A Butterfly and Biotechnology

Dear readers, I apologize that I stopped writing since last year. I don't have any great excuse other than poor planning. I was lost on my way to understand marine biology. As you might be knowing, I switched field, moved from my focus over bacteria and human disease related studies to climate change and marine biology. However, my research focus continues to be in molecular biology. Long story short, I was learning all about climate change, ocean acidification, ocean, marine animals in the past year. I even learnt how to spawn and culture oysters. How cool is it? Not cool?! Well, I think it is cool!  I can setup mini Ocean acidification systems which mimics the future acidified ocean conditions; I even gained some plumbing related skills. This was totally a new experience and I thoroughly enjoyed it. However, I had a tough summer in a rural fishing village in China, learning how to grow oysters from the Chinese oyster farmers (for those who do not know what I am doing: I ...

It was 24th December I believe! I just saw the details of the Indian Academy of Fellowship only a week before the last date. I decided to apply for it and just applied in a hurry actually, yes, it was really a hurry! I was done with everything and sent the application. I was waiting for the release of selected list of candidates from the first of March. They updated the selection list everyday but my name was not on the list till 25th of March! I used to go to the IAS website everyday and check the list, but, my name was not there in the selected list of candidates. I lost all my hope and decided that I won't get selected. But, it happened! I received a mail from the Academy after 25th of March! I was happy to the core, jumping up and down. Because, I was never out of my town from my child hood all alone. And, this fellowship was something really precious for me! I believed that this would change my destiny to a better place! I was happy till my father said "no" to th...

As a biotechnology student whether I'm taking care of my meals plate or not, I have to take good care of my petriplates. I wash my petriplates better than my meals plate! Yes, we never autoclave and sterilise our meals plate, but we do for our petriplates! We ( I mean me and my friends) enjoy cleaning and autoclaving our petriplates in our  department media room. And you know, my friends always complaint that I'm never accompanying them in cleaning. Yes, I'll go, wrap my petriplates, put it in autoclave, but I find it very hard to wash! Always, I do autoclave, but, never wash after the autoclaving, I'll give that easy job to my friends :P I love my petriplates! Yes, I love them a lot. But, how do I say that I love my petriplates? I love them because I'm always with them. I love them because, even whether I do complex Genetic engineering or simple Microbiology, I always need them! And the final reason for loving my petriplates is they are so cute, especially,...

Personal and professional ethics are different. Professional ethics vary from one profession to other. Doctors have different, engineers have different ethics. As a technology student, am having a paper "Professional ethics and human values" in my syllabus. I wondered, Is it essential to teach ethics? human values? to an engineering student? What will you answer to this question? Yes? NO? If yes, you may justify saying, yes engineers and doctors must have some ethics, human values. I agree, but, is it essential to teach ? Have it as a separate paper? Yes, it's essential, we must have some ethics and this paper gives an idea like, how to approach a social problem, how to deal with the customers.. so on.. But, i won't answer yes! I will answer "NO" Ya, Ethics and human values are not something which one can obtain by studying a paper and appearing for an exam. As a doctor, he must be having that values in him, he must be so kind at heart, must not ...

Hi, This is for my Cute, chweet Friends :) The first day of month! The month in which I was born. My birthday is coming :) A special thing about this month is, I'm gonna celebrate my birthday after 7 years! That too with friends in hostel! :) College is reopening tomorrow!  I was a day scholar for the past two years! Now, gonna join in hostel :) I'm happy about it! Kanmani is in third year of technical education now, Kanmani B.tech (biotechnology) 3rd year :) I'm very much exited in getting back to college tomorrow! Tomorrow is very special! Why because, * The first day of third year! * College got a new principal , I don't know, whether this change of principal will bring out :) or :( or :'( But, for now :D * Classes start only by 11 a.m :)  till 11 :D fun with friends :) * From this year, we don't have Mathematics :) :D * From this year, Our HOD is taking gonna take care of us :) He is gonna come for Molecular Biology. In the 3rd sem, Cell b...

Hi, My semester exams are over :) :) My first three exams were good. But, the last three.. I don't feel that they were good  :( :( My  Microbio exam  and  BIBT  exams were good. After that even my unit operations paper was good. But, this mathematics... :( :( Maths is my weakness :( :( I make lots of careless mistakes :( In maths this time I had Probability and statistics, mm.. I'm worried a lot about the results. Then other papers were, Chemical and bio thermodynamics ; Instrumental methods of analysis. Let's have a glance at the questions which I found different or can say difficult. Topic: Instrumental Methods of Analysis: Question 1: What information can be obtained by DTA that cannot be obtained by TGA? Know the basics about DTA and TGA : Answer is : DTA gives information  such as Glass transition temperature, crystallization, sublimation which can't be obtained from TGA curve. Question2: Advantages of Raman Spec...

Hi, If you wanna read some useful Biotech stuff scroll down and read questions in this post. Else, start reading from the beginning. My exams are going in a "okay" manner! After my  Microbio exam , I started playing with out preparing for the next exam! I started sitting like a ghost nowadays! Yes, I play all day, and at the end of the day I start reading for my exam by 6 or 7p.m. And, before the day of my Basic Industrial Biotechnology exam, I played Cards :P :D , but, I never win the game :( :( Started studying by 6p.m had dinner in between and studied non stop till the next day 5a.m! I didn't sleep at all. I know, this is not good for health, I need a good sleep before exam. But... I don't wanna miss the fun at home during the day time by sitting alone and studying. My little brother and  friends, they all are enjoying their school summer holidays. They are making fun and much noise during day, then, how come I can read? I'l take my book, pen, notes a...

Hello! Wish you good time with loads of smile :) :) This is a personal post. I can say a page of my diary. You can find my way of learning, my preparations for my semester exam. I'm in the end of my study holidays! The pleasant days, lazy days. My exams were scheduled initially on 8th may, I started studying on 4th may. I started studying "Unit Operations - Mixing and Agitation" at a speed of about 10,000 rpm :P But, this university people, I think they were burning at their stomach, seeing me studying. Yes, they postponed the exam to 15th may. Then, who will study after that? I closed the book, started writing story :) :) Now, the story is going good, but my studies? :( :( very worst :(  Only finished a unit in Unit operations :( After that didn't touch the books at all. :( What I do during study holidays? 1) Reading everything, except text book. :D 2) Eating snacks for every half an hour :D :P 3) Sleeping 10p.m to 10a.m 4) Went to exhibition two time...

Feeling low, Feeling uninteresting! I started hating you! Is it me??! Is it myself who hate you?  I loved you these many months, I hugged you tight in my bed when I sleep. How great our days were, when we were together! :( :( But now! I hate you. It's because of , It's all because of me.  Wondering?! What happened to my love? Mm., as usual., I didn't mention about love between a boy and a girl, but, love between my microbio and me. ( Don't get tensed, I love my subjects that much :P seriously, I love them much)  "Favorite, lovely, interesting... ", the words which i often used to describe my microbio paper! Now, it became,  "boring, uninteresting, .."  :( :( It's too good to read and experiment with microbe's morphology and metabolisms. But, this classifications....!!!!  Oh my god, this is too lengthy, even the infinite list of castes in India could be memorized, but not this classification chart! I love reading, but, not mem...

"A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way", Mark Twain  said so. ( I googled and caught this :P okay that's not a great problem. What does he mean, that's what important)  People say, " AIM high!". But, I say, "NEVER AIM". (????!!!) None can teach me better than my experience. Though my dad, my mom, elders, friends suggest and guide me, what i learn from them, are all not any way better than my experience.  My class teacher used to say when i was in school, "Learn for knowledge, not for marks, not for placements, not for getting a job, learn with greater interest; when you hear a song, how keen and enjoying it would be for you, enjoy reading the same way".  :( But, who cared at that time to enjoy with the text books? I hated studying. I read and understood only 75% of the syllabus. As a result got a bit low score in HSE.  Then, dad put me in B.Tech(bio tech). I didn't like the ...

