Day 54

The focus of my week(/fortnight) has been RNA. Or, more accurately, lack of RNA. For those who aren’t currently studying for a degree in the numerous acronyms associated with the living world, RNAs, like DNA, consist of a chain of nucleotide bases which have important functions in genetic coding, regulation and protein expression. Unlike DNA, RNA molecules are single stranded and thus much more reactive, prone to degradation and therefore particular tricky to work with- a characteristic which has left me repeating the same experiment over and over for the last week! Thankfully, after generating a new template DNA from a different linearised plasmid vector, my RNA yield went through the roof- setting me up nicely to push forward with my flexizyme project this coming week. 

Captured on film, my 'I GOT AN RNA PELLET!' dance...

This week, the nearby Dakotas saw their first flurries of snow, and, sadly, Iowa shouldn’t be too far behind. KWWL 7 Day weather is currently expecting snow here as early as Tuesday! It has gotten cold here, fast and is only set to drop chillier and chillier. I have gone from shorts and vests to scarfs and boots in less than a week, and with this in mind, found myself at the local mall to shop for some thick socks and wooly jumpers. This was pretty stressful, to be honest. There are so many weird aspects to shopping in the US- they tend to mark down sales items by %s on shelves, not on the clothes themselves and you have to remember to add state VAT to the price of everything and you can forget chip and pin! No, instead you have to swipe and sign. It might sound silly, but in a mall full of screaming teenagers and often in the dark (Hollister, Abercrombie, Victoria’s Secret etc. can’t seem to afford to light their stores) these little differences make me miss Topshop just a little more. 

I covertly took this photo at the mall this week- literally could not miss having photographic proof of what I was seeing. Happy Columbus Day. Freedom, Liberty and Justice- even for rodents....Seriously, Americans, seriously? And yes, the rabbit was very much alive and shopping....

A live Rabbit going shopping with it's owner and her husband. Welcome to Iowa. 

On saturday morning I had the pleasure of skyping with my home-girls. We spent a couple of hours pretending we were all back in Bath, bitching about life and laughing at one another- It was really, really lovely! You two had better make sure that happens again very soon :) 

Following this my friends from the lab and I all met up at the Bluebird Diner, downtown- I had been whining about wanting pancakes and, after some group discussion, saturday morning breakfast proved a good solution to this. After all of my blustering about wanting pancakes, we got to the diner, queued to get in, ordered some chocolate milk (along with hazelnut coffee, my new American addiction) and I decided that instead of the pancakes I fancied something REALLY American. I was recommended the ‘Biscuits and Gravy’ which cam with two eggs and hashbrowns, which I ordered with great difficulty- having to repeat to the ‘server’ three times before she understood my accent. 

Biscuits and Gravy

I thought I knew what to expect for my meal. Having been previously briefed by my colleagues about the vast variety of eggs in America (you can’t just order fried eggs, you have to tell the HOW you want the eggs fried and, apparently, ‘flat and cooked’ isn’t a good enough answer) I ordered them ‘over-easy’ and I was already aware that ‘biscuits’ actually meant some sort of scone-like breakfast bread. What I wasn’t prepared for was the WHITE gravy- a real travesty, in my opinon- and the CHEESY grated potatoes that were apparently known as hash browns. Translation issues aside, breakfast was really tasty and I finally got to try my American pancakes in maple syrup afterwards- even if i was too full to eat more than a few bites!

 Today I’ve been doing some baking, just for a bit of a de-stress. Like anything in the States, this is not an easy afternoon treat. No, first I have to substitute ingredients in my recipes for American equivalents, then manage to locate these equivalents in sprawling Walmart and then use my initiative to make do in a poorly-equipped kitchen. Basically, I tend not to expect great results, with all of these variables- but I’m pretty pleased today. I made a raspberry cheesecake and little fudge-brownie bite cakes. I’ll get my verdict tomorrow from the guys in the lab :)

Brownies...

And I just want to finish with an early birthday shout-out to my bestie, Memma, who turns 21AND starts her big lab project on Wednesday coming! HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND LOTS OF LOVE being sent all the way from Iowa to Perff, have a successful day and a fabulous night out- I expect a million photos and even more drinks ;) I am already channeling my inner Minaj for your serenade on Wednesday morning!

Hope everyone has a good week (and that I don’t ruin all of my progress with the RNA!),

Love love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx