Tears and raindrops make the same sound when they hit the ground<\/strong><\/p>\n\u201cTears and raindrops make the same sound when they hit the ground\u201d I once told my grandma when I was no older than seven.<\/p>\n
She had smiled and told my entire family I was going to become a poet. But truth being told, I wasn\u2019t trying to be foretelling or poetic. There was no second layer, no hidden meaning, no metaphor in my words. I was simply making an observation.<\/p>\n
And so, I became a \u2026 scientist.<\/p>\n
My fascination with water started early and did not falter through the years.<\/p>\n
When I had to pick a sport? Swimming.<\/p>\n
Did you know that the materials that make up most swimmers\u2019 suits are hydrophobic? They can increase the speed of swimmer by 1.22%(1)!<\/p>\n
Summer location for vacations? Anywhere with rivers or falls.<\/p>\n
Did you know that Niagara\u2019s falls are responsible for about 4 million kilowatts of electricity(2)? I could go on for ages.<\/p>\n
Everyone figured I would eventually go into physics or engineering \u2026 materials perhaps.<\/p>\n
Not \u2026 Chemical Biology.<\/p>\n
My family is still confused to this day, but I can give you a hint: human bodies are made up of 70% water.<\/p>\n
Which means, inevitably, that a lot of the stuff that goes on inside us is dependent on it,
\nstarting from cells.<\/p>\n
Heard of those?<\/p>\n
\u201cSmallest part of a living organism!\u201d<\/em> one student may suggest.<\/p>\n\u201cThe building blocks of life!\u201d <\/em>Pretty derivative, but I will take it.<\/p>\n\u201cA very tiny water balloon!\u201d<\/em> Ah! Yes. I do like this one the best.<\/p>\nCells are very tiny water balloons. They have an external membrane made of biomolecules, which keeps the balloon intact, and they are subdivided into smaller internal balloons with
\ndifferent functions.<\/p>\n
A nucleus-balloon contains the genetic material; the mitochondria-balloon contains the proteins and the molecules that produce energy in the cell; the lysosome-balloon is where the cell disposes of all its \u201cjunk\u201d.<\/p>\n
Now, there are some balloons that are not really divided by any membrane or physical barrier from the external environment, which is \u2026 where the whole balloon metaphor starts to fall apart. And it is also why it is so complicated to reproduce what happens biologically in artificial cells.<\/p>\n
My job is to understand how these floating liquid-like components of the cells behave, to then readapt it into an artificial cell context.<\/p>\n
Very simplistically, much like oil and water mixing depends on external factors like composition, temperature and pressure, so does the existence of these membrane-less organelles.<\/p>\n
How can this be of use? Well, just think of all the problems that come from cells misbehaving: a protein may be overexpressed and cause cancer, the DNA may not be transcribed correctly leading to damaging mutations, \u2026 all that can be fixed or prevented by replacing damaged cells with functioning engineered ones.<\/p>\n
Pretty cool, right? And to think it is mostly water!<\/p>\n
In conclusion, to answer my own original question:<\/p>\n
Tears and raindrops may make the same sound when they hit the ground, but human bodies definitely don\u2019t.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Federica Raguseo, PhD Student, Department of Chemistry Tears and raindrops make the same sound when they hit the ground \u201cTears and raindrops make the same sound when they hit the ground\u201d I once told my grandma when I was no older than seven. She had smiled and told my entire family I was going […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":242,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53,82507,82827,3202,154400],"tags":[53,82827],"class_list":["post-1066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-events","category-masters-students","category-phd-students","category-public-engagement","category-science-communication","tag-events","tag-phd-students"],"yoast_head":"\n
Science Writing Competition 2021 - 2nd Place - The Early Career Researcher Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/2021\/06\/30\/science-writing-competition-2021-2nd-place\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Science Writing Competition 2021 - 2nd Place - The Early Career Researcher Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by Federica Raguseo, PhD Student, Department of Chemistry Tears and raindrops make the same sound when they hit the ground \u201cTears and raindrops make the same sound when they hit the ground\u201d I once told my grandma when I was no older than seven. She had smiled and told my entire family I was going […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/2021\/06\/30\/science-writing-competition-2021-2nd-place\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Early Career Researcher Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-06-30T09:40:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-03-25T16:36:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Bethan Ritchie\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Bethan Ritchie\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/2021\/06\/30\/science-writing-competition-2021-2nd-place\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/2021\/06\/30\/science-writing-competition-2021-2nd-place\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Bethan Ritchie\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/#\/schema\/person\/d6f1b212d426c4844e40a011c92f3777\"},\"headline\":\"Science Writing Competition 2021 – 2nd Place\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-30T09:40:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-03-25T16:36:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/2021\/06\/30\/science-writing-competition-2021-2nd-place\/\"},\"wordCount\":519,\"keywords\":[\"Events\",\"PhD