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We do not have the luxury to tackle one crisis at a time; I wish we did. Intentional, strong, urgent responses are required–today.
And no, there is no time to point fingers. Put your fingers down. Let’s hold hands and make peace. Let’s work together. Working together is how we can tackle big problems.
Continue reading “Choose Your Response”Back then, there were chain letters (连环信) and the likes of “Send-a-dime” or “Prosperity Club.”
And in our not too distant past, there were chain emails. Remember those? Some of the examples on BuzzFeed might jog your memory (BuzzFeed, accessed March 29, 2020). Electronic chain letters. Fancy!
But whoa. WHAT HAPPENED? Today, fake news is pervasive. It is e-very-where. Disguised as “news” or “real” information. Twitter. YouTube. FaceBook. WhatsApp. You name it. All of them.
Continue reading “The Price of “FREE” News and Information”Ah, impromptu speaking. How do we make sure that we are ever-ready to say something, especially something smart, when you run into someone or when you are called upon to speak impromptu at a group meeting?
Think of virus like a bag–a bag filled with genetic material. Pretend that the bag, a circular bag, is the envelop of a virus. Inside the bag, or the virus’s envelop, you can find either DNA or RNA (i.e. the genetic information of the virus).
SARS-CoV-2 is the kind of bag that contains RNA, not DNA. In fact, the SARS-CoV-2 bag only contains a long strand of RNA. The “bag” or the envelop of SARS-CoV-2, like many other viruses, is made of lipid bilayers, i.e. fatty acids chains organized in two layers. (See Figure 1 below)
Figure 1: The image of the infamous SARS-CoV-2, taken using transmission electron microscope (TEM). (Photo: GEN) The diameter of the virus is around 120 nm (Britannica, accessed March 21, 2020). As a comparison, imagine lining these guys up in a straight line, all 1,000,000 of them, and you will get 1 mm!
Continue reading “Terms and Definitions: SARS-CoV-2 and Covid-19”
Twenty years ago, we were celebrating; we had overcome the fearful Y2K or the “millennium bug.” Today, twenty years later, we are facing a real bug, Covid-19, a new Coronavirus. Just a strand of RNA, but can be fatal.
Continue reading “The 2020 Bug (One of Them Anyways)”Most of us are connected to the internet 24/7. And because of that, there are no more excuses. We can and should learn–and keep learning–and keep acquiring valuable skills, both to be better ourselves at our current job and prepare for the future.
In the beginning of my tech transfer career, I was a sponge; I soaked up as much information about patents and tech transfer as I possibly could. When I wasn’t able to attend events, lectures or conferences, I would consume so much online materials provided by AUTM and NCET2, especially everything I could get access to without additional fees. (Free is the best!)
I watched one of Ryan Serhant’s recent vlogs on time management recently. He started the video with a powerful message:
You have 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour, which means you have 1,440 minutes to spend in a day.
He then counted and let the video lapse for five long seconds. Yup, it felt like forever! Five seconds can feel very long in some circumstances!
We are all “rich in time,” is what he said. I think it actually depends, but it is a good way to frame your day. Everyday, every morning, you wake up and start your day with new time! Better yet, everyone gets the same amount of time. You choose how you would spend your time, everyday. Sometimes we choose how our time is spent; sometimes we go about the day spending time blindly. Wouldn’t you say?
Vaccines are a hot topic in the recent years. Many have strong opinions about it. Yes, we are entitled to our points of view but when it comes to making decisions that will impact the entire population, we have to take full responsibility to make educated, informed decisions.
Vaccines today are quite sophisticated, but it came from a crude beginning.
Hey, those of you who are undergraduates or have college kids in the family, check out the Colorado Biomedical Informatics Summer Training Fellowship (May 28 – July 19, 2019). What a wonderful program!
Application deadline: April 15, 2019
Check for updates here: https://www.colorado.edu/biologyadvising/2018/10/12/colorado-biomedical-informatics-summer-training-fellowship
I attended a similar program the summer of my Junior year. It was the most pivotal moment of my scientific life; it solidified the path to my scientific pursuits!
Continue reading “Biomedical Informatics Summer Training Fellowship (5/28 – 7/19) in Colorado”
