeated and repeated) experiments and even after writing that several hundred page thesis (ugh!) I find myself overwhelmingly drawn to the world in which I have been trained. That’s right, I plan to be a professor.
I am currently a post-doc working in a chemical biology lab. Earlier this year, my advisor and I decided that I was ready to start the search for my independent position. Since then, I have attempted to gather as much information as possible about the academic job search process. Despite my best efforts, I’ve only been able to accumulate a collection of rumors, hearsay, and gossip. A few weeks ago, I was lamenting to a friend about the lack of information for those of use who have chosen to pursue a professorship, “Wouldn’t it have been helpful if someone had documented this whole crazy process??” Two days later, I got an email asking me to do just that. So, I hope that I will be able to offer some useful information, tips, and impressions as I make my way to the ultimate destination – a research laboratory of my own.
The first question to ask is: how do I find the open positions? I have been most dependent upon the job search engines available on the websites of a number of journals. For example, see Nature, Chemical & Engineering News, Science, and Cell. As far as I know, these sites post the same jobs that are printed at the back of each journal. However, the online postings appear up to a week before the print version. I have also used several other websites including ChemJobs and Academic Keys.
With each job posting, I was filled with both excitement and dread. I was simultaneously amazed at how many jobs I could apply for and terrified at the thought of attempting to decide which schools were the best fit for me. There are so many variables to consider, from the reputation and funding record of the department to the location and size of the university. And then there was that quiet (and often not-so-quiet) voice inside my head saying, “But what if you don’t get a job?! You must apply for ANYTHING and EVERYTHING!”
The rumor mill tells me that for every open position there can be from 100 to 1,000 (and possibly more??) applicants. So each of us must find the balance between having confidence in our academic record and being practical about the level of competition. I’ve heard rumors of people who have applied to more than 100 positions and I’ve also heard tales of the bold scientist that applied to only one. Personally, I feel a bit like I am playing the lottery. How many jobs do I have to apply for to guarantee that I will get an offer? Not surprisingly, I’ve concluded it’s rather difficult to play the odds when I have no idea what the odds are.
In the end, I have decided to apply only for the positions that I could actually see myself accepting. This might seem obvious, but trust me, that not-so-quiet voice can be rather difficult to drown out. For me, the magic number is 43. Only time will tell if I have correctly predicted the probably of success.
(ed's note: I also found the Chronicle of Higher Education helpful in my job searching.)
Lost amongst the hoopla of the Nobel Prize announcements last week, were the Feynman prizes for nanotechnology - awarded by the Foresight Nanotech Institute.
The experimental prize went to Sir Fraser Stoddart and, in an academic father-son type of thing, the theory prize went to David Leigh from the University of Edinburgh, who got his PhD in Stoddart's group back in the Sheffield days in the 80s. Communication and student prizes were also awarded - details can be found here.
Another nano-related prize has also been recently announced:
The International Society for Nanoscale Science, Computation, and Engineering (ISNSCE) is soliciting nominations for its annual Nanoscience Prize. The Nanoscience prize is given every year to recognize and encourage outstanding research in all areas of nanoscience. Go to www.isnsce.org and click on News for more information.
Not quite as financially rewarding as the new Kavli nanoscience prize, but yet more recognition for good nano-related research can't be a bag thing.
Stuart
Stuart Cantrill (Associate Editor, Nature Nanotechnology)
1. What made you want to be a chemist?
At first I was interested in process engineering, more in particular in ways how to increase efficiency, to make industrial processes cleaner and decrease pollution. After a while I got fascinated by all the chemistry behind this and decided to continue in that direction. During my major with Roeland Nolte, I 'sold my soul' when I for the first time felt the enormous excitement upon designing and synthesizing a new compound to find it had unique — and unexpected — properties.
2. If you weren't a chemist and could do any other job, what would it be - and why?
Probably a musician. Besides science, and my family now, music has always been a big passion for me. It is also a profession that needs the right combination of skills and creativity in order to be successful.
