Kickstarting a Plotting Revolution

A while ago our resident ExpeRt Page blogged about the disadvantages of bar plots when plotting distributions, accompanied by this summary graphic.

This post not only generated a lot of online reactions (>200 retweets already – for our standards that’s close to breaking the internet!), but also a lot of discussion among colleagues in the lab. And indeed, while plotting might seem like something you just to in addition to the actual analysis, doing it the right way is arguably as important as analyzing the right way since, after all, the figures are the things most of us look at when we try to understand the results of an article.

A Postdoc’s Tale of Loss and Search

We PhD students and postdocs frequently move around the world, often in 2- to 3-year intervals. That is wonderful, people say, and I would not disagree. But we also have to face personal, psychological, administrative, financial, or professional obstacles each time we fly into a new life.

I’ve moved to three new countries so far. And I am currently in the process of moving to the fourth, namely from my first postdoc in Paris to my second in Philadelphia. So I’m taking the opportunity to share my experiences, starting with a story that Kafka would probably be proud of. It’s the story of how the post’s loss of my visa and passport resulted in me still eating baguette instead of burgers (and it’s developing into a personal, psychological, administrative, financial, AND professional obstacle, despite the fact that being forced to continue drinking wine in sunny Paris is not the worst fate in the world).

Science would be better with more women

Guest post by Katharina Höftmann (author and journalist). Katharina studied Psychology with Sho in her former life, but instead of becoming a cognitive scientist she is now a successful author and journalist, living and working in Tel Aviv. She talked with Professor Daniel  Zajfman, president of the renowned Weizman Institute of Science, about women in science, nobel prizes and the link between industry and science. He is the youngest president in the history of the research institute. Since the 47-year old physicist took over in 2006, the institute became more renowned and more international than ever before. Katharina spoke with Professor Zajfman about Israeli science and his work as president (originally published for Israel between the lines).

Israel Between the Lines (IBTL): It is quite remarkable that so many Nobel Prize winners are from Israel – what is the secret of their success?