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Posts

November 19, 2012

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8:12 AM | The Molecular Circus
This blog has now moved. Join me for more pharmacological fun, and new and exciting explorations into the minute and magical world of molecules at.... http://themolecularcircus.wordpress.com/ See you there! K x
A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

October 03, 2012

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10:05 AM | An Explanation
You may have noticed that posting frequency around here has been, for want of a better word, rubbish. I can only apologise. In the past few months I organised a wedding, got married, went on honeymoon, and throughout all of this continued to study my research masters. It turns out science is really demanding, and that thesis writing is not nearly as fun as blog writing, but is at least 100% more time consuming.  Gratuitous picture of me getting married to my lovely supportive […]
A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

June 25, 2012

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9:48 AM | In which I was elsewhere again, and I forgot to tell you
Last week I featured again on Any Other Woman, writing this time about the science behind anxiety and how to use the knowledge of how your body responds to panic to help deal with anxiety attacks. Just another demonstration of how knowing and understanding your body can be empowering and useful, as well as really freaking interesting.
A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

June 22, 2012

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2:38 PM | Getting Angry: Lipstick Science
Anyone in the vicinity of my Twitter feed today might have noticed I’m just a teensy bit annoyed about this. And for teensy bit annoyed, you can read blackout-inducingly angry. I’m not used to writing opinion pieces, I’m usually happily larking about with molecules named Larry, but I couldn’t watch that video and not respond. It made me simultaneously want to shoot someone and weep.  The European Commission wants to shift the stereotype that science is all about old men in […]
A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

April 18, 2012

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9:19 AM | In which I am elsewhere
Today I am featured on the ace Any Other Woman, writing about the pill and how it works. Clare, Aisling and Anna have built a truly wonderful community of intelligent, smart, funny and brilliant women on their blog, and I'm honoured, and a teensy bit bouncy-over-excited, that they've given me space to get my geek on over there.  So come over, say hello, bring cake.  K x
A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

March 27, 2012

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10:22 AM | Feeling Nervous: Action Potentials & Comic Strips
I went to visit my sister at University recently, and found pinned to her notice-board a picture that I drew and posted to her when she first moved in. The picture is a comic strip describing an action potential. An action potential is the series of events that occur in your nerves to transmit messages along them. Clearly I know EXACTLY what the cool kids want on their walls at university.  I've spoken before about how much I love action potentials, and how one of the proteins involved [...]
A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

February 21, 2012

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2:10 PM | Really Awesome Proteins: The Major Histocompatibility Complex
Part two in the RAP series is the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). This little protein really is brilliant. It’s a crucial part of your body’s defence against illness. If you think of your body like a battleground, and viruses or bacteria as bad-ass invaders, your immune system is your army. Complete with a full range of artillery and a stunning intelligence network. The MHC is part of that intelligence network.   Almost all proteins have an expiry date, a time when they are [...]
A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

February 03, 2012

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5:37 PM | Molecular Biology: Not So Sexy Science
A couple of things recently have got me thinking. Following the success of BBC Stargazing Live, @xtaldave on Twitter jokingly suggested the BBC should commission Molecular Biology Live. There followed an amusing round of tweets about what that would include. Mostly a lot of pipetting, and waiting around. With the occasional cup of tea. TheLeadingEdge also posted his second lab frustration post, in which he detailed things that bench scientists find frustrating in the lab.  The point [...]
A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

January 24, 2012

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5:45 PM | How Drugs Work: Cold and Flu Medications
Oh, it’s that time of year again. My morning commute is full of people coughing an astonishing array of germs in my general direction. Usually while also stealing my seat. Those people sensible enough not to be on the trains are curled up under duvets, inhaling menthol-scented steam and gazing at daytime TV wondering why Jeremy Kyle exists. That's right. It's cold & flu season. I definitely always look this good when I'm ill. Yup.  Now, I'm the kind of person nerd who doesn't like [...]
A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

November 18, 2011

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5:03 PM | Really Awesome Proteins: Rhodopsin
I have been an absent blogger. I’m very sorry. I got busy working, and the starting my Masters. But I’m back now, and to celebrate I’m launching a new regular feature of the blog, the Really Awesome Protein or RAP series. This does not mean I’m going to attempt to spread the protein love via ghetto-speak, gangster rhymes and poor beat boxing, although I am totally up for trying that. Actually it just means that once a month or so I am going to try and convince you that the molecules in [...]
A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