3. How can chemists best contribute to the world at large?
I think there are several themes of global concern to which chemists can contribute. Sustainability, of course, is very topical. New resources and catalytic processes are typical areas heavily connected to chemistry. But also the molecular understanding of processes in biology, more and more require the cross-disciplinary involvement of chemists. For example, the question ‘How does the brain work?’, without doubt needs the input of chemists to get closer to an answer.
4. Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with – and why?
Leonardo da Vinci, likely the first multi-disciplinary scientist and artist. If someone who was born over 550 years ago still manages to inspire so many people, they must be truly an exceptional person.
5. When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab - and what was it?
Occasionally, I help out others with certain measurements. The last time I really have set up and performed an experiment, it was the purification of some virus capsid protein materials about 18 months ago.
6. If exiled on a desert island, what one book and one CD would you take with you?
That is a difficult question, I can not recall ever having read the same book twice. So it will have to be a book I have not read yet and there are so many... At this moment Muse – Absolution, is in my CD player, so I might take that one, but if I am in a different mood later it could also be Mozart or Metallica. Anyway, I am not the most patient person, I am a pretty good swimmer and one of my advisors once told me that you have to be willing to go for the impossible...
Jeroen Cornelissen is in the Institute for Molecules and Materials at the Radboud University Nijmegen in The Netherlands and works on hybrid materials of biopolymers and synthetic macromolecules, and on virus capsids as new reactors.
Mentions of nanotechnology in the popular press always interest me, but I wasn't expecting this one: what do the England football team and nanotechnology have in common?
Well, the answer (which, to be fair, is quite contrived) can be found on page 94 of the Times today, in a story written by Martin Samuel.
The story opens with a simple statement:
There are many things that can be done with a spare 201 minutes.
Then follows a list of suggestions, some of them quite appealing (to me at least), such as watching Peter Jackson's 'The Return of the King', and some of them not so, such as travelling from Plymouth station to Birmingham New Street - presumably by train, but that is left for the reader to assume.
My favourite however, is this suggestion:
The more scientifically minded may wish to attend a seminar entitled Computational Nanotechnology: Multiscale Modeling of Nanomaterials, by Kyeongjae Cho, of Stanford University, lasting 3hr 21min precisely.
So, what does this have to do with the England football team? Well, 201 minutes is, for all you Americans out there who love these sports statistics, the average length of time between goals scored by Michael Owen for England, when partnered with Wayne Rooney. Who knew!?
Contrived, yes, but where else will you find a story about Owen and Rooney that uses that kind of analogy - priceless!
Stuart
Stuart Cantrill (Associate Editor, Nature Nanotechnology)
Well, I guess you’ve all heard the news by now that Gerhard Ertl has won the Nobel Prize in chemistry this year. This is, in my opinion, a thoroughly deserved award, which recognizes Ertl’s achievements in surface chemistry. He is one of the fathers of the area, famous for his seminal work on hydrogen adsorption to metal surfaces, the mechanism of the Haber-Bosch process and the oxidation of carbon monoxide on platinum. The Nobel Prize website has an excellent summary of his work here.
So did any of you predict the result? Top marks must surely go to Paul at ChemBark, who did indeed include Ertl on his shortlist of possible winners. I imagine all eyes will be on ChemBark next year for more top tips.
Of course, no Nobel prize can go by without some controversy, and some people are questioning why Gabor Somorjai (who was jointly awarded the Wolf Prize for chemistry with Ertl in 1998) wasn’t also honoured. But then again, the Nobel judges always seem to come in for criticism – I remember in previous years they were knocked for including too many winners…
I’ll be curious to see how much coverage the chemistry prize gets in the national press. The prize for medicine certainly attracted a lot of attention in the UK (but of course, one of the prizewinners was a Brit). The physics prize seems to have had less coverage, despite being branded as “The Physics of the iPod”. This year’s chemistry prize has perhaps the most obvious real-world relevance of recent Nobel awards for the subject - but will that be enough to inspire the press?
