The Lighter Side of Science

A Walk Around the Promega Campus: Honoring Some of the Greats of Science

Posted on by Nicole Sandler
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci

The Promega campus in Madison, Wisconsin has been fortunate to welcome several new buildings in recent years. While some of the older buildings are fondly known by their acronyms – BTC for BioPharmaceutical Technology Center and RDC for Research & Development Center – other names are more descriptive. Notice a particular theme to these buildings’ names: Faraday, Franklin, da Vinci, Feynman, Kepler? Legendary scientists all, with visionary minds, they serve to inspire and remind us of the possibilities that Promega employees can achieve.

Given the impressive pool of Nobel Prize recipients, inventors and innovators to consider as namesakes of Promega buildings, why were these particular individuals chosen? And, who exactly were they? Continue reading “A Walk Around the Promega Campus: Honoring Some of the Greats of Science”

Tradeshow Tchotchkes: Trash or Treasure?

Posted on by Sara H

Our group recently shuffled seating arrangements and I, like most of my coworkers, emptied drawers, cabinets and desktops into boxes and bags. I consider myself a fairly digital person, so there weren’t a lot of papers and physical files to keep track of, and moving my computer just involves remembering which cords go where, but what really disturbed me was the number of trinkets I had accumulated from tradeshows, conferences, trainings and other assorted events. So I was faced once again with the decision that every move begets: keep or toss?

26061840-blog-image-SaraH-WEB

It wasn’t the first time I faced such a dilemma; I suffer from an inability to say “no” to free stuff. I mean seriously, it’s free! Who couldn’t use another grocery bag? T-Shirt? Flash drive? Key chain? Magnet? Stuffed animal? Pen? Eraser? Ok… so some items are less essential than others (I can’t remember the last time I needed to erase something), but for some reason I always want them, whatever the item may be. As a kid, my dad often brought home these “tradeshow treasures”. Now that I have my own kids though, passing the giveaways along to them, seems like teaching them to collect “junk” and explaining what DNA is to a 5-year-old is a feat beyond my patience quota.

At first I thought the knickknacks were a great way to add personality to my desk space, but I had to face it, the generic souvenirs didn’t exactly represent me. So, I kept a few things that were actually useful and gave my coworkers the option of salvaging the rest. Dust covered stuffed animals migrated to someone else’s desk. Several pathetically weak magnets fell into the trash. And as I recycled countless pages from partially used notepads, I bowed my head in a moment of silence for the trees whose sacrifice was in vain. The truly useful and less prevalent items made it into the keep pile: a mini flashlight, invaluable for seeing what is going on with the cords under my desk; a magnetic clip, strong enough to hold a calendar; and a doodad that works as a coat hanger.

I know we’ve all seen some unique items given away at conferences and tradeshows (and I’d love to see pictures of your craziest!), but which ones have stood the test of time for you? Which ones have you actually found value in?

Friday Cartoon Fun: Entertaining Yourself Between Incubations

Posted on by Sara Klink

Occasionally, time in the lab passes slowly. There is a two-hour incubation and nothing can be done until the timer goes off. Our science cartoonist Ed Himelblau has illustrated what some creative lab members may have done to fill this time, but is not advised to do:

Copyright Ed Himelblau

To see additional lab shenanigans, peruse the collection of humorous cartoons in our Cartoon Lab.

Finding Space for Passion: Interview with Promega Quality Assurance Scientist, Matt Hanson

Posted on by Michele Arduengo
QA Senior Scientist Matt Hanson
QA Senior Scientist Matt Hanson

When he was a kid, Matt Hanson would disappear into the basement for an entire day and emerge later with a completed model of the USS Constitution or a completed robot or a new rocket (he still makes model rockets). Design and how things fit together have always fascinated him, so a career in science was a natural fit as well.

Today Matt is a Quality Control Supervisor/QA Senior Scientist at Promega Corporation at the Madison, WI, USA, campus. He has been with Promega for 5 years now.

After completing his undergraduate studies in molecular biology, a masters in zoology where he focused on cell biology, and a PhD in developmental biology and immunology, Matt was fortunate to pursue a successful and rewarding career as an Associate Staff Scientist in the Department of Surgery at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His work focused on diabetes and transplantation biology.

