Just call me Ice Woman...

My mom had her surgery today... I mean, yesterday morning, and she has to have ice on it every 30 min for 30 min along with a couple of drugs every few hours. I don't think I will be sleeping tonight. She and my sister haven't gotten much sleep during the last 24 hours so I decided to take the night shift. I am not looking forward to my 2 hour drive home tomorrow. Theu surgery went well and she hasn't been in any pain, so I think this is going well. I just need to figure out what to do with myself for the 6 or 7 hours.

I figure since my blog got all screwy (sp?) I will play with it for awhile. I am going to try a new color scheme. Please give suggestions if you think a change is needed.

Another post!!!!

I am trying really hard not to freak out, but I occasionally just can't help it! My next 2 weeks are so crazy that I can't figure out what to do first!

My mom has foot surgery tomorrow. It was supposed to be Tuesday, but that didn't happen due to insurance complications so it is now tomorrow. That kind of screwed up my plans. AFter her follow-up appt. on Monday, she wants togo to our cabin to convalesce because she likes it better there and my grandpa was in a wheelchair so it has ramps and wide doors and stuff that makes it easier to get around. I have gone to our cabin every year since I was born. I would feel weird if I didn't go. The problem is they, i.e. my mom and sis, will be up there the two weeks around the time I am moving. Ergo, I can only be up there a couple days. Two days worth of driving for two days of cabin time. Kind of a waste of gas, but I am going ahead with it. I have to be back by next Friday to give my dad a ride home after RAGBRAI.

So basically I am going to Eldora tomorrow afternoon and coming back to IC sometime Friday. I will pretty much finish packing this weekend and go to work on Monday then back to Eldora that night. We will caravan the 7 hours to our cabin on Tuesday. On Friday I will drive back to IC and Saturday I will drive to Muscatine then Ames then back to IC again. I don't think I am going to have enough money for gas. I should probably go to work on Sunday for a little while. Monday we have to be out of our apartment at 11:45am and then I can move in on Tuesday at noon.

Ok...I'm done.

Ahhhh!!! My sidebar disappeared! It was there yesterday. It's even missing from my template. I am confused. I guess I am starting over. Maybe this is a good time for a little change!

I know I am probably biased being a research assistant in a molecular biology lab, but I think embryonic stem cells should be used for research. I think the possible benefits of stem cell research are worth making a few people mad.

There are several types of stem cells. Some can develop into almost any type of cell and some can only become a few types of cells. I won't go into the boring details of how and why. Since not all stem cells are competent to become any type of cell, human embryonic stem cells are incredibly important for research purposes. They offer a much wider range of possibilities for the treatment of diseases.

In 2001 Bush allowed for federally funded research on stem cell lines produced before 2001. There are only 78 stem cell lines that meet this criteria and even fewer (less than 20) are actually usefull for reasearch purposes and clinical trials. He also compared using embryos for research to abortion.

Bush has already vowed to veto a bill in favor of federally funding embryonic stem cell research using leftover embryos from fertility clinics. It's likely the bill has enough votes to pass the senate, but not enough to overturn Bush's veto.

Embryos have the potential to become a person. They are a bundle of cells with all the components needed to become all the cells in the human body. If some of these cells are sitting in a freezer waiting to be destroyed, why shouldn't they be used for potentially life saving research? One embryo could be the beginning of a stem cell line that may save thousands or millions of people when put in the hands of the right researcher with the right amount of funding. So much potential is in such a small package.

I was just reading about some recent polls in which 70% of the public agrees with stem cell research. Generally, depending on the circumstances leading to an abortion, fewer that 70% of the public agrees with abortion. Is destroying leftover embryos in fertility clinics abortion, too? Should the clinics keep the embryos indefinitely? I think we may need a few more freezers.

Finally! Some success!

I have successfully inserted a gene I cloned into a bacterial vector. I got a tip from a co-worker and my ligation reaction worked! Well...1 of 20 bacterial colonies I screened had the inserted gene, but I only need one! Who says your success rate should be over 5% anyway? I am doing one more thing to verify it is actually in there then I am going to clone a bunch of it so I don't have to worry about it anymore and I can have plenty for my next step!

Now for something completely different...

Is it weird that I have memorized my 14-digit library card number? I think I am a nerd.

Since I always need more books to read...

Literature-Map - The tourist map of literature