Logo

Ah, Summer. The Smell of Last-Minute Ph.D. Defenses Is in the Air

Jul 16, 2007

On her blog, the FemaleScienceProfessor goes through the "Anatomy of a Ph.D. Defense." As a committee member she mainly probes the unpublished data to give feedback on it to the student but sometimes the meetings seem to be a waste of time, she says. Scroll all the way down her post -- the commenters add their own defense experiences.

Breaking News
The Scan

Pig Organ Transplants Considered

The Wall Street Journal reports that the US Food and Drug Administration may soon allow clinical trials that involve transplanting pig organs into humans.

'Poo-Bank' Proposal

Harvard Medical School researchers suggest people should bank stool samples when they are young to transplant when they later develop age-related diseases.

Spurred to Develop Again

New Scientist reports that researchers may have uncovered why about 60 percent of in vitro fertilization embryos stop developing.

Science Papers Examine Breast Milk Cell Populations, Cerebral Cortex Cellular Diversity, Micronesia Population History

In Science this week: unique cell populations found within breast milk, 100 transcriptionally distinct cell populations uncovered in the cerebral cortex, and more.