Oxford
scientificactivist | June 14, 2006Here's another post from the old site. Since I've been writing quite a bit lately about Pro-Test and the response of Oxford scientists to animal rights extremism, it's important to understand why the current movement is significant, in light of what scientists in Oxford have been facing over the last few years. This post, which takes the reader into the heart of an animal rights protest, attempts to do just that. I think it's also interesting because it offers a unique explanation of the forces motivating the animal rights activists in Oxford.
This post is the same as when it originally…
scientificactivist | June 13, 2006"Ph.D. programs don't really attract the most exceptional students," he said. I was having dinner with a few professors and graduate students from the Oxford Department of Biochemistry last night when one of the professors made that assertion. The topic of conversation was why so many graduate students in our program seem to lack a broad knowledge of areas of biochemistry outside of their specific area of research.
Feeling slightly offended, and fueled by the copious quantities of wine we had consumed, I pointedly asked, "Have you actually seen any figures that would back that up?" He hadn…
scientificactivist | June 10, 2006This is a plug for an event that the Oxford University Biochemical Society is putting together. This Monday, June 12th, at 4:00 pm the Oxford University Biochemical Society will be hosting a talk by Nobel Laureate Robert Huber in the University Museum (on Parks Road). The topic of the talk will be "Molecular machines for protein degradation", and more information on Huber and the 1988 Nobel Prize in Chemistry can be found here.
scientificactivist | June 9, 2006I published the following post on my former blog on June 3rd, but I'm republishing it here because it serves as an great introduction to the inspirational scientific activism currently taking shape in Oxford.
The only sounds were those of passing traffic and the whispers of interested observers as close to 1,000 people marched together in silence today down Oxford's High Street. Although the stated reason for the quiet was to avoid disturbing the many Oxford students currently taking their exams in the nearby Examination Schools, the symbolism was as tangible as the warmth of the brilliant…