August 04, 2011

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8:52 PM | Structural biology laughs in the face of doom
#SciDoom FoS is having its first ever theme week, asking the question “are we doomed?”... as a new member of the FoS community I thought I’d toss my two pennies-worth of scattered thoughts in, as a quick introduction to me, if nothing else.  ---------------------------------- So, are we doomed? By the way, I hope everyone else reading this is also saying doomed in a really deep and threatening voice in their head.  There are a lot of different ways to look at this question, and [...]
A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

July 25, 2011

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3:44 PM | Summer loving: hay fever and antihistamines
If you’re anything like me then you might just love summer; love the colour, the flowers, the trees, and the lush effervescent greenery of it all. But if you’re even more like me, your enjoyment of this festival of life and growth may be occasionally curtailed by the inevitable contact with flecks of pollen spinning gaily through the breeze, transforming of your head into a leaky, red-eyed, sneezing ball of misery. Yes, I’m talking about hay fever. Of course, this summer hay fever has [...]
A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

July 24, 2011

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8:15 PM | New home!
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A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

July 08, 2011

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12:47 PM | Blame it on the a-a-a-a-a-alcohol
This is the most requested post I’ve written yet; but it is dedicated to the first person to ask me for it, and the person who has been waiting the longest for their request post to be written, my lovely fiancé. Sorry for the wait, G!    So, hangovers. That moment when you wake up, feeling like a small furry animal died in your mouth, with an army of industrious builder ants hammering wildly in your brain and the sensations that someone appears to have replaced your [...]
A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

June 20, 2011

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9:37 AM | Ibuprofen and the NSAIDs: a truly pain-free family gathering
Ibuprofen must be one of the most commonly taken drugs in the country, and yet most people who take it have no idea how they are working in their bodies to take the pain away. So, I’m going to answer that much-asked question... how does a painkiller kill pain? Well actually the first answer to that is, it depends on which painkillers you take. And because the complete answer is so long, I’m going to attack the question in several blog posts, starting with the basics about paracetamol and [...]
A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

April 06, 2011

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3:33 PM | An introduction to DNA... via cake
In light of the fact that at least 10% of this blog is cake, it would be criminal of me not to feature the most awesome amalgamation of science and cake that I have ever come across. Made all the more awesome by the fact that it was actually made for me. And that I got to eat it (it tasted amazing). Check. This. Out. 
A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

April 04, 2011

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8:48 AM | Why DOMS, why?!
I ran 10 k yesterday. It really hurt. But today it hurts more. Tomorrow, I don’t even want to think about.  I suspect that most of my movements, particularly those ones involving stairs, will be accompanied by strings of inappropriate four letter words. And it makes me wonder... why? Not why do I do it (although actually, why do I do it?!) but why do your muscles hurt so much in the days following exercise? I know the obvious answer, they’ve stiffened up and are sore, but what does [...]
A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

April 03, 2011

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4:21 PM | Why DOMS, why?!
I ran 10 k yesterday. It really hurt. But today it hurts more. Tomorrow, I don’t even want to think about.  I suspect that most of my movements, particularly those ones involving stairs, will be accompanied by strings of inappropriate four letter words. And it makes me wonder... why? Not why do I do it (although actually, why do I do it?!) but why do your muscles hurt so much in the days following exercise? I know the obvious answer, they’ve stiffened up and are sore, but what does [...]
A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

February 13, 2011

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7:36 PM | Why do onions make me cry?
This weekend, whilst slightly chaotically assembling an Indian meal, I had cause to wonder why exactly chopping onions is so weirdly painful and why it always makes me cry like a small child deprived of ice-cream.  I’ve been told a variety of reasons for it in the past,  and I’ve been advised of a whole host of ways to stop it happening, including, strangely, having a teaspoon in your mouth while you chop (this, unsurprisingly, does not work). But I’ve never gone and looked up [...]
A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

February 07, 2011

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2:55 PM | Why do onions make me cry?
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A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

February 01, 2011

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3:10 PM | Bring it on: science in women's magazines
Today I want to explain a bit of why I write this blog, and alongside that explain why I think science writers should write for women’s magazines, and push for publication in them. I write because I love science and because I think it is too often dismissed as boring, difficult, dull or uncool when in reality it is none of the above. I write because I want more people to love science like I do, not because I think if more people like it, it’ll be cooler and I won’t be such a geek, but [...]
A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

