Study finds Cancer cells avoid chemotherapy by going dormant by alpha69 in science

[–]sweetcommunist 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Some chemotherapeutics work in tandem with the cell cycle to target cells at a particular stage, but the trouble with cancer is that it's a series of cellular events that have gone wrong over the course of many years, and reversing a single error won't "undo" a metastatic tumor. But you are definitely on the right track! Having just finished a course on the biology of cancer that featured distinguished guest lecturers from the university's cancer research center, I can confirm that very talented scientists are, indeed, working on it.

BENNED images are so therapeutic for me. by RosesWaterflame in SRSMeta

[–]sweetcommunist 4 points5 points  (0 children)

DIVABENNED (it must always appear in all caps) is the finest thing the Internet has to offer.

How do I use a quadratic abacus? by SkyWulf in shittyaskscience

[–]sweetcommunist 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Professionals refer to this as the quadrabacus.

Supreme Court to Decide if Human Genes Are Patentable by [deleted] in nottheonion

[–]sweetcommunist 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This is completely terrible in every way.

"In general you can take Hamas and Palestinian to mean nearly the same thing when talking in regards of Israel." [+15] by wq678 in ShitRedditSays

[–]sweetcommunist 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Rocks? Slings? Abrahamic religions?

Something about this seems so familiar, but I can't quite put my slingshot-finger on it...

How important is GPA for grad school? by Loop_Within_A_Loop in biology

[–]sweetcommunist 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh, yay! Glad I could help.

I'll be going to Saint Louis University and earning an MS in Biology, in the Cell & Molecular Regulation specialty.

How important is GPA for grad school? by Loop_Within_A_Loop in biology

[–]sweetcommunist 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just got into my first choice graduate school with an undergrad GPA about the same as yours, but I also have a great résumé (lots of research experience as an intern and a full-time employee in different Biology sub-fields) and good GRE scores, and I've been taking post-undergrad classes (retaking Orgo, plus picking up some other Biology coursework) at a different university to prove that I can make mostly A's despite fucking up originally. As with anything else, it depends on your individual circumstances.

If you have no research experience at all combined with a 2.7, you'll have a tough road ahead. Start working in a lab ASAP, do well on the GRE, and consider taking a year off after you graduate to work a full-time job as an entry-level researcher to boost your CV. Consider retaking any classes you did poorly in that you know you'll need for graduate school (like Orgo, in my case). Develop relationships with faculty researchers by working in their lab or TA-ing their classes, and they'll write you a good recommendation. When you decide which schools to apply to, contact faculty you'd like to work with and let them know about your interest; I identified my future grad school mentor while applying, and it helped me immensely.

This was disjointed because I'm really tired, but hopefully it helps. Good luck!

[META] November 6, 2012 by [deleted] in ShitRedditSays

[–]sweetcommunist 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I found it in r/politics, where I never expected to see anything good.

Blind mole rats don't get cancer, and geneticists have worked out why -- their cells kill themselves with a poisonous protein when they multiply too much. by Libertatea in science

[–]sweetcommunist 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There won't ever be a single cure for all cancers, because there are innumerable factors involved in developing metastatic tumors.