hey, some people at UCL have discovered that we use the same part of the brain to speak different languages... it just switches back and forth from different modes... I could've told them so
from long ago, since now that I know english, every time I try to speak french
some english words trickle down with it... I guess my brain's switching system doesn't work properly... my parents would probably say that this isn't a surprise, either...
and I've finally bought my own car... a second hand one, just to start... but not a city car, as it happens. after having tried the yaris didn't really like it...
so went for a 156 sport wagon...
juan, I'm ready to bet that I could beat you up the mountain with this... and don't worry, I'll let you have the cheese... but I have to admit I forgot to send it last time I went down. my fault. too much messing around to get the driving license done...
bye bye to everyone
Darren Naish is a tetrapod paleontologist at Univ of Portsmouth, not far from where I did my own PhD (good old Soton). He has quite a few interesting things to say about rabbits (my friend at the rabbit's lair would love this, although he probably already knows) and many other tetrapods...
and now, it's time for a little cross-posting from pharyngula:
Electron Band Structure In Germanium, My Ass
old, but always funny...
and here I am again... Recently, I have been catching up on my Science Fiction, ater so much time spent reading real science. so, it's been the time of Evolution, a majestic plot which takes something like one billion years to unwindle, following a dinasty of primates from small critters at the foot of dinosaurs to man, to an ending I don't want to reveal... it certainly is interesting, although some of the theories exposed inside I don't particularly agree with, especially after reading the red queen... but it's an interesting read, although may be a little below Baxter standards. Too much time is spent, in my opinion, on the 'human' persons (I actually skipped this part ah ah) and I'd have loved to see something more on the primeval mammals, who scuttled at the feet of dinosaurs since 200 millions years ago... but hey, may be I'll get to write my own book about them, one day...
the part I appreciated most where those about the Antarctica T-Rex (cool), but most of all the
brief story about the Jurassic Hunters, intelligent and self-aware dynosaurs who hunted diplodocus and made simple tools... I wish he could extend on them... and I wish I could know whether something of what we are doing now will be left over to be found by our successors in another hundred million years...
Now, I'm almost done with stephen johanson's book Lucy's Child: The Discovery of a Human Ancestor. I'm reading it in the italian version, though. excatly the same book I read when I was fourteen and started my long lasting interest in paleonthology/paleoanthropology...
Hi everyone,
this is my first day as a commuter... well, as a car commuter, since until now I did the same
but by bus. so, to be sure I could find an easy spot to park my unwieldy Audi A4, I decided to get to work at... 6.30AM!!! OMG...
So, if you happen to pass in Belgium, be aware that the fifth Apocalypse Horseman has been unleashed!!! Wroooommm...
Think again.
and now I do understand a friend of mine when he used the expression "To suffer like a hyena"...
Hyenas really got the long end of the stick (pun intended)
Exactly as it says on the title, there's more than my driving license. Work is proceeding well, I'm building and veryfying new models regarding Cardio vascular effects of would-be drugs, and have also started providing service to some 'real' chemists. Someone from Spain asked my (my model's) opinion on the CV activity of four drugs. And one of them is seemingly active on two out of three indicators... my first useful and practical contribution to Drug Design, other than the Methodology Development which was my PhD's primary aim.
I'm back at blogging again. After quite a long iatus. that's a gap, for those of you latin-challenged... :-)
It's been a busy month, this one, have been back home and
very busy re-connecting with my friends, both old and new.
and I finally managed to cross the last line that divided me from Adulthood:
I've (at last) got a driving license now!!!
So beware citizen of Belgium, a new danger is roaming your roads...
Muton: sharovipteryx
- don't have time now to comment, but how cool is that???
Ehy, I just discpvered this fancy web-page from the Boston Children Hospital where young-fellow-toddlers can learn about latest development in bio-medical sciences...
some bio-themed flash games...
I hope you (or your children) will enjoy...
Have you ever had the curiosity of reading tomorrow's news... Today? well, now you can: have a look at http://www.avantnews.com/
I just got to admit I love it...
an example articles: Tactical Nuclear Weapons Approved for American Consumers
make sure you check the 'science' section, it's great. just an example: Most Studies Find Nothing, Study Finds
bye bye...