Sorry, If it hurts you.  We love, no, we are eager and thrilled to do things which could hurt ourselves or others. For instance, the smokers and drunkards never mind about the warning statements over the labels. Why i explained this instance? because, Dictionary says about "the F word" --> "it is a rude and offensive word which you should avoid using!" ; But, most people use this "F" word as a style or fashion to express their anger! It's too rude to use this "F" word! but, still people do. I use to read only tamil books most times. English, I read only in my text books and newspapers. Recently, I found all my friends reading a story book which had " Love.Corruption.Ambition" as the main theme. The book was full of this "F" word. I felt a bit different to read that word again and again. But, managed to finish the book.  I had come across this "f" word, many times before reading that book too. When I...

"Acting in good faith", this becomes more difficult, when we grow older day by day! Even for a silly thing, we start worrying. We start crying!  But, in those days, when we were a kid??? Everything was felt as a blossom, even  it was a thorn!  How innocent she is! Sweet childhood!  Some sweet moments of my child hood which I miss a lot now :  1) My favorite snack ---> Slate pencil :P (Yummy) 2) My favorite English songs ---> Twinkle twinkle little star.., Baa Baa black sheep! ( a long list of nursery rhymes )  3) My favorite time pass ---> Kitchen set & gossiping about back bench girl's new water bottle! :)  4) My favorite TV shows : Tom & Jerry , Baby looney tunes, The mask! :)  5) Most Sad situation : Getting punishment ( standing on the bench )  for talking in the class room! :((((  6) Happiest moments : Getting a "SHAKTI MAAN" sticker - free with Parle-G biscuit. :))))   The list contin...

(Dedicated to the five star guys of my class! :P :P)  The department which is isolated   from all the departments! The department which smells like a hospital! The department which sounds like a jungle! The department is "BIOTECH" department. We are isolated from the whole college!  The reason is we handle lots of microbes in our lab; To avoid infection to other department students, our department is separated and placed far away from the college at a corner inside forest! All other department students from our college, use to comment on us as " STUDENTS OF JUNGLE" :P The department has lots of butterflies! ( I mean the students) I'm one such butterfly from the jungle! Still I didn't come to the point. Let me start with, like this " girl dominant  department !" . Ya, girls dominate here in biotech. In our college we have only 30 seats for biotech. Out of 30, in our batch, 25 are girls. Only the remaining 5 are guys.  But the fun we h...

Clicked by my bro ---> Ganapathy @ Baloo   I met her a day;  She was smiling! Though she knows, She would wither in a week! She smiled beautiful, Some two days after, She started withering; She smiled still, WITH CONFIDENCE; Who is she???  She is a ROSE!!!! In my garden of love!!!  Self confidence is an internal voice from your heart that you would do better even in tough times! Let the "s" word blossom in your lips like a rose; A rose, she smiles though she is aware of her short fate; She blossoms with "s"mile & makes us smile!!!  Be a ROSE ;  Control your roar; Even at tough times, smile with the confidence that you could do;  Engage others to plant the smile of self confidence!!! A Self confident talk in TECHNICAL ENGLISH HOUR !!! Have a confident year ahead!!! :))))))))))) Cheers!!!                               ...

 Good evening dear friend! Long hair...!!!! If your a girl with little bit long hair who is doing biotech or microbiology or pharmacy or similar course.., you might have experienced this!! It's rules in most of the labs to tie your hair tight and cap it to avoid the falling hair to mix up in your product. Capping the long hair is the real problem. The long hair never hides itself in the cap. It peeps out of your cap and gets you and your experiment into trouble. For this, you must use a little bit large sized cap! Normal caps wont suit! I have a bit long hair & I terribly experienced this with my friends, in industry. My whole day went adjusting the cap!!! This may sound a bit funny. But, I thought of trimming my hair for this nuisance, it caused me in my lab. But, I love a little bit long hair. Have to buy a big size cap next time for covering my hair :P :P :)