Magnets and mushrooms

It does not seem like my alcohol dehydrogenase[1] is well expressed or I may have felt better today. Anyway, I feel like blogging now. I read this great article in symmetry (the Fermilab/SLAC magazine). If you have a few minutes time, check it out. It talks about Fermi's favourite toy, a big magnet. I love the quotes. With his magnet Fermi could produce so many particles that "if [he] could remember the names of all these particles, [he]'d be a botanist."

Let's switch fields. I had this amazing lecture in preparation for a biochemistry lab and it totally changed my view of molds. I just love it if a lecturer is really taken by the topic (even if it's not a special interest of mine). It was cool because she just kept on talking and talking and it did not even stop her when she ran out of powerpoint slides. I guess this could be boring but I just thought it was cool.

Next time I notice a green spot on my bathroom wall I will just be amazed by the fact that this little guy is able to live off nothing but paint and wall. And I will always pity biologists for having to deal with the fact that Hypocrea jecorina and Trichoderma reesei are just two appearances of the same species. So instead of just saying Hypocrea jecorina or just saying Trichoderma reesei, they always have to say Hypocrea jecorina / Trichoderma reesei.

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[1] This seems to be the correct term. But I can't imagine how you would pronounce that in English.