Egg & Ego: An Almost True Story of Life in the Biology Lab

by J.M.W. Slack

Book Overview

A light-hearted look at the nature of academic science, intended for anyone interested in biology but particularly for biology students who want to find out what the future holds in store. The "Egg" of the title refers to the science of developmental biology, which is the speciality of the author, and which provides the material for many of the anecdotes. The "Ego" relates to the vanity of the scientists themselves. Academic scientists have to struggle...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0387985603
• ISBN13: 9780387985602
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Springer
• Length: 195 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Great book for future graduate students, postdocs, scientists

Very interesting description of science development and the science of development as it unfolded. Also great insight into the ups and downs of being a graduate student and scientist. Witty and interesting. A great read.

A Review from a Student's Perspective

As an undergraduate studying biology and hoping to pursue a career in research I found this book both informative and shocking. J.M.W Slack openly reveals all the ins and outs of "Life in the Biology lab." I strongly recommend this book to anyone curious to what's truly in store for them if they choose to enter a field of science.

An unvarnished view of life as a research biologist...

Slack does a grand job of telling his story...life and living as a researcher working on problems of development. Slack has the ability to get you to grin as he talks about cow brains, growth factors, and other scientific adventures..."Where are the brains, Dad?" (You'll have to read the book to know what that means.) He also ably tells what it's like to be a scientist, as well as how one negotiates the politics and requirements of becoming successful as a research scientist.The format of the book is interesting. It includes several chapters that address what it's like ("Ego") to be a research scientist, i.e., chapters 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10. He defines what he calls "good places," as well as who "good people" are in the scientific community. If you are a budding scientist, these chapters contain nugget after nugget of wisdom and insight. This book is worth the price for them alone.The remaining chapters, 3, 5, 8 contain the essence of the research that Slack and his group do, thus the "Egg" portion of the book's title. There is good information about the role of growth factors in development, and a broad brush review of the essentials of some of the processes of development and their molecular bases.If you are up for a good read about life as a biologist, then come on along. The only reason I didn't award this book 5-stars is that there would be a strong tendency for those not trained in the sciences to get lost in the technical aspects of the chapters on developmental processes. For most biologists, however, especially for upper division undergraduate and graduate students, this book is a gem!4 stars for the non-scientist, and 5 stars for the science crowd.Kudos to Slack for this great little book (though he seems to take a rather dim view of places other than research universities -- we part ways there). There is, I believe, too strong a sentiment among researchers (represented by some of Slack's opinions) that what non-researcher biologists do, i.e., teach, is not just different, it is "less than." It all comes down to what you choose to do for your own career, and how you define success for yourself.I hope this review was helpful!Alan Holyoak, Dept of Biology, Manchester College, IN

Excellent guide for a would be biomedical researcher

This is an excellent book for anyone who might have some idea that they might want to be a professional scientist, working in biomedical research or as a professor in a university. Slack writes very well and he can tell an amusing anecdote. There is a some good science in it too. He is slightly curmidgeonly, perhaps, but I think this is part of his appeal. He tells it like it is. Read this book to find out that being a research scientist, perhaps unfortunately, is like being in the corporate world, and scientists have egos just like anyone else. There is a wealth of guidance for a new 'starry eyed' student. Slack is a good scientist and he portrays with a light touch some of the characters he knows, journals, government regulations and career structures. In addition he explains how he got into science and why. Anyone who is already a biological scientist will find much to chuckle at and I think that all biology students should read it - particularly if contemplating going on to take a higher degree. This book is an antidote to the ridiculous idea that scientists are 'higher beings' concerned only with 'truth'.