January 25, 2011

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1:20 PM | Orlistat: should you stand by your rice cake?
There is no quick and painless way to lose weight. Deep down inside, every woman knows the truth of this unfortunate and often depressing fact of life, but a large successful industry has nevertheless been built on selling the myth that there just might be. And this industry survives because we’re all desperate to believe in the myth. It would just make life so much easier. I certainly wouldn’t be about to eat polystyrene discs masquerading as rice cakes for lunch for the 16th day in a [...]
A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

January 20, 2011

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11:10 AM | B is for Biochemistry, C is for... Cake??
Regular readers of this blog might have noticed a recurring theme, besides all the drug interactions, ever-present side effects and lashings of biochemical porn. That’s right, my name is Katie and I’m totally addicted to cake. I don’t just mean eating cake, although really good cake is one of the greatest pleasures in life, and heaven help me I would eat some right now if there were any anywhere near me...  But, no, I’m also addicted to baking; I remember learning to bake with [...]
A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

January 18, 2011

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4:41 PM | DAD-1: the word’s first Spurs-supporting enzyme
DAD1 is both an enzyme, and the username of one of my followers and (I hope) biggest fans. This post was requested by him, because being the power geek and brilliant father that he is, when he needed a username to follow my blog, he went online and promptly found himself an enzyme named Dad. And now, of course, he wants to know what his enzyme does. So this is for you, DAD1. DAD1’s full title is Defender Against Cell Death 1 (already I sense that my Dad is really excited, his enzyme has a [...]
A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

January 14, 2011

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4:02 PM | Curing the common cold: white knights and viral ninjas
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A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

January 05, 2011

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4:39 PM | Statins: coming to a town near you
Statins are a big deal in pharmaceuticals, if you haven’t already heard of them, you will do. They are really freaking successful and they’re only going to get bigger. In 2008, atorvastatin was the best-selling branded pharmaceutical in the world, which is one hell of an achievement, when you think about it. What do statins do then, that has made them such an amazing commercial success? They lower cholesterol, of course.It’s reasonably easy to see why drugs that effectively lower [...]
A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

January 04, 2011

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2:59 PM | A polypill to prevent heart disease: let them eat cake?
Heart disease is obviously one of the most serious health issues in the UK and it is very much a disease where prevention is better than cure. The opening days of 2011 will see the start of initial trials of a polypill containing three different drugs designed to minimise the risk of heart disease in over-55s. The theory of this pill, which is the idea of Professors Sir Nicholas Ward and Malcolm Law, from the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine at Queen Mary, University of London, is [...]
A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

December 02, 2010

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9:44 PM | Arsenic sandwiches on Mars? Not quite...
Arsenic isn’t generally thought of as a particularly friendly or positive element, unless of course you’re trying to kill someone, in which case it’s actually a great element, and one which I recommend if someone you really don’t like comes to tea (unless you live next door to Miss Marple, in which case, don’t try it, you will never outsmart Marps). GFAJ-1 bacteria However, a paper published in the journal Science has announced that a species of bacteria has been discovered [...]
A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

November 29, 2010

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1:43 PM | Aspirin: how to be a molecular superhero
I saw an article in the Telegraph last week about the recommendations of some experts that everybody over the age of 45 takes aspirin regularly, as the benefits now apparently outweigh the side effects. This made me think that perhaps it is time I had a look at the namesake of this blog, and truly one of the most interesting drugs I’ve ever come across, aspirin. Aspirin has long been known as a “wonder drug”, it was originally developed as a painkiller, but in the past decade it emerged [...]
A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication

November 24, 2010

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12:39 PM | Alcohol and pain: why not to take vodka for a headache
Following my posts on opiate drugs and how they kill pain and cause side effects, I was asked to look into how alcohol can numb pain and whether it acts in a similar way biochemically to any of the painkilling drugs we’re familiar with in modern terms. Most people who’ve been drunk will have noticed that often pain doesn’t feel as painful when you’re under the influence, even I, the worst drinker I know with the possible exception of Mummylase, have fractured my toe when drunk and not [...]
A is for Aspirin
Cell Biology | Science Communication
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