Today was my second day in the lab and already I am feeling a lot more at home- I am getting to know people that I will be observing and helping the next month, and am better understanding the dynamics of the group of people working here. One thing in particular that I noticed today was the minuteness and attention to detail that is required in conducting this type of research. Although I had previously done clinical research, which also requires attention to detail (ie. making sure that you are correctly recording information from the chart), the type of detail that is required for this work is different. For example, I noticed that today, while performing microinjections of antisense DNA on rats, my mentor Kate was careful to make sure that that the pump that released the injection material was working correctly in between each of the rats that were receiving this treatment. Paying attention to detail is important in science, and doing so is essential to preventing errors and confounds in data that can be attributed to carelessness. Kate is also very diligent in recording any data that is taking during experiments, and the degree to which she does so is one that should inspire younger people who hope to have a similar career doing research. This is certainly something to keep in mind.
Coming tomorrow: Why addicts can't quit their drug, and why "willpower" is not the only factor one should consider. (If you love Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, then you probably already know part of this!)
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