Laboratory News Sarah Lawton

Returning to our expert, Jessica Evans, a Member Recruitment Executive at The Royal Society of Chemistry, we revisit the topic of continued professional development, or CPD. In particular, we consider in more detail the benefits to be gained by joining a professional body or member organisation offering structured CPD appropriate to specific scientific fields and at each stage throughout your career.
If you are interested in what the RSC can offer then please do https://rsc.org/members?utm_source=LabNewsandutm_medium=podcastandutm_campaign=lab-news-podcast-Nov-2020 (click here to explore further.)

Derived in 1964 by the social psychologist Erich Fromm, ‘biophilia’ means to love life. Here, architect Robert Hopkins, expands on how the application of biophilic design and sensor-led monitoring systems can aid human resilience in an indoor work environment.

Drug discovery is a tough endeavour - but could nature offer a helping hand? I spoke to Steve Trim, Chief Scientific Officer and Founder of https://venomtech.co.uk (Venomtech) to find out why some of the world's deadliest creatures hold the key to pharmaceutical success.
Taking in poisonous snails, spiders, snakes and arthropods - this episode isn't for the squeamish... but it is an absolute cracker. And if you wanted to have a look at some of the things we speak about, please do watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lku5ksWTHfk (this video) we made a few years back at Steve's lab. I mean, who wouldn't want to see how you anaesthetise a scorpion?

In this year’s Christmas Lectures from the Royal Institution, three scientists from different fields will present a unique ‘user’s guide’ to Planet Earth. They will unravel astonishing global systems and remarkable natural wonders that combine to keep life on Earth alive.
I spoke to each them about their work, the lectures and many other things besides. So come and meet geologist Chris Jackson, physicist and oceanographer Helen Czerski and environmental scientist Tara Shine.
The Lectures will be broadcast on BBC Four, at 8pm on Monday 28, Tues 29 and Wed 30 December. After that you can catch them at your leisure https://www.rigb.org/christmas-lectures/watch (here).

If you work in science then you are already highly skilled – very highly skilled. That doesn't necessarily mean there is no room to develop yourself though. It could be that you want to prepare for the next career move, brush-up on the latest technique or even concentrate on 'soft' skills. Whatever it might be, there will always be a demand for highly skilled individuals - and the good news is that if you want to develop yourself, you are not alone.
But where to start - well, there is no better place than professional bodies and learned societies. So, to get to the bottom of what is on offer and how to go about all this I spoke to Jessica Evans and Katie Dryden-Holt from the Royal Society of Chemistry. We touch on why you should be thinking of continuing your professional development, how to get help and why technicians especially should be afforded every opportunity to take advantage of CPD.
If you are interested in what the RSC can offer then please do https://rsc.org/members?utm_source=LabNewsandutm_medium=podcastandutm_campaign=lab-news-podcast-Nov-2020 (click here to explore further.)

I spoke to https://improbable.com/about/people/MarcAbrahams.html (Marc Abrahams), founder of the barmy-but-brilliant https://www.improbable.com/ig-about/ (Ig Nobel Prizes) – which every year honour discoveries which make people laugh and then think.
But don't confuse this with simply poking fun at science - it's clear that Marc ultimately cares deeply about tweaking the publics interest in science, medicine and technology. He just thinks that using humour is the best way to do this... and who could disagree? With former prize winners including the inventor of a bra that turns into a face mask, the team behind work on why wombats do square poo, the medic who figured out which rollercoasters are best for dislodging kidney stones and many, many more – he is clearly on to something.
We spoke, among other things, about the prize itself, why it is important, why science is taught wrongly and why surprise is key to all this.