tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70774743677240540612024-03-14T23:22:52.930+11:00THE APPENDIX<b>Not just an evolutionary dead end, it's the unofficial postgraduate science blog of the vet faculty!<br><br>
| <a href="http://theappendixblog.blogspot.com/search/label/student">Students</a>|
| <a href="http://theappendixblog.blogspot.com/search/label/news">News</a> |</b><b>The Editors</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15630143417737266853noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7077474367724054061.post-4932080592480342432011-06-10T19:38:00.000+10:002011-06-10T19:38:49.692+10:00Reference ManagementA program you might find a useful alternative or adjunct to Endnote is Zotero. Use this to gether references on the internet. You have to use Mozilla Firefox as your web browser then download Zotero as an add-in. Zotero will improt references much the same way Endnote does, however you don't have to keep telling it where your Endnote librbary is. When you've finished searching you can download Katherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08384428222037885234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7077474367724054061.post-34480703537983768132011-06-10T19:10:00.000+10:002011-06-10T19:10:11.212+10:00TopTipsNot the plastic kind, not the kind that earn you money, but useful nonetheless! Share your pearls of wisdom with the appendix ...
Thanks to Jo Griffiths for this idea. She suggested we find a forum for sharing our collective post grad experience. Do you have an easy way to format a thesis? A better reference manager than Endnote? A place to order cheap labware? Then we want to hear from you.
WithKatherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08384428222037885234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7077474367724054061.post-91134546896013103942009-08-17T04:52:00.001+10:002010-01-16T08:47:12.334+11:00Always put off for tomorrow what you can do today (Part 3)In time-honoured fashion, I bring you the final instalment of my list of top-10 time wasters. Now you may have lots more new ideas for great procrastination. No, no, don’t thank me... 7. Part time work. This is a pearler because it gives you the illusion of productivity and it generates an essential output: cash. The Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7077474367724054061.post-23144639986514230012009-08-14T05:00:00.002+10:002010-01-16T08:47:26.318+11:00The postgraduate student’s guide to procrastination (Part 2)As you know, it's a serious issue that every postgraduate (particularly research postgraduates, who have three-plus years of what seems like unlimited unstructured time on their hands) must face. This week I bring you the continued results of my time-wasting by extending my fabulous list of top-10 ways to procrastinate.3. Podcasts (eg. from Nature and Science). Jo likes to download and listen to Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7077474367724054061.post-11574713349944440302009-08-13T23:57:00.001+10:002010-01-16T08:47:49.087+11:00Ode to an Allen KeyGreetings from the USA! I made it here safely and have been settling in to my new lab. I could tell you about all of the cool new lab toys that I now have to play with, or the interesting research that I will be doing here to finish off my PhD, but first things first... My apartment that I will call home for the next 8 months or so.After more than 24 hours in transit, I dragged my slightly Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7077474367724054061.post-4026473037133632512009-08-12T04:42:00.003+10:002010-01-16T08:48:17.070+11:00Welcome to Procrastinationsville, population you (Part 1)A big (and, I feel, under-discussed) issue in the lives of postgraduate students. As a sacrifice to you, dear readers, I am now going to air some dirty laundry from postgrads at the Sydney campus and tell you about some of our favourite time-wasting activities. However, I must insert here a disclaimer- have you got an impending deadline? A paper due? A talk to write? Exams to study for? Marking Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7077474367724054061.post-79653336786138955622009-07-30T11:42:00.005+10:002009-07-30T12:41:50.514+10:00Adventures in EnglandI've just gotten back from the 8th International Horse Genome Workshop, which was held last week in the English countryside north of London. The people that have come to this and previous meetings often call it the Havemeyer Workshop, because it's funded and supported by the horse-friendly Havemeyer Foundation. The workshop spanned one evening and two full days, and had a really full-on social <b>The Editors</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15630143417737266853noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7077474367724054061.post-53699197602774751902009-06-11T13:58:00.007+10:002010-01-16T08:48:30.464+11:00Five side effects to being a postgraduate studentThere are many wonderful things about being a postgraduate student. A personal computer! A sandwich toaster! Bakeoffs! Bliss! However, we've thought of a few side effects that we've come across in our efforts to get educated. We're sure you can think of more!1. Judgement based on your subject area. I study platypus venom, which is strange and obscure, so it naturally follows that I am a little <b>The Editors</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15630143417737266853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7077474367724054061.post-12263964616781759612009-06-11T13:48:00.003+10:002009-06-11T13:56:37.179+10:00Proof