How to die at the push of a button

The laboratory instrument pictured at left is a Beckman Coulter Ultracentrifuge. Basically it's a giant spinny thing, that makes proteins and DNA go round and round at speeds of 130 000 rpm to separate them. The molecules in your tube experience forces of over 1 million g's. That's over a million times the force the earth is excerting on your body right now. It is the sort of equipment that demands your respect. On Wednesday I was quietly busy in the lab, minding my own business designing primers (again), when a strange whining noise from the lab next door made me look up from my work. Weird. People started running and shouting and immediately I knew where the noise was coming from: some ignorant student had forgotten to tighten the rotor of the ultra to the spindle before switching it on. Chilling. Apparently Lieschen, who is the only capable person in the lab next door at that time, shot up like a bolt from her hidey-hole behind her laptop, ran to the unstable ultra (and the wide-eyed girl who stood in front of the machine, just staring at it), pushed the STOP button and kept right on running out of the lab. A very wise course of action.

Folks, when the rotor of an ultra comes off the spindle churning it around at 130 000 rpm, it turns into a massive titanium projectile. If you're lucky, the machine will start making noises like a top loader washing machine on spin cycle being thrown down the stairwell of a very tall building and the unstable rotor will cause about 500 grand's worth of damage to the machine. If you're not so lucky, the rotor will be thrown straight through the body of the ultracentrifuge, as well as any kind of construction/lab equipment/unwitting scientist in its trajectory.

Every once in a while, we'll have a chemical spill or fire in our building and it's quite a story to get everybody out, 'cause it just ain't that bad and nobody takes any notice of such trifles. But when the whining noise starts, everybody makes a run for it.

10 books you must read before you die

I recently gave a talk in FABI on this topic. It went down very well, as most of the talks presented there are on brain numbingly boring subjects, such as the phylogenetic relationships between different kinds of fungi scraped from telephone poles (I'm not making this up) or trapping banana weavils with pheromone traps. So I decided to do something different. These scientists almost never read anything outside their specific field of study, but I do. Or at least try to, every now and then. Here then is my list, in no way endorsed by the authors or their publishers. Please be reminded that this is not a ranked list, and all books are regarded equally (well, Almost Like a Whale is slightly more equal than the others).

1 Voyage of the Beagle Charles Darwin
Documenting Darwin's 1831 journey of discovery that sparked his theories of evolution and natural selection.

2 The Golden Ratio Mario Livio
Discusses phi, a number not only known for its aesthetic qualities in art and architecture, but also ubiquitous in physics and nature.









3 The Red Queen Matt Ridley
The real deal on how sex evolved and how sexual selection has shaped the human mind.










4 Stiff Mary Roach
The secret history of the exciting 'life' of cadavers.












5 The Diversity of Life Edward O. Wilson
Beautifully written treatise on biodiversity and environmental ethics.












6 Rivals Michael White
Illustrates how rivalry has been a driving force in scientific discovery through the ages.











7 The Selfish Gene Richard Dawkins
The gene is the unit of selection and really doesn't care about much else than passing on to the next generation.











8 Innumeracy John Allen Paulos
Why are people afraid of numbers? Is it fate or coincidence? How does the media misinterpret statistics? Are the odds in your favour?










9 Orchid Fever Eric Hansen
Enter a realm of obsessed smugglers, murderous Victorians, bureaucracy, red tape, and little old ladies.










10 Almost Like a Whale Steve Jones
Darwin's Origin of Species updated for the 21st century. It will amuse you, astound you and leave you with a new-found passion for biology.









For those anoraks among you, here are the books on my long list that didn't make the cut (and I'm not implying that I've actually read all of these, but hey, I need something to read in future, too). Trilobite and Counting Sheep were my favourites from this long list.

11 The Quark and the Jaguar Murray Gell-Mann
The unified theory of everything and beyond.

12 Six Degrees Duncan J. Watts
Ever play that Kevin Bacon game? This book is on the science of networks: social, economic, electronic. Diverse.

13 The Ancestor's Tale Richard Dawkins
A pilgrimage through time with our genetic relatives to meet our common ancestors. At each convergence we're joined by sister groups, until finally all life is connected, a big family reunion at the start of it all.

14 Wonderful Life Stephen Jay Gould
Arguably the best volume on palaeobiology. The fossils of the Burgess Shale shed light on how strange the Primordial Soup might have been.

15 Longitude Dava Sobel
The history of cartography comes to life in this tale of greed, ignorance and heroism.

16 Gödel Escher Bach Douglas R. Hofstadter
Gödel's mathematical theorems, Escher's art and Bach's music are linked together to illuminate the mysteries of the human thought process.

17 Counting Sheep Paul Martin
Why do we sleep? What happens when we're asleep? How does this intriguing process go wrong? Find it all here, as well as tips on how to get a good night's rest.

18 Trilobite Richard Fortey
The natural history of an ancient arthropod, a witness to evolution, told with spark and enthusiasm.

19 Beyond Supernature Lyall Watson
Telepathy, reincarnation, poltergeists and telekinesis cannot be explained by logic or science, right? Guess again.

20 The Meaning of It All Richard Feynman
Feynman's inspiring lectures on the value of science, science and religion, pseudoscience, and science and public perception.

The "I'll ask the questions around here!" Interview

Question time, folks!

Okay, so to give everyone an easy opt-out, you may either

• post your responses on your own blog, thereby inciting another round of incestuous interviews
• post your responses as a comment here on Eclectic Epiphytes, thereby breaking the vicious chain letter cycle

Here are my questions in order of comments received. Don't be offended; it's never personal and is often more a test of creativity than anything else. Enjoy.

karen
1. When did you realize you wanted to become a doctor?
2. Tell us what you think Michel Houllebecq will do next.
3. What smell immediately takes you back to your childhood?
4. At which point did your relationship with Rowan advance to the next level and who initiated it?
5. Is there hope for Africa?

lexi
1. What do you think of genetically modified food?
2. Tell us about something you're really pasisonate about - make it sound like an infomercial.
3. Where did the name of your blog come from?
4. You've been commissioned to write a Mills & Boon romance. Give us a synopsis of the plot.
5. Which foreign country would you like to travel to and why?

arcadia
1. What were you like in primary school?
2. You can put 5 modern items in a time capsule to be opened in exactly 274 years. What are they?
3. What is a really good party game to play whilst getting smashed?
4. What is your favourite poem and why?
5. Chocolate - just another snack food, or religious experience?

gm
1. Give a short review of the worst movie you've ever seen.
2. Tell us about a cool and secret place in your home town that nobody knows about.
3. As a journalist, what would be your dream assignment?
4. Which band/actor/author do you think is going to be the next big thing?
5. Invent a new cocktail: right here, right now.

~d
1. What is your favourite national holiday and why?
2. You have the power to become invisible. What is the first thing you do?
3. Give us your version of New Orleans - is it all jazz and alligators as I imagine it?
4. What are the sexiest lyrics to a song you've ever heard?
5. Can you cook and if so - got any specialities?

Music For The Masses

A playlist. No theme, no pattern, just what's been in heavy circulation on the ol' iPod lately.

01 John the Revelator Playing the Angel Depeche Mode
02 Pandora Treasure Cocteau Twins
03 Title and Registration Transatlanticism Death Cab for Cutie
04 Destroy Everything You Touch Witching Hour Ladytron
05 Tyrant The Bravery The Bravery
06 Bongo Bong Clandestino Manu Chao
07 Lift Me Up Hotel Moby
08 Missing Piece Unsound Methods Recoil
09 Victim of Love The Circus Erasure
10 Fly Me Away Supernature Goldfrapp