by Janice Nigro Summer, sommer, l’estate…It’s a poetic word in most languages in most hemispheres summoning up the best of memories from childhood. For me, my memories are of spending all day at the swimming pool, Good Humor bars, and my birthday. As an adult, summer has become the season for art festivals. I have... Continue Reading →
When is a good time to write a scientific review?
by Janice Nigro I have never written a scientific review. Admitting that is like saying I never achieved expert status in anything as a scientist. It’s partly true. Many journals solicit review articles only from so-called experts in a field. I have simply never been asked. But my training was to focus on generating data... Continue Reading →
The drama around the undrama
by Janice Nigro Blah blah blah...more studies performed to investigate gender disparity in science. We research the issues, we write about them, we even have to answer questions in our grants about them. But is it just talk or do we act on some of our rhetoric? I have had some of my own questionable... Continue Reading →
One thing we can do better as co-authors
by Janice Nigro A highly successful scientist friend joked recently that he still doesn’t recognize much in his original drafts of manuscripts, even after thirty years of working consistently with a certain collaborator. Together they can boast of hundreds of articles reporting cutting edge science and hundreds of thousands of citations. After so much time, experience, and... Continue Reading →
Exon scrambling: a lesson in scientific detours
by Janice Nigro As scientists, we are in the business of solving puzzles. We think of the puzzle and then work sometimes over a life time to find a solution. Most puzzles we simply do not have the time to answer. Then there are those puzzles that intrigue us, but the technology to answer them simply does not exist.... Continue Reading →
A train with a view
by Janice Nigro I went to a work interview by metro rail this week. In most big cities around the world, even in the USA, no one would bother to make such a statement. Maybe you wouldn’t want anyone to know! More likely, everyone, or most everyone, uses public transportation there. In Los Angeles, not so... Continue Reading →
following your art
by Janice Nigro I am not a surfer, an actress, or a musician. But here I am-a scientist-three years into making a life in southern California. Yes, in LA LA Land. LA is a great city to be in, but it is not all that easy to live here. The city is big, expansive, and cars... Continue Reading →
Literary exercises for writing scientific manuscripts
by Janice Nigro I was shocked once when my PhD advisor ran into the lab to read out loud the first sentence of my first draft of a manuscript. A nightmare moment-hearing your own words read in front of a group of extraordinarily talented and accomplished people. He read it and then said why he read it. "It is... Continue Reading →
Long form blogging is in…
Long form blogging is in... by Janice Nigro My New Year's resolution backfired this year. It was one of those that turned out to be the exact opposite of someone else’s New Year's resolution. Yeah, I am talking about the kind where someone decides to become devoted to someone or something only to discover that the someone... Continue Reading →
Have chicken stock, will travel
Have chicken stock, will travel by Janice Nigro I know the best restaurant in Los Angeles. You won’t read about it in any magazines or newspapers, only here in this blog. It’s a pop-up restaurant though that is only open three to four weeks out of the year (at this location), and not just anyone... Continue Reading →