that we are better than trained monkeysWe have heard several PhD students over the last few years complain about how a trained monkey could do 95% of their work. Happily, Jo Griffith has pointed us in the direction of this book excerpt, which begs to differ.Extract from Complications – a surgeon’s notes on an imperfect science by Atul Gawande, (2002, Picador: New York) on training surgeons."As one professor of surgery put it to me, <b>The Editors</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15630143417737266853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7077474367724054061.post-28757496440002850502009-05-26T15:49:00.001+10:002009-05-26T15:50:29.591+10:00Are dog breeds actually different species?Discussed here in the Scientific American.<b>The Editors</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15630143417737266853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7077474367724054061.post-73433024517017075372009-05-23T18:26:00.002+10:002009-05-23T18:43:45.668+10:00Why you (a scientist) should use Twitter in your workPostgrads are people that have gone back to uni to do an advanced degree. We're not paid much, and we're nerds. Outside of our work at Uni, I like to think that we all have friends and family that aren't academics... or know one or two non-scientists, at the very least. Despite this, we show an amazing divorce from mainstream culture, and especially from the way most people communicate with one <b>The Editors</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15630143417737266853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7077474367724054061.post-55960564304244000432009-05-19T21:10:00.005+10:002009-05-19T21:33:03.799+10:00Imagine being one of 100,000 fully sequenced peopleWhat they say:"The Personal Genome Project is an open-ended research study that aims to improve our understanding of genetic and environmental contributions to human traits. We are enrolling members of the public who are willing to share their genome sequence and other personal information with the scientific community and the general public."Although I know some people will leap to point out the<b>The Editors</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15630143417737266853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7077474367724054061.post-1874642217446213172009-05-15T11:40:00.003+10:002009-05-15T11:56:21.936+10:00Expand the gene poolNo, we're not advocating gettin' jiggy with it, instead we're talking about a new competition that is being run in conjunction with Evolution - The Festival, which is being held to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin.Join project Gene Pool, where you can creatively explore what evolution means to you either in any medium or by attempting to "mutate the ABC archives". <b>The Editors</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15630143417737266853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7077474367724054061.post-83069740258072183052009-05-15T11:31:00.003+10:002009-05-15T11:36:42.454+10:00Best and brightest (that's us!) kept dirt poorA piece this week in The Age newspaper has revealed that this year's budget has done little to alleviate the financial woes of PhD students:http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/clever-country-our-brightest-are-kept-dirt-poor-20090513-b3bz.html?page=-1<b>The Editors</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15630143417737266853noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7077474367724054061.post-52290035613868250222009-05-07T20:21:00.007+10:002009-05-19T21:27:29.816+10:00It's just a little bit of G-T-C-A...Remember last year we posted about the "Dance your PhD competition"? How about going one better and adding some catchy lyrics to give you this year's hottest dance song? Ok that's an exaggeration but it really is a giggle... see it here. Turn up the volume and get grooving, labtastic people!If you come across any other great youtube videos we'd love to see them. What's one more item for <b>The Editors</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15630143417737266853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7077474367724054061.post-76199521132577309812009-04-16T09:08:00.002+10:002009-04-16T09:14:42.825+10:002009 Science and Innovation Awards for Young PeopleDo you have an innovative idea that will boost Australia's rural industries?Do you need up to $50,000 for make your idea reality?Do you want to kick start your career and build professional networks?Do you want media training to help promote your ideas?For more information and to download an application form, visit www.daff.gov.au/scienceawards or the Science Awards Manager on 02 6272 5039.