So why did Matt join the scientific staff at Promega?

Continue reading “Finding Space for Passion: Interview with Promega Quality Assurance Scientist, Matt Hanson”

There and Back Again 3: Christchurch, New Zealand (South Island) Travelogue

Posted on by Promega

In 2014, Promega created a special incentive to reward field science consultants who help the scientific community take advantage of the our on-site stocking program. The winners had to meet ambitious criteria to receive 2 round-trip tickets to anywhere in the world, a week of paid vacation and spending money. Our four winners from 2014 will share photos and stories about their journeys in a semi-regular Friday feature on the Promega Connections Blog.

Today’s travelogue is Part III of the adventures of Mica Zaragoza, a senior client rep, who used his award to travel to Australia and New Zealand.

Helix-Travel-Blog---1-WEBAfter a day of travel, including a quick stop-off in Sydney, we arrived late in New Zealand the evening.  New Zealand is an island nation with strict customs requirements, having been stung in the past by a decision  to import the opossum.

Jumping full into the experience, we rented a car (5-speed) and headed into the City to scope out our hotel ( more on the car later).

During our time in Australia, we had spoken with several travelers who had visited Christchurch for their recommendations.  Without fail, their response was negative, using words like “destroyed” and “rubble” to describe the city.  They referred to a  series of earthquakes in 2011 that crippled the city of Christchurch; the residents were not aware of the risk and structures in the city had not been constructed to withstand such devastation. Continue reading “There and Back Again 3: Christchurch, New Zealand (South Island) Travelogue”

Worldwide Holiday Celebrations as Told by Promega Employees: Part II

Posted on by Nicole Sandler

Again, Happy Holidays from Promega employees around the world! We hope you enjoyed the first part of this special holiday blog in which several Promega branch employees shared their country’s holiday traditions. In part II we continue with yet more global traditions and cheer.

Germany
Christian Walczuch, Public Relations for Promega GMBH

In preparation for Weihnachten (Christmas), many families celebrate Advent. This is a time of religious preparation for the 24th, Heiligabend (holy evening or Christmas Eve). Traditional advent activities include the Adventskranz (Advent wreath), which is set up on the 4th Sunday before Christmas Day, or the beginning of the season. Four candles adorn the wreath, and a new one is lit each week. Children also enjoy the advent calendar which contains twenty-four doors (one for each day of December leading up to Christmas). Children open one door each day and find a chocolate treat awaiting them. Many of the calendars also include pictures inside the doors, often Christmas-related.

As in Benelux and Switzerland, a significant part of the Christmas build-up occurs on 6 December, or Nikolaustag, a day commemorating Saint Nicholas. On the evening of 5 December children in Germany place a Nikolausstiefel (a boot or a shoe) in front of the street door. Overnight, the Nikolaus, a figure similar in appearance to Santa Claus in the USA, visits the house and fills the boots with sweets and sometimes even smaller presents if the children were good; otherwise they are left with only a rute (a cane composed of birch twigs).

Christkindlesmarkt_nuernbergDuring the Christmas period, the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market)  becomes a feature of almost every city in the German-speaking countries, town or village, where visitors enjoy stalls, entertainment, and savour food and Glühwein (mulled wine). Famous Christmastime treats include Lebkuchen (gingerbread), Stollen (fruit cake), and Marzipan (confectionery often made into sweets).

The most important day of the season is the 24th where the celebration begins in the afternoon or evening and gifts are exchanged after dinner. One of the most common traditions is for the children to wait to enter into their (locked) living room until a little bell rings. This bell marks the departure of the one delivering gifts, and then the children are free to open them.

  Continue reading “Worldwide Holiday Celebrations as Told by Promega Employees: Part II”

Happy Holidays from Worldwide Promega

Posted on by Nicole Sandler

Happy Holidays from Promega employees around the world! This holiday season we are excited to share with you the kinds of celebrations we enjoy in the many countries that comprise the Promega family. We hope you feel more connected by reading about the festive customs, foods, symbols and events celebrated in countries that may be far from your own home. Here they are, in the words of our marketing and technical services colleagues.

