Work and Play!
I am working pretty hard - learnt how to design and optimise primers properly from Pierre, and in 12 days I have validated 2 pairs of primers from genes found upregulated in a previous microarray and have since gotten perfect efficiency curves for another 2 pairs - with another one pair running in the machine now. By the end of this week I plan to analyse all 9 sets of primers that arrived on Monday and identify which one of those we can use in our actual biomarker screen.I would be running out of genes to validate soon. Time to go back to the literature - and I have yet to figure out about tetraspanins. Argh. Have to talk to a bunch of people after I have an idea what is going on - prognostic markers and Hox genes and whatnot - should try to do that by the beginning of next week too.
And there seems to be a lot of ErbB2 going on - went for this talk today in which the guy talked about Tamoxifen resistence in BrCA patients; he has convincing experimental data suggesting that Tamoxifen recruits a co-repressor Pax2 to ER after binding, and Pax2 downregulation contributes to Tamoxifen resistence. These are interesting findings - so interesting that I feel that it is blog-worthy - because, from what I have been taught, Tamoxifen inhibits ER through competitive inhibition as it is just a form of oestrogen that doesn't work!
(N.B. Pax genes are developmental genes - sometimes they exist in pairs with another gene and the patterns of their mutual inhibition reflects morphogen input and thus dictates phenotype - e.g. in neural tube development.)
I am playing hard too. Went for formal last Friday, punting on Saturday, Oxford on Sunday; coming weekend - thinking of going to Ely probably; next weekend - Khian Hong and Chen Li should be going to London, contemplating whether to follow; confirmed air tickets for Dublin on 5 Jul - 6 Jul (Kenneth, Yunqin, Khian Hong, Chen Li, me) and looking for hostels; confirmed accommodation for Avignon and Marseille (for sushi and me) and now going to start searching for lavender tours - while watching EuroCup and House every night :P
I used to wonder why is it that exchange students to the US tend to go to more places compared to us who are resident there. Now I know why - because, when you actually stay there, you will have a million things to do over the weekend, in the evenings and during breaks to keep you occupied. But, when you are a summer student / exchange student, you don't - and thus, if you just stayed at home and chilled, you will find it a waste of time. So you will go somewhere.
StAG seems to have a bunch of interesting talks lined up in the next couple of Wednesday evenings - contemplating whether should go or not too. And King's evensong.
Haha oh well. Time to sleep... more work tomorrow!
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This one will sure bring back tonnes of memories:
Nothing can be found on the Internet. The song seems to have vanished.
Who are you my country
More than celebrations and tears
More than memories put together
Or the summing up of years -
I see you enduring all weathers
Sunshine and storm at your heart
In your face the lines ever changing
Tell the story where I have a part
You, my people, my home
Our lives defend and uphold
May the good we achieve, as one nation
Be shared with the world!
As a new chapter begins
From where we have come thus far
Once again may it be written
You are who we are
In you may we see ourselves
Your needs, your strengths, in us
That the work for freedom and peace
Is mine as much as ours
You, my people, my home
Our lives defend and uphold
May the good we achieve, as one nation
Be shared with the world!
Labels: Life
