Here is a fun list of things that you are most likely to lose to light-fingered colleagues or nocturnal ghosts of academia. The emphasis here is on fun, so as disclaimers often go, if your experience proved somewhat different, this list “does not represent the actions of every individual or ghost who you might encounter [...]

If you already spend all day hanging out with other scientists, the last thing you might feel like doing is joining a professional scientific society. With today’s shrinking budgets, you might also start to question whether this line on your CV is worth the membership dues. However, joining societies has many career benefits in addition [...]

“Science” and “rap” are not the two words I expected to find in one sentence. How very small-minded of me. Much to my surprise I discovered that in 2010 Bitesize Bio had a BioPop Rap Battle between nationally-recognized Tom McFadden and a relative newcomer, Science Rapper. In this epic battle between the Cassius Clay and [...]

It is with some regret, but much optimism for the future that we announce that BitesizeBio.com will cease to produce further articles and videos for biologists at the end of this month. We have been in business producing fantastic content to help scientists at the bench since 2007 and have grown our audience tantalisingly close to [...]

So you worked hard in the lab for all all of those years. You endured failed experiments, committees, over-bearing supervisors, thesis writing and thesis defending. And for what? Well, who knows? But no matter where your PhD takes you in life, you can always rely on one thing:  you can call yourself “Dr” whenever you [...]

Logically and statistically, a lab romance (= a romantic relationship between members of one lab) should not work. Most relationships fail sooner, rather than later and working in the same lab will be extremely awkward after the split, which is rarely amicable. And even when the lab romance does work becoming a long term relationship, [...]

A new year has arrived! After the ordeal of Christmas lunches and pretending that you liked that photo frame made from seashells, it is time to return to the lab and get ready for another series of ordeals in the coming months. Here are a few things that are on my mind at the beginning [...]

About thirteen years ago, a group of science journalists gathered in a darkened lab at Rice University in Houston, Texas. The lights went off, and the participants took turns donning a clunky helmet with darkened visor. By moving the right thumb, each helmet-wearing reporter suddenly was whisked down the middle of protein ribbon, twisted through [...]

I’ve always liked December, mainly because Christmas and my birthday fall in that month. But this December we are also celebrating moving into the Rolls-Royce of office spaces, at Nine, The BioQuarter in Edinburgh (photo above). This puts us right in the heart of the bioscience community in Edinburgh and turns the Scottish Centre for Regenerative [...]

Everybody seems busy nowadays, and for many of us, this results in stress. Scientific research in particular is a highly stressful occupation. Perhaps in reaction to this phenomenon, more and more scientists are starting to explore the biological aspects of stress. Since there’s a good chance that you will run into stressful situations in your [...]