Put the champagne on ice

This week I completed preparation of a variant of the DnaK protein doubly labeled with two fluorophores for FRET experiments. Unfortunately, I could not detect any FRET--reasons for this are 1) the so-called Forster distance for the fluorophores is too small for energy exchange at the positions they are located 2) the protein is not actually labeled with two active fluorophores 3) the protein is in too low concentration, a probable possibility since I lost most of it during troubleshooting of the preparative process. Disappointing, but I'm still optimistic I'll have it ready soon.

Today was a nice, relaxing Sunday. I began with a walk through the rhododendron dell in the Dunedin Botanical Garden. This week is the Dunedin rhododendron festival. I saw many pretty flowers and some really neat New Zealand parrots as well. I got a few pictures:



Then I continued on to the Otago Museum to see a special exhibition on West African art, music, food, and spirituality. An expert weaver was demonstrating his craft. The loom was a rather complex machine and it took me about fifteen minutes to get to the point where I thought I had an idea of how it worked. There was also an exhibit on how clay pots are made, and there was one interesting video showing a group of women making a pile of pots, covering them with dry grass, and lighting the whole pile ablaze to harden the pots.

From the museum I went to Kmart and bought a kite. The wind wasn't so strong today though, so I didn't get it flying for more than a couple minutes.

It is now exam season at Otago Uni, and most of the honors biochemistry students are really freaking out. The thing is that the exam period runs from last Friday until the middle of November. Some students have one exam now and another four weeks later. This seems incredibly inconvenient if you want to go home for the summer, yet most don't seem to mind. Apparently they intend on studying steadily for one class for weeks on end. And they're still going nuts! Some of them incessantly complain about how stressed out they are, yet they don't take any study breaks. All of this just boggles the mind because back home we had four days of reading period, then one solid week of exams. Having two exams in one day was not uncommon. A good 48 hours of intense studying interspersed with a naked mile or a polar bear swim was usually sufficient for one class. Students here are severely lacking in study skills and studying efficiency, and I think the Uni exacerbates the problem by giving them over a month to prepare. One week was plenty of exams--get it over with and go home.

This Saturday is the 350 international day of climate action. I will begin the day by participating in some sort of giant human scale at Baldwin Street, the World's Steepest Street which is a 1/4 mile from my house. Then I will cycle down to the Dunedin railway station to participate in the Spring Food Festival featuring Otago's best produce, beer, cheese, music, beekeeping, etc. At 10:30 cyclists in Otago are having a short 10k ride around the waterfront to rally the troops. In the evening is a showing of the film Food Inc. I'll give a full report next week.

In a shocking development last week, a student who I know in the biochemistry department was beaten unconscious by an intruder in her own home. She has no memory of anything in the past few years, including the biochemistry department, her studies, and her friends here. It's too early to say whether her memory will come back. Our thoughts are with her and her family.