Day in the Life...

Scientist with a twist, Neuro PhD. Senior Editor and writer for Signal to Noise Magazine (Twitter = @SignaltoNoiseMag). Love sharing science and random passing thoughts. Also passionate about photography, horror, sci-fi, travel etc, etc.... I'm also on Twitter (@drjkyl), Instagram (@jjflygrl85 & @photoshopofhorrors).

[drjkyl-la]

The Power of a Paradox: A Lesson About Time Travel on SyFy's 12 Monkeys (Part I)

A mysterious cult-like group releases a devastating super virus. The resulting plague decimates the population, ending the world as we know it. It’s a story you’ve heard before and are likely to hear again and again, at least in science fiction. How to fix it? Go back in time and stop it from ever happening, of course. We recently had the opportunity to chat with showrunner Terry Matalas about how time and time travel work in the 12 Monkeys, a show that's not as far removed from science as you might think. Without further ado, “Initiate splinter sequence…”

I had the opportunity to chat with 12 Monkey’s showrunner Terry Matalas about time and time travel. Check out what he had to say! 

[drjkyl-la]

History or Herstory? The Women of the Manhattan Project

Set in the 1940s, in the middle of World War II, Manhattan tells the story of scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project, and gives insight into the lives of the families along for the ride. US scientists were in a race with German scientists to develop an atomic bomb that could bring an end to the war. One of the most interesting features of Manhattan is that it highlights the experiences of female scientists who were part of the project, as well as the wives and mothers of the male scientists.

[drjkyl-la]

I write for a magazine called Signal to Noise, produced by scientists like myself! One of our aims is to showcase portrayal of science and scientists in the media. MANHATTAN is one such example. Check out our interview with one of the writers from the show! 

[drjkyl-la]

History or Herstory? The Women of the Manhattan Project

Set in the 1940s, in the middle of World War II, Manhattan tells the story of scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project, and gives insight into the lives of the families along for the ride. US scientists were in a race with German scientists to develop an atomic bomb that could bring an end to the war. One of the most interesting features of Manhattan is that it highlights the experiences of female scientists who were part of the project, as well as the wives and mothers of the male scientists.

[drjkyl-la]

Recalibrating Your Internal Metronome, With a Little Imagination

We are all familiar with the unceasing sound of a clock ticking, or the regular beat of a metronome. This simple beat has big implications, though. There is a network of brain regions involved in the timing of our movements - an “internal metronome” - which enables us to complete rhythmic actions such as walking. In order to further develop therapies for diseases such as Parkinson's, we need to understand just how the brain is keeping in beat with the music - to uncover the mechanisms behind interactions between the auditory and motor brain regions, and what this means for internal timing.

[drjkyl-la]

Of Spies and Space-Time: The Science Behind Marvel’s Agent Carter

From travel between universes to matter with other-worldly properties, the latest season of Marvel’s Agent Carter brings science into the spotlight by infusing the world of comic book heroes with real-life physics and scientists who subvert stereotypes. I sat down with the science adviser for season two of Agent Carter, Dr. Clifford Johnson, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Southern California, to talk about the show's scientific concepts and the characters who explore them.

[drjkyl-la]

Science fair projects have come a long way since the days of the baking soda volcano.The Bruin Experiment (TBE), founded by two UCLA students, pairs underserved middle-schoolers with undergraduate mentors to work together to brainstorm and complete science projects. Mentors provide the support that kids need to come up with creative experiments, and a science fair is held to celebrate the students' hard work.

Great article about science outreach at UCLA written by our Editor-in-Chief at Signal to Noise Magazine!

[drjkyl-la]

Art and Life in the Subatomic Realm

My workspace has some unusual supplies for an artist’s studio. Pinned to my idea board I have a list of subatomic particles, quotes from popular physics books, the names of inspiring physicists, and a picture of Nobel Laureate Marie Curie. I use my art to explore and explain how particle physics underpins all of life. As Fermilab’s first Artist-In-Residence, I found making art about physics was an act of discovery. Using science and art together not only energized my studio practice, it changed the way I see our universe.

Art inspired by particle physics! Written by the Aritst-in-Residence at the Fermilab. Super cool!

[drjkyl-la]

Science writing is more creative than you think

I had a nice chat with a writer last week. Me being a research scientist and him being a writer, I didn’t realize how much we actually have in common. Science writing, much like creative writing, comes down to one thing, good storytelling. Like the elaborate characters that fill our favorite stories, science is filled with its own quirky, fascinating, and extraordinarily complex cast of heroes, villains, and everything in between. Science involves anything from molecular meet cutes on the subcellular level to sweeping epics that span millennia and unfathomable distances. The cast of characters and stories to be told is so vast it would take an untold number of lifetimes to read and understand it all. Naturally, though, the palette with which science writers work with is limited to what’s real. We may be stuck in the non-fiction realm, but that gives us ample space to put our creative minds to work devising ways to share our science. Often times, the process of writing up our science for publication in a journal is not unlike writing a book. We know the cast of characters and we know the broad strokes of what our story will be, but we don’t necessarily know how it will all come together. Using knowledge from previous literature we learn about the world in which we are working, what the rules are, and how our characters might function in that world. The way in which we showcase how our characters behave and interact with one another is through the data we generate and share as figures. The story of a scientific publication comes together in a very organic way, marrying our new subplots with the existing story. Each paper we write builds upon the last, adds texture, color, and detail – sharpening our focus, while developing a great work of art, one of the great stories to be added to the greatest of collections, that of science. :)

