DNA, Book Shops and Cookies
This blog post is going to be slightly different from previous ones in that I'm simply going to document my day as it's been an interesting mix of focussed work and nonchalant wanderings...
My day began at The Natural History Museum in Oxford. My college had organised a biology workshop in which we would be taught how to extract our DNA to assess whether or not we possessed the TAS2R38 gene that enables us to taste a bitter chemical called PTC.
The practical involved us learning many modern techniques used frequently in laboratories in many universities. These included the Polymerase Chain Reaction, HaeIII Restriction Digestion and Gel Electrophoresis.
The fiddly and careful procedures that we carried out in order to complete the experiment were made worthwhile when we viewed our results under UV light - a clear representation of our individual genotypes; a considerably startling and fairly mind-blowing sight.
I then had one of the loveliest afternoons I've had in a long time
I spent it wandering around a rainy Oxford, visiting various university college grounds (namely, the beautiful Balliol College gardens)
I spent several years in Blackwell’s bookshop, glancing over God only knows how many book spines. I took refuge in the Norrington room (Oxford's modern equivalent to the Hogwarts library restricted section) to read a book about how to be successful in life in innovative ways before heading upstairs to read my own book - Eat Pray Love - in a Café.
After getting briefly lost on my way back to the city centre, I found myself in the undercover market right outside Ben’s Cookies (easily the best cookies in Oxfordshire) and asked for whatever cookie had most recently come out of the oven, which turned out to be a beautifully sticky plain chocolate chip.
Even the train ride back was beautiful, speeding along through the melancholy rain towards home where a steaming lamb casserole awaited me.
My day began at The Natural History Museum in Oxford. My college had organised a biology workshop in which we would be taught how to extract our DNA to assess whether or not we possessed the TAS2R38 gene that enables us to taste a bitter chemical called PTC.
The practical involved us learning many modern techniques used frequently in laboratories in many universities. These included the Polymerase Chain Reaction, HaeIII Restriction Digestion and Gel Electrophoresis.
The fiddly and careful procedures that we carried out in order to complete the experiment were made worthwhile when we viewed our results under UV light - a clear representation of our individual genotypes; a considerably startling and fairly mind-blowing sight.
I then had one of the loveliest afternoons I've had in a long time
I spent it wandering around a rainy Oxford, visiting various university college grounds (namely, the beautiful Balliol College gardens)
I also spent a large portion of my time walking down countless back alleys. I'm not sure what it is about back alleys that intrigue me so. It might have something to do with the fact that you never truly feel you are entitled to be there, yet their endearing ambience always seems to lay host to some treasure-trove of a shop. I found the most gorgeous writing/stationary shop that looked as though it would be more at home in Rowling's Diagon Alley, selling quills, recondite journals and beautiful gold-leafed classic novels.
I spent several years in Blackwell’s bookshop, glancing over God only knows how many book spines. I took refuge in the Norrington room (Oxford's modern equivalent to the Hogwarts library restricted section) to read a book about how to be successful in life in innovative ways before heading upstairs to read my own book - Eat Pray Love - in a Café.
After getting briefly lost on my way back to the city centre, I found myself in the undercover market right outside Ben’s Cookies (easily the best cookies in Oxfordshire) and asked for whatever cookie had most recently come out of the oven, which turned out to be a beautifully sticky plain chocolate chip.
Even the train ride back was beautiful, speeding along through the melancholy rain towards home where a steaming lamb casserole awaited me.
It' days like this I feel very lucky to live the life that I do. I must say, I seriously enjoy exploring unfamiliar cities on my own on rainy afternoons... providing there's always a book shop close at hand for familiar comfort.
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