When preparing images for publication, it is good practice to check how accessible they are for colour blind people. Using a simple bit of code, it is possible to check an image – or a whole figure – in ImageJ for accessibility. For example, Figure 1 from our recent paper. Originally looked like this: Using […]
Category: science
Alignment Zone: new paper on chromosome missegregation
We have a new paper out. It’s about how chromosomes get shared during cell division. The paper in a nutshell In science-speak Misaligned chromosomes outside the exclusion zone become ensheathed in multiple layers of endomembranes. This event consigns the chromosome to missegregation and generates a micronucleus. In normal language Cells can make mistakes when they divide. A […]
Line Up: Waffle plots for colocalisation data
Quantifying the degree of colocalisation of two signals in microscopy images is very tricky. Lots has been written on this topic, including in my book The Digital Cell. The focus of this post is on visualising colocalisation. One way to look at colocalisation is two think about two sets of objects and how many of […]
Pleased To Meet Me: returning to in-person meetings
In-person science meetings are returning. To the introverts and the carers, the time-poor and the cash-strapped, the climate-conscious and the travel-phobic, the visa-challenged and the real-coffee appreciators, we had our chance; but in-person science meetings are returning. It’s a sad fact that during the pandemic, we failed to make virtual events work as a complete […]
Don’t Let Go The Coat: new paper on clathrin assembly
A new paper means a new paper explainer. This post is all about our new paper on clathrin assembly. Some background info Endocytosis is the way that cells take up material from the outside world. The cell can make tiny vesicles that bud inwards from the cell surface and pinch off to travel inside the […]
Culture Move: new paper on integrin recycling and cell migration
We have a new paper out! This post is to describe what our paper is about. The paper is free to read, so please take a look if you are interested. Gabrielle Larocque, Daniel J. Moore, Méghane Sittewelle, Cansu Kuey, Joseph H.R. Hetmanski, Penelope J. La-Borde, Beverley J. Wilson, Nicholas I. Clarke, Patrick T. Caswell […]
Voice Your Opinion: naming your lab
There are perennial topics of discussion on Science Twitter. An example of this is: should figures be at the end of a manuscript are interspersed in the text. These topics tend not to be resolved because there are strong arguments (and personal preferences) on each side. I am not sure whether it is even possible […]
Rule of Three: advice on writing a PhD thesis
PhD students sometimes get the same bad advice on writing their thesis. I call this advice the Rule of Three. Typically, they get told that their thesis: Will take 3 months to write Should have 3 results chapters Should be 300 pages These bits of advice have one thing in common: they are all wrong. […]
The Rise and Fall: impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on bioRxiv preprints
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, different countries are experiencing various restrictions including lockdowns. Some of these restrictions alter our ability to do science: by hindering lab access or taking time away from researchers for homeschooling. So, what impact has the pandemic had on scientific output? One way to look at this – for biology – […]
Os Mutantes: an implausible naming system for SARS-CoV-2 mutants
The scientific response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been astounding. Aside from efforts to generate vaccines, the genomic surveillance of the virus has been truly remarkable. For example, the nextstrain project has sequence many SARS-CoV-2 genomes. In fact, the rapid identification of multiple new strains and mutations by diverse groups of scientists has resulted in […]