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Found My MAP
UMBC has this interesting little subsection on the student portal called “My Academic Profile,” or “MAP.” This page is supposed to display your progress through completing the General Foundation Requirements (GFRs) the university requires before they will allow you to graduate. The caveat? They never update the darn thing, largely because the inane system requires…
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Null Time
I can’t stand those situations when one thing ends just a little bit earlier than expected, leaving me with unoccupied down time before my next appointment begins. I have learned from experience that there is very little that can be squeezed into those twenty minutes or so if I still plan on being on time…
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Blotting My Dismay
After many days of work and waiting through long incubations, I have now screwed up not only the first, but the second Western blot I have ever done in my life. Granted, the problems are relatively minor considering the number of things that could go wrong in such an extended process, but both of my…
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Ready to Cure Cancer?
Even before I began my research position, I have frequently heard people of many different areas of focus, science majors included, talk about “curing cancer.” The implication is that somehow, it would be possible to find a treatment or technique that would be able effectively eliminate the phenomenon. This assumption is extraordinarily frustrating to me…
Matter, Energy, and Life of Michaela A. Castello.