Hi everyone,
First of all i wish all of you a great new year.
Its been a while since the last update, and people are beginning to enquire about the silence , so i thought id get writing again...hmm what do i write about..well its just that the previous updates were incredible experiences for me and somehow i was looking forward to a comparable adventure to happen before i do another posting.... hmm i guess that ll happen in its own time. Anyway i ve been madly busy since the start of this year. As i told you the vacations were great , but theres a lot of work to be done and a lot of deadlines to be met and i ve been busy getting about it. I ve started doing my project...for those who are interested , im working on the Viable but Nonculturable(VBNC) state of Coral pathogenic bacteria (vibrios). I`d love to give a detailed commentary on that but my Non biological readers may not like that, so here it is a short and sweet summary.
The VBNC state is one in which bacteria which are normally culturable, suddenly go into a state of nonculturability. This usually occurs in stressed conditions like low temperature or starvation. So do they die? No..they still show signs of life. Its a strange state to be in . almost like a cocoon. Their detection in this state is difficult as most detection techniques are culture based. I will be trying to look for molecular signals (proteins) which are unique to this state. That is if i can first induce this state by a variation of temperature in my cultures.
Anyway i ve just settled into my lab which is a containment lab....which means it is a dangerous place. Thats because there are people in there who work on harmful bacteria, who use genetic modification, radioactive studies e.t.c. Anyway what strikes me foremost here is the attention given to personal safety. It is so strange when compared to India. Every single activity done here is first assessed for risks and hazards. That means before we start anything we have to fill up forms detailing what are the risks that ANYTHING can go wrong and in case it does what has to be done about it. They take it so seriously here that it almost comes across as obsessive. ...for instance a simple staining procedure which we would do in India without a second thought, has to be assessed here....can the chemicals harm you..what if theres a spillage....what if the slide with organisms fall on the floor and break..how to dispose of the stains...blah blah...well actually thats pretty alright in comparison.... we have a safety handbook which i found incredibly funny...check this out
What to do when climbing trees...
 †if a tree is to be climbed, it should be done with the proper equipment ( i wonder what that is?). and they should be properly trained ( by monkeys?).
ï‚· Tree climbing should always involve two people one on the ground (navigator?) and he should be competent to perform aerial rescue ( u mean he should have a helicopter?).
ï‚· Climbers must be aware of the varying characteristics of tree species ( only botanists get to climb trees?) and the difference between live and dead trees (all the trees appear dead in the winter)
ï‚· Boots with rubber soles and rubber or cotton gloves should be worn. And the climber should wear a helmet (excuse me..is this tree climbing or an army manoeuvre?)
ï‚· Ropes should support five times the working load
ï‚· Blah blah blah..theres plenty more nonsense in there.
Im sure all of you realise now why people dont climb trees in this part of the world. Whew..all you people back there in India..ur fortunate to live in a wonderful world where you can scramble up a tree any way you want!
Back to the lab..another striking feature here is the disposable nature of equipment. Its all use and throw....although its a lot of wastage, it save an incredible amount of time, and provides a much sterile working environment. Its good from a working point of view..but its tough seeing it when i realise the trouble we take to reuse as much things as possible in India. They generate an incredible amount of plastic and paper waste here...not to speak of the beer cans. Anyhow inspite of all that they make up for it by having efficient recycling systems.
What else.... it does get a bit cold here...last week we got our first sighting of snow in plymouth even if it was only 5 mins...it usually doent occur in this part...but mostly its between 7-11 C. Thanks all of you who signed into the guest book..loved your comments..id be grateful if more people could leave comments. Keep your mails coming. You can always expect a reply. I`ve done enough blabbering for now..gotta get back to work.
Take care all of you.
With love
Thomas