Students\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Events\",\"Master's Students\",\"PhD Students\",\"Public Engagement\",\"Science Communication\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/2021\/06\/30\/science-writing-competition-2021-2nd-place\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/2021\/06\/30\/science-writing-competition-2021-2nd-place\/\",\"name\":\"Science Writing Competition 2021 - 2nd Place - The Early Career Researcher Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-30T09:40:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-03-25T16:36:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/#\/schema\/person\/d6f1b212d426c4844e40a011c92f3777\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/2021\/06\/30\/science-writing-competition-2021-2nd-place\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/2021\/06\/30\/science-writing-competition-2021-2nd-place\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/2021\/06\/30\/science-writing-competition-2021-2nd-place\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Science Writing Competition 2021 – 2nd Place\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/\",\"name\":\"The Early Career Researcher Blog\",\"description\":\"The Early Career Researcher Blog for Imperial College Research Students\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/#\/schema\/person\/d6f1b212d426c4844e40a011c92f3777\",\"name\":\"Bethan Ritchie\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0dd87e1bbe1997d5fb711104f98efa5cbed62dee3ed84d55df403d8728efdd0c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0dd87e1bbe1997d5fb711104f98efa5cbed62dee3ed84d55df403d8728efdd0c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0dd87e1bbe1997d5fb711104f98efa5cbed62dee3ed84d55df403d8728efdd0c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Bethan Ritchie\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/author\/bvj\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Science Writing Competition 2021 - 2nd Place - The Early Career Researcher Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/2021\/06\/30\/science-writing-competition-2021-2nd-place\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Science Writing Competition 2021 - 2nd Place - The Early Career Researcher Blog","og_description":"by Federica Raguseo, PhD Student, Department of Chemistry Tears and raindrops make the same sound when they hit the ground \u201cTears and raindrops make the same sound when they hit the ground\u201d I once told my grandma when I was no older than seven. She had smiled and told my entire family I was going […]","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/2021\/06\/30\/science-writing-competition-2021-2nd-place\/","og_site_name":"The Early Career Researcher Blog","article_published_time":"2021-06-30T09:40:29+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-03-25T16:36:28+00:00","author":"Bethan Ritchie","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Bethan Ritchie","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/2021\/06\/30\/science-writing-competition-2021-2nd-place\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/2021\/06\/30\/science-writing-competition-2021-2nd-place\/"},"author":{"name":"Bethan Ritchie","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/#\/schema\/person\/d6f1b212d426c4844e40a011c92f3777"},"headline":"Science Writing Competition 2021 – 2nd Place","datePublished":"2021-06-30T09:40:29+00:00","dateModified":"2024-03-25T16:36:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/2021\/06\/30\/science-writing-competition-2021-2nd-place\/"},"wordCount":519,"keywords":["Events","PhD Students"],"articleSection":["Events","Master's Students","PhD Students","Public Engagement","Science Communication"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/2021\/06\/30\/science-writing-competition-2021-2nd-place\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/2021\/06\/30\/science-writing-competition-2021-2nd-place\/","name":"Science Writing Competition 2021 - 2nd Place - The Early Career Researcher Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-06-30T09:40:29+00:00","dateModified":"2024-03-25T16:36:28+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/#\/schema\/person\/d6f1b212d426c4844e40a011c92f3777"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/2021\/06\/30\/science-writing-competition-2021-2nd-place\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/2021\/06\/30\/science-writing-competition-2021-2nd-place\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/2021\/06\/30\/science-writing-competition-2021-2nd-place\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Science Writing Competition 2021 – 2nd Place"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/","name":"The Early Career Researcher Blog","description":"The Early Career Researcher Blog for Imperial College Research Students","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/#\/schema\/person\/d6f1b212d426c4844e40a011c92f3777","name":"Bethan Ritchie","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0dd87e1bbe1997d5fb711104f98efa5cbed62dee3ed84d55df403d8728efdd0c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0dd87e1bbe1997d5fb711104f98efa5cbed62dee3ed84d55df403d8728efdd0c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0dd87e1bbe1997d5fb711104f98efa5cbed62dee3ed84d55df403d8728efdd0c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Bethan Ritchie"},"url":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/author\/bvj\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/242"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1066"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1066\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1069,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1066\/revisions\/1069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/icpostgrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}