"If we knew what it was we were doing it wouldn't be called research, would it?" Albert Einstein

The importance of stupidity in scientific research - M. A Schwartz

This is a short, eloquent 'must read' essay for anybody starting a research career. The ability to drown yourself and feel okay floundering in the maelstrom of unknown is essential to start asking and then answering the right questions. Of course it helps if someone is happy to fund your proposed approach once you have risen to take a breath!

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Katie and Jacob presented their work at the European Drosophila Research Conference in Alicante - September 25th-28th 2025

EDRC 2025 Alicante Using a CaFe assay to assess mitochondrial function in olanzapine treated D.melanogaster. Katherine Mortimer 'The EDRC 2025 brought together researchers from a diverse range of disciplines with a shared interest in using Drosophila melanogaster as a biological model. For that reason, I thoroughly enjoyed the poster session. I had lots of interesting conversations pertaining to all areas of my poster, from specific methodology to a general interest in mitochondria. I found myself chatting to people for the whole 2-hour session and walking away with lots of useful insights and connections. ' Quantum Sensing of Mitochondrial Physiology in Response to a Hypomagnetic Field. Jacob Reed 'It was great to be surrounded by researchers from around the world at the 28th EDRC, all sharing a passion for Drosophila. I especially enjoyed the talks on metabolism and mitochondria, which led to insightful conversations on mito-nuclear DNA mismatch. Presentin...

New research by a Nottingham academic linking the neurodegenerative disease Parkinson’s to changes in a protein in brain mitochondria is to receive support from a prestigious US funding agency. Dr Lisa Chakrabarti, at The University of Nottingham, will receive $75,000 for a one-year research project from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF), which is dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson’s and funds promising research that could result in new treatments to slow, stop or reverse the progression of the disease. Dr Chakrabarti said: “We are trying to look at mitochondrial biology from a totally different perspective, which could have important implications for Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. The funding from The Michael J. Fox Foundation will help us to confirm whether some of the protein changes we see in Parkinson’s are related to disease course.” http://exchange.nottingham.ac.uk/research/parkinsons-study-receives-fu...

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