• Question: have you learnt anything new through being a scientist?

    Asked by mickii to Judith, Gemma, Diana, Akshat, Aime on 14 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Gemma Sharp

      Gemma Sharp answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      I’ve learnt loads of new things through being a scientist! You get to learn new skills you might not expect to learn through science, like writing, presenting, IT, and even social skills (believe it or not… most people might not think that scientists are very sociable, but we are! and we have to be to meet other scientists at conferences and things).

      I’ve also learnt lots about science too. I think if you do a PhD in something you become a world expert on that subject, so I’m on my way to becoming a world expert on child birth! That’s a pretty good feeling.

      In terms of my work, I’ve found that if I add a chemical to some uterus (womb) cells then a protein called ERK changes into a different form. That’s something no-one else has ever found before in uterus cells (because no-one else has probably ever looked!). It might sound small, but I think anything you find that’s completely new and no-one else has ever found before is pretty exciting…

    • Photo: Judith McCann

      Judith McCann answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      Gemmas right and I’d say the same, the skills you pick up are really helpful. Being able to explain what your trying to do is really important in research, and to all kinds of people. I guess we talk alot about science 🙂 to our supervisors, people within our group, scientists outside, and students like you!

      I think, aside from knowing more about polymers and the body, I am for better now at organising myself and my time than I was before!!

    • Photo: Aimé Fournier

      Aimé Fournier answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      In my PhD thesis I learned that certain big multi-national weather patterns can persist a long time in one spot on the map because certain other little regional patterns interact with the big ones in a certain way. The patterns are called “vortices” and they can give or take kinetic energy (that means “motion” energy) and vorticity (that means “swirliness”, sort of) to or from other vortices. After my PhD I mainly worked on computation methods, which aren’t so easy to explain as vortices are 😛

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