Lab News - 19th December 2012

The SBS Christmas Party this year was a 'Bio Day Out'. We were a very credible parody of The Who: (You broke) The What? The act included guitar destruction and a smoking centrifuge. How we didn't win a prize, I don't know...

In case of Mayan Apocalypse tomorrow, below are some words of comfort. Otherwise, have a great holiday and we will resume in 2013.

When the world ends, you’re going to be oxygen and carbon and calcium, just like you are now. That’s what you’ve always been and always will be. You were a bunch of elements. The world was a bunch of elements, hydrogen and helium and some other things. It was Pangaea, it was single-celled organisms, it was volcanoes and erosion and pollination. And from that: Light bulbs. Pyramids. Jury duty. Castles. Bombs. Libraries. “Macbeth.” Farms. Cemeteries. The Bible. The Internet. Sewage systems. Cigarettes. Surgery. 

We built this, and all we are is oxygen and carbon and calcium. We’re just ingredients, and we built this.

The sun will get too hot and oceans will rise. The earth will go away and everything we built will go away too. Everything will be gone. In the meantime, it’s a sad, amazing little place you inhabit, and the world hasn’t ended yet. We’re here, you’re here, and tomorrow might be good, tomorrow can be good, tomorrow has to be good, because otherwise, what are you doing here?

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/when-the-world-ends/