Andy
Andrew Mitchinson (Associate Editor, Nature)
Posted on behalf of Materials Girl
***This is the final part of a three-post series
Being a chemist is not the only thing that evokes an "Oh!” or “Wow..." response – so does being an upperclassman still living in the dorms. We are swamped with freshmen and sophomores, and it has become an internal game for me to single out the new students. They tend to be more talkative and wide-eyed, not to mention garbed in trendy, clique-d, or "fashionable" attire from high school. Perhaps it is imagination, but they also seem to have an aura of being lost.
Still, it is not my place to consider myself much better those younger students, even if I never had problems with drastic change and separation anxiety. In a fleeting two years, my graduating class has progressed from being in their place, and in another two some of us will be there again. Like the current undergrad "noobs"*, I will have to find my place in a new, graduate circle and attempt to find out what to do with myself in the academic world. Ultimately, we all leave the stressful, but relatively safe, bubble of academia and plunge headlong into a new career.
How did you start, through what have you progressed, and to where are you heading?
*Internet lingo for a newcomer. From "newbie" to "newb" to "noob". :)
1. What made you want to be a chemist?
From the first moment I studied chemistry at school, I was hooked. I think it was the order and logic of the subject that appealed to me – the way that even at an early level you could take a few simple “knowns” or principles and extrapolate them to new reactions or phenomena. I certainly had no grand plan at that age to make a career from it – there are no scientists in the family – I just kept enjoying studying the subject from one level to the next. I feel fortunate to have a career doing something I enjoy and feel passionate about.
2. If you weren't a chemist and could do any other job, what would it be - and why?
Any arena where you get paid to indulge your hobby or interest qualifies as a dream job. As a boy, it would have been right wing for Manchester United, then as a teenager probably guitarist in a rock band. Given that a lack of innate talent coupled with advancing years seem to have kyboshed both of those, I’ll go for winemaker. I’m in awe of the skills of the growers and blenders, and naturally fascinated by the underlying chemical processes. I’m quite keen on the end product too.
3. How can chemists best contribute to the world at large?
This has been touched upon in the earlier posts, but I’d say that our biggest challenge is a social one, not a technological one. We seem to be in an age where many of the world’s ills (from global warming to scares over vaccinations) are being blamed on scientific/technological advance – largely fuelled by a popular media which is either scientifically illiterate or wilfully misrepresenting the facts in many cases. The scientific community has to contribute to the winning back of public confidence by better explaining publicly what we do, why we do it, and what the potential benefits (and risks) are. If we don’t, we endanger both future funding and the development of the next generation of science students.
4. Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with – and why?
Richard Feynman. A truly remarkable intellect who lived through most of the defining moments of the 20th Century (scientific and otherwise), he was also a polymath and entertainer. If I could pick a living person, Keith Richards – he ought to have a few interesting stories to tell, provided he could remember them. I suspect the dinner would be more liquid than solid.
5. When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab - and what was it?
Five years ago, trying to finish a short synthesis prior to a conference presentation after the postdoc on the project had to leave to take up a job. When the NMR spectrum of the product came back, the rest of the group circled ominously, sensing an opportunity to have some fun at my expense if the reaction had failed or the sample was dirty. As luck would have it, the spectrum was clean as a whistle, so I retired to my office with pride intact. I haven’t tempted fate by going back since!
6. If exiled on a desert island, what one book and one CD would you take with you?
I’m a bit of a vinyl/CD junkie, so just one CD is a tricky call. I take it iPods aren’t fair game? If not, then I’ll go for “Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea” by PJ Harvey – an eclectic enough album to keep me going for a few months at least. For my book I would take the first volume of Clive James’ autobiography, Unreliable Memoirs – a beautifully written description of a young boy growing up after his father’s death in the war that elicits tears of laughter and sympathy in equal measure.