[drjkyl-la]

Primaries & time travelers. My random musings on tonight’s episode 12 Monkeys on SyFy (S2E3)

Alright, just watched Episode 3 of Season 2 of 12 Monkeys. You may not watch the show, but I’m addicted. It’s crazy fun and full of wimey-timey time travel. They set their own rules and it’s awesome to see and predict how things will play out. In this season we get to learn more and more about Jennifer Goines’ “madness.” Surprise, surprise she’s not the only crazy one. And as they said on tonight’s episode people like Jennifer aren’t crazy, they’re special. And furthermore, crazy = special = primary? Primary. They interact with time in a completely different way from us peons, almost like they are outside of time. Kinda like 12 Monkeys’ time travelers. Once you get injected with Jones’ magical chemical cocktail, you don’t just get to travel back and forth through time. You interact differently with time too. I have to wonder if there’s a special connection between primaries and time travelers. Both operate outside the normal rules of time. And time, at least as we experience it, has clearly got some issues of its own. Red leaves = manifestation of time unraveling?  Just my opinion. Something worth coming back to I’m sure. Filing this one in the deep recesses of my mind. I will be back...

[drjkyl-la]

So..........my quirky alter ego (still thinking of a good name) is quite creative and has a bit of a dark side. Being a scientist, I spend a lot of time being creative. Needless to say this spills over into my personal interests. I love art and I love graphics. So I decided I’d teach myself. I have to do a little drawing for science papers, conference posters, and talks, but never thought much of doing more. About a year and a half ago, I figured I might as well try. I also happen to really like horror and sci-fi. Hence this photo. #AlienDay was this past Tuesday, so I drew a graphic. It’s amazing what you can do in 30 minutes! Everything I draw I put on my Instagram, @photoshopofhorrors Come say hi! :)

[drjkyl-la]

Art of the abstract, clarity is key

Weird thing writing an abstract for a scientific conference. A concise writing exercise. In 2000 characters or less (difference conferences have slightly different rules), you need to clearly, with as little jargon as possible, tell the conference organizers why your research is important to them so they will let you come share your research with fellow conference-goers. Sounds easy, all those other scientists should understand you perfectly, right? WRONG. 

I’ve often experienced that scientists in my field struggle to understand what I work on. We all work on studying how the brain works. We all use a powerful model organism to do this, the mighty fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. Don’t underestimate these little critters, they’ve proven time and again how useful they are at all stages of research. Much we’ve learned from them is highly applicable even to humans. But the trouble is, many times scientists in my field get hung up on the fact that I study brains on a more global level. I’m not interested in individual neurons, I’m interested in ALL neurons and how they work together. It is complex, to be sure. Flies are capable of doing a lot of things. But studying them on a global level is not impossible. In fact, there are many labs around the world which do this, each with a slightly different approach.

Back to writing a conference abstract. Knowing your audience. When I first started out, I thought I knew my audience. Though, after attending a few conferences, many of which were highly specific to my field, I quickly found out who my audience is. Unless you are talking to members of your lab or research team, LIMIT jargon as much as you can. That’s the key to clear communication. I try to keep this in mind no matter who I’m talking to. Jargon may make you SOUND smart, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you are. As a scientist, I aim to be as clear as I can. If people can’t understand me, what’s the point?

[drjkyl-la]

A little about me

OK, so I’m a neuroscientist. I’ve got a PhD. But that’s not ME. I love science, don’t get me wrong, it’s just not all I am. For me, that’s what being on social media is about. I just want to share and talk about the things that make me happy. So be prepared. I LOVE a lot of stuff!  

[drjkyl-la]

I currently volunteer for a non-profit online magazine called Signal to Noise. To distill our mission down to one phrase, we are scientists sharing science! And no, we aren’t trying to “explain” or “clarify” for the general public. That’s part of it, but we are so much more! It takes a lot of passion to be a scientist. We are creative folk filled with love, wonder, and curiosity about our world (and universe!). So that’s what we want to do, share with all of you what we love so much. I’ll be posting out here more articles from our magazine. I hope people will and enjoy! Please feel free to provide feedback, we are here for you. 

[drjkyl-la]

Update

It’s been FAR too long since I’ve used my Tumblr account. Figured it’s about time I make my return. Struggled trying to figure out what I wanted to say out here. The answer’s been staring me straight in the face, WHATEVER I WANT. So that’s what I plan to do, talk about whatever is on my mind. Hope people find me entertaining enough. So here goes nothing..........

[drjkyl-la]

Motivation for the week, a beautiful sunset! :)

[drjkyl-la]

Motivation for the week, a beautiful sunset! :)

[drjkyl-la]

In the beginning this may be true, but as you age it gets harder and harder to be “anything” you want, even for a stem cell ;)