Luca
Here I am, back again... back, to work, and back from a very long weekend spent between Turnhout and BXL... Had lots of fun, and now, even if tired, I feel ready to tackle difficult scientific problems... but don't have one for the moment... am just trying to order some analysis to be performed on some sompounds here... need data to work on... it's all very new to me, sometimes I know what to do, sometimes I do not... That's why, at the age of thirty-one, I've been given a mentor, a colleaue of name Wendy... that reminds me of Betty, the graduate student who helped me move my very first step in research long time ago, when I was still working in Italy on my degree...
Ok, now I've got to do some literature on astemizole binding motifs... hopefully someone else in the world is interested in this and will have done some work on which to build upon... have a nice week, and a nice stay in this nest!
Luca a.k.a. Gufo Dotto
So, I'm starting to work, finally. I'm just tired of idling my thmbs to death... and the sunshine outside just gives me a ton of energy to spare...
what am I working on? as I previously said, the objective is to save rabbit lives (and coincidentally money) by keeping high the CV safety of drugs... keeping it simple, I'm now trying to play with some in-house data to see whether the various tests performed to assess CV safety really correlates to each other. wish me good luck...
First one to start was "Collapse" by Jared Diamond, the author of "Guns, Germs, Steel". Very interesting book but I put it aside when I started reading "The Truth About Dogs", by Stephen Budiansky: you can find them both in Italian language if so inclined, but as usual I strongly suggestUhm, nice party yesterday's... right... Me and my "hetero life-mate"* Daniele rushed to BXL after work, only to find ourselves amidst a host of spanish families with children... Nothing worng with that I just wish we had known in advance. After all, the 'serendipity' party made us find something unexpected all right... but I was more thinking to two gorgeous Natalia-Estrada-looking spanish girls... well, never mind, we went off to meet Silvia and a few of her friends ;-) Pity we had to rush home with chickens, at 11.30. may be next time we'll stay longer (definitely, it's silvia's brasilian birthday's party, next saturday... :-)
see you soon, gotta go buy some furniture, now...
Luca
* Catch the citation ;-)
Busy Week End, this one. this morning I have to sign my location contract, then will go down to BXL in the evening for a party... On saturday, I'll hunt for furniture to fill my new hide, and on sunday back to BXL to meet a very interesting (and pretty) young lady... Blegium certainly is hectic, but it's also lot of fun!!! See you on Monday, if I'm still alive!
Luca
Hi there again...
here's my preferred science website at the moment: http://loom.corante.com/
I feel it's very well written (no wonder, the author is a professional science writer)... and it's got nice images too, such as the tree of life which I'm re-posting here... well, i just thougth you ought to know what I like... see you soon!
Luca
Hi There!!!
here comes my own blog!!! I'll try to make it interesting to put in every nice thing it happens to me and things that I found interesting for whomever may happen to come and snoop around... I'll try to balance italian and english in here, or may be I'll split it in two blogs... well, that's it for my first post, you all have fun reading it (if/when I remember to update it from time to time)
Anyway, here's a brief starter for you all:
My name is Luca, and the nickname 'gufodotto' comes from my boy-scout past. I shoudln't say anything about it, but that was my totem name. so, my totem animal is the owl, il gufo, a wise one like in Bambi...
Other than spending my infancy in the boy scouts and reading (comic)books, I'm a chemist by training, and have been in the UK for the past four years and a half. After that, came a Sardinian interlude where I managed (not) to write my PhD thesis, get dumped by my ex-GF and realise that, after all, I've plenty of friend still and that's something to rejoice for.
Of course, after this incredible enlightenment I had to leave, and flew over to the flattest/rainiest place in the world, Belgium... Here I am starting a PostDoc in ADME-Tox research for Janssenn, a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson. You may have read of Janssenn if you have read your Imodium box... Anyway, I don't do anti-dyarrhea treatments.
What I do is actually much nicer, and is an attempt to minimise the use of animals in drug testings. So, don't start complaining about being sold to multi-nationals and such. It's full of nice people, here, and some of your firends/parents may be dead if it weren't for them. and there's no secret hide of drugs prepared but not marketed... Just be happy that if I do my work right, less rabbit will have to donate their life. so , please encourage me
Ok, I've bored you enough, I better get back to my hide. but you're welcome to come again ;-)
Luca aka gufodotto
here you can see it in pictures or check where they came from.
Plus, added Google Analytics