<b>The Editors</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15630143417737266853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7077474367724054061.post-7342420390355846762009-04-14T16:20:00.006+10:002009-04-14T16:30:53.793+10:00Animalwatch bucketlist #1 NumbatNew regular segment, as inspired by Garbutt et al (2007) “100 animals to see before they die”.Aliases:• Myrmecobius fasciatus• Walpurti• Banded AnteaterUnder 25 words:A colourful 20-30cm marsupial found in Western Australia with a pointed muzzle and bushy tail, their days are synchronised with their main food source termites.To see a Numbat …By car…1) Drive 12 hr 33 min (1150km) from Usyd <b>The Editors</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15630143417737266853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7077474367724054061.post-21679917874536527692009-03-20T14:21:00.015+11:002009-03-20T14:40:54.436+11:00How to catch a lizardCome on, admit it, it's a skill you've always wanted to learn. Bridget Murphy is a PhD student studying the reproductive physiology of Eastern water skinks. She first learnt to catch lizards in her backyard as a kid when her mum squirted them with the hose to slow them down! Here she shows us how it's done sans hoses.Step 1: Decide what type of lizard you want to catch and figure out where to <b>The Editors</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15630143417737266853noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7077474367724054061.post-51915633592928327082009-02-24T17:53:00.011+11:002010-01-16T08:48:40.949+11:00"No good fish goes anywhere without a porpoise"... ... But I bet Lewis Carroll didn't have these zany creatures in mind when he said this. This month, we have not one but two freaky new fish facts.Up first is the recently discovered four-eyed spookfish. Despite the name and its appearance, this fish only really has two eyes, but each one has two parts (an upwards-looking one and a downwards-facing one). It uses a lens to focus light (from the <b>The Editors</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15630143417737266853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7077474367724054061.post-34873056252014828532009-02-20T13:58:00.004+11:002009-02-20T14:06:45.751+11:00Bake-off for the bushfiresBig props to the postgrads who baked and sold cupcakes, cookies, rocky road, muffins and mars bar slice on Thursday to raise money for wildlife injured in the Victorian bushfires. We raised over $300, which will go to Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary to help with animal care and recovery. Who would have thunk postgrads were such great bakers?! Further donations to Healesville can be made here. <b>The Editors</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15630143417737266853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7077474367724054061.post-50892035695156554982009-02-10T16:40:00.006+11:002010-11-11T21:06:56.457+11:00Write or Die!!!!Stuck with your writing? Forget nailing your feet to the floor or bribing yourself with chocolate, Dr Wicked has a better idea. Why not replace your fear of writing with a fear of not writing?! Write or Die- Putting the 'prod' back in productivity!The concept is fairly simple- you go to the website and set yourself a time and a word count as goals, and then you start writing. But the moment your <b>The Editors</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15630143417737266853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7077474367724054061.post-25071439547880915322009-02-03T15:46:00.009+11:002009-02-03T16:09:19.245+11:00Parasitic males and fish tailsI caught a glimpse of one of those countdown shows last week about weird animals and I thought I’ll share with you their number one wackiest animal ever (!). And it is the deep sea anglerfish. This animal has a face which would easily scare a child...(Much of this article comes from http://waynesword.palomar.edu/ww0701.htm#Angler)The deep sea anglerfish has huge jaws which are well adapted to <b>The Editors</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15630143417737266853noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7077474367724054061.post-63537200351406355162009-02-02T20:59:00.011+11:002009-02-03T16:12:35.390+11:00Gen Y Science: Jo's Guide To PodcastsIf ever you catch me walking in the corridors of power, ahem, the McMaster, across the quad, or Gunn, you will see usually see me plugged into my ipod. Now you might be thinking I’m listening to music, but actually I’m “doing my reading” or at least that’s what I tell my supervisors. It is partially true. I am listening to podcasts and many of them are science based. This means I have large <b>The Editors</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15630143417737266853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7077474367724054061.post-3714622813237278232009-01-15T17:41:00.010+11:002010-01-16T08:49:06.449+11:00Answers to questions you never thought you'd ask #3How come you can hypnotise a chicken?Many of you who grew up with chickens (I mean chickens as pets/egg factories of course; I am not suggesting that anyone here was raised by actual chickens...) will be familiar with the interesting phenomenon of hen hypnosis, by which one may reduce a flapping fowl to a quiescent and glassy-eyed Gallus gallus. I have heard of varying techiniques, including <b>The Editors</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15630143417737266853noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7077474367724054061.post-90045807455708147132009-01-07T12:50:00.008+11:002009-01-15T18:31:36.250+11:00A guide to choosing a good dogEach year, a number of Labrador and Golden Retriever pups enter the guide dog training program. At around 14-16 months of age the hard work starts, when a 5 month intensive training regime begins. During this time each dog has their health and temperament assessed, and this is where my work begins. Not all dogs entering this training program are suitable to become guide dogs, and through the use <b>The Editors</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/15630143417737266853noreply@blogger.com2