So I’ve been pretty busy this week with a real mixture of things!
The Edinburgh International Film Festival is currently happening and the main centre of activity is the Uni’s own student union building Teviot. On Tuesday I was running a workshop for kids which teaches them about their brain, how it controls emotions and how it changes during adolescence. We used clips from the first Harry Potter film to demonstrate different emotions and what “magic spells” or neurotransmitters were causing that emotion. It was a great fun way to have a break from the labs and the kids loved it too. Although Lion King 3D is on tomorrow so I’m not sure they would pick my workshop over that!
This was followed by a lab visit to Glasgow on Wednesday. Our lab is always looking for ways to improve and learn new techniques and so we got in touch with a group at Glasgow Uni to show us how to prepare a new type of cell culture. It was good to see what other labs are like compared to your own and everyone . there was really nice. Usually neurones are grown as a homogeneous population in culture but this technique allows you to grow neurones and oligodendrocytes together so that some of the axons become myelinated. This gives a more accurate model of the brain in cell culture hopefully it will be very useful in the course of my PhD studies.
Lots of exciting stuff going on in July as well, graduations start next week and preparations for the festival so I will keep you updated with that in due course.
Callum
Hi Callum
ReplyDeleteI'm Vicky, another CMVM blogger. Wish I had caught you at the film festival, harry potter spells sound cool! How did you get involved with the film festival?
V
Hey Vicky! Yeh the film festival workshop was fun, it was only for schools who had signed up though, which is why you would have missed it, did you see anything else good? The film fest people actually got in touch with Edinburgh Neuroscience, which my supervisor runs, because it was aware of the workshops we already ran (probably through word of mouth) and wondered if they could be used in their Schools Learning events. I've got contacts for people there if it was something you were interested in for the future.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the Bright Club btw, you're braver than I. I might just come along to cheer you on though.
Callum
Hi Callum
ReplyDeleteYeah it would be great if you could send me their details as I have some stuff in mind for next year with the Egg and Sperm Race. Film fest was awesome this year, I did see the Lion King in 3D (child that I am) and the one about the students who recorded their neighbors arguing, both were awesome.
Mwhahha I'm not doing Bright Club in Edinburgh, this way I can avoid everyone I know and made an ass of myself without it coming back to haunt me! But I am going along tomorrow to watch the Edinburgh one so maybe I will see you there.
V :)
PS my e-mail is v.j.young@sms.ed.ac.uk