Steve Marsden is in the School of Chemistry at the University of Leeds, UK, and works on the development of new synthetic methods and their application to the construction of complex bioactive molecules.
Posted on behalf of Materials Girl
***This is part two of a three-post series
The first day of classes also provides a form of benevolent entertainment. Specifically, spotting students anxiously studying maps and shiny new class planners, as they scurry across the campus' many acres. (After one quarter, I gave up on remembering to use a planner; instead, scheduling is primarily accomplished via phone and numerous Post-It notes. I've also discovered that getting lost on foot is easier than it seems).
Each term of each year in university has had its own challenges, as well as its unappreciated perks – mostly in the form of good professors. Unappreciated is the word, because undergrads typically just recognize that "those guys" are good teachers – or complain about the difficulty of their classes and the resulting loss of sleep. Rarely do they know that some of these individuals not only teach, but also run extensive research groups, publish groundbreaking scientific papers, and write for journals such as Science and Nature.
We take the knowledge and brilliance of many people for granted. (Those eccentric, strange-smelling professors roaming campus with disheveled clothing and starry expressions may not be quite as batty as they seem...). How often do others misjudge us? All that matters is that we strive to meet and rise above any high expectations that are set for our lowly, human selves...
Posted on behalf of Materials Girl:
***This is the first part of a three-post series
Less than two weeks ago, organized chaos descended on campus as 9,000 undergraduates relocated from their homes to the dormitories. Those of us who volunteered as Move-In Assistants (MIAs) came early in exchange for “slave labor”, providing a smooth transition for the incoming hordes by decorating, hauling, directing, etc.
An MIA's duties include giving shuttle tours for incoming families. This includes an inquiry of the incoming students' majors, which inevitably results in a nervous, energetic chorus of "Undeclared!", "Psychology!" or "English!" The mood is occasionally lifted by a dour proclamation of the intent to enter engineering, or even pre-med. Alas, it seems that the breed of chemists here is dying out in the wake of humanities, engineering, and – horrors – biochemistry!*
Stating my own major tends to draw blank expressions – we may as well be aliens from the planet Tetraphenylcyclopentadienone.** Freshmen, especially, seem to hold in awe anyone who studies any branch of chemistry, and others haven't a clue what materials science engineering even is.
Having not attended school in the traditional fashion, I am at a loss to guess why there exists a relatively small number of chemistry applicants arriving from high school. What are they teaching before university? Have the ranks of chemists always seemed few? Hopefully, that is just the case at this one California school, and the land of chemists thrives elsewhere...
*Seriously, they are all wonderful, but the ratio of biochemists and chemists is approximately 3:1 and feels like 100:1 – even less with materials chemists. The all-knowing *cough* Facebook search at my school lists a mere 13 Chem/Mat-Sci majors, two-thirds of which are grad students.
**C29H20O, because that was the first interesting compound I synthesized during freshmen year. (Nothing soothed my nerves more than seeing fine, beautiful, dark purple crystals appear out of an unfathomably dark solution). Plus, the name is just cool. Say "tetraphenylcyclopentadienone" ten times fast.
We are currently finishing up our next issue (to be sent off to the production team where it magically becomes a 'real' journal (i.e., one that you can hold in your hand and show to your mom)) and so for the past couple of days our eyes have constantly been on the calendar. In particular, at this time of the month, our thoughts change from something vague, like, 'did I remember to ask this scientist to write a review article for the journal' or 'how can I best explain that paper in a 200-word Research Highlight' to something more specific, like 'did we see the proofs of the Research Highlights yesterday' or 'did that author get back to us on whether her images were the wrong size,' etc.
Having such defined deadlines is great for keeping things organized, and it reminds me how hard it was for me to ever get anything done as a postdoc since there were few (if any) external deadlines. Am I the only one who needs structure? Or if you all similarly find the vague concept of 'needing to get things done' uninspiring, what are your tips and tricks for buckling down and getting something finished?
Catherine (associate editor, Nature Chemical Biology)
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