Please note this is Part I of a two-part blog post. Please look for Part II to be posted on December 25, and have a wonderful holiday!

Italy
Maura Bozzalli, Marketing Manager

Christmas is very important in Italy, not only because we are the country with the Pope, but also, as in the rest of the world, it is a day dedicated to the family and the children. The celebration starts with dinner on Christmas Eve and goes on with the lunch on Christmas Day with gift exchanges as well.

But Christmas is not a real Christmas without a Panettone on the table. Panettone is a special sweet/dessert, not a cake, not a bread, and not anything else – it is Panettone! It has a rounded and very tall cylinder shape (20 cm), and originally it was from the Milan area but now it has spread out all over the country. As is typical of our country, each region has created its own version of the original recipe and of course claims that it is the best one! pannetone

Panettone takes more than two days of work to be done because it requires a long time for rising (10-12 hours) twice. Another typical note about its preparation – after cooking in the oven it is removed with a long fork and placed upside down for at least 5-10 hours until cold to prevent the humidity inside the Panettone from causing it to collapse. That is why it is saved for very special occasions like Christmas, and after so much work and time it is a pleasure to share it with the people you love. Today, not many people make it themselves at home;  instead Panettone is bought in shops but the taste and the tradition is still very lively.

Here all the ingredients needed to make a real Panettone: water, flour, salt, eggs and egg yolk, milk, butter, sugar, candied fruit (orange and citron), raisins, vanilla, and yeast. The official recipe is in Italian, but this tutorial can help you make a Panettone if you want to try for your own very special 2015 Christmas.

Continue reading “Happy Holidays from Worldwide Promega”

How Fruit Flies (and maybe Pigeons?) Navigate; A New Report

Posted on by Kari Kenefick
A rock dove, similar in plumage to a pigeon.
A rock dove, similar in plumage to a pigeon.

Several years ago an intriguing story of successful navigation in complex situation, by pigeons, the birds most often compared to rats, caught my eye.

Our backyard once had a coop full of pigeons, so I’m not a total stranger to their navigation abilities (nor am I a pigeon expert). My favorites were the tumbling pigeons.

But it didn’t take much time researching that article from 2012, to learn that one of the more hotly debated how-do-they-do-it topics is animal navigation, in particular, the ability of pigeons to navigate back to home/point A when released at point B.

So when it appeared online today, in Nature Materials, the story “A Magnetic Protein Biocompass” caught my eye.

Continue reading “How Fruit Flies (and maybe Pigeons?) Navigate; A New Report”

There and Back Again, Part 1

Posted on by Promega

In 2014, Promega created a special incentive to reward field science consultants who help the scientific community take advantage of the our on-site stocking program. The winners had to meet ambitious criteria to receive 2 round-trip tickets to anywhere in the world, a week of paid vacation and spending money. Our four winners from 2014 will share photos and stories about their journeys in a semi-regular Friday feature on the Promega Connections Blog.

Today’s travelogue comes to us from Mica Zaragoza, a senior client rep, who used his award to travel to Australia and New Zealand.

When initially introduced to the ambitious Helix award, I was amazed at the prospect of selecting anywhere in the world to travel, while blogging about my the adventures. Both humbled and amazed to receive this opportunity, my wife and I embarked on a journey across the Pacific.

Hyde Park in Sydney, Australia.
Hyde Park in Sydney, Australia.

Sydney, Australia

Departing our home in Chicago, my wife Crystal and I started our journey with a 5-hour trip to San Francisco for a layover before the 14 hour journey to Sydney. After jumping into the future (Thurs became Saturday), our first visit was to Central Sydney’s Hyde Park.

Taking jet lag into consideration, we decided to double-down by freshening up and dropping luggage to kick off our day at 7:30am. My first Australian purchase? Coffee! Continue reading “There and Back Again, Part 1”

Thankful it is Friday

Posted on by Kelly Grooms

Haven’t we all had that day where everything that could go wrong did go wrong?  Hopefully today was not one of those days, but if it was, I hope this cartoon helps.

Cartoon

And if we can help with one of those things that didn’t go quite right, remember our Technical Services Scientist are here to help. You can find out how to reach them on our website.

If you need some more laughter, you can find more cartoons here.

Happy Friday!