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I have one year left of my PhD!
⏱ One year left, the countdown is on ⏱ Just writing that makes me feel a little bit sick 😅 It’s honestly flown by, I can’t quite actually believe how fast it’s gone. I’ve grown so much as person since I started, I hardly recognise first year Beth. Throw in a global pandemic, two side…
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PhD update: 4 months of 3rd year!
Well, long time no speak! This year has kinda run away with itself already so I’ve got so much to update you on. First up, I submitted an abstract for two conferences which were both accepted (I couldn’t believe it). One was for a 3-minute impact statement style presentation, while the other was in the…
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2020: a year in review
WHAT. A. YEAR! We friggin’ made it!! Little did we know what was around the corner when we blissfully stepped into the year 2020! This year has been difficult for everyone and it really just goes to show how resilient we are as humans. It has been tough. There have been tears, anxiousness, depression, you…
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Beth talks blood: Part 8
What is cardiovascular disease?Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a general term for conditions affecting the heart or blood vessels. It is typically associated with a build of fatty deposits inside blood vessels known as atherosclerosis and an increased risk of blood clots known as thrombosis [1-2]. It can also be associated with damage to arteries in…
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Beth talks blood: part 7
Blood & the immune system:The immune system is essential for our survival, without it our bodies would be open to attack from bacteria, viruses, parasites and more. It is made of up of organs, cells and chemicals that fight infection. It can distinguish our tissue from foreign tissue i.e. self from non-self. Dead and faulty…
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Beth talks blood: part 6
Let’s talk about fat… Fats that circulate in the blood are called lipids (fat-soluble components of living cells). Cholesterol and triglycerides are both lipids that have essential roles in the body but in excess they can be harmful [1-3]. What is cholesterol? Cholesterol is required to build cell walls and to produce hormones and vitamin…
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Beth talks blood: Part 5
We all know that I’m a platelet girl at heart but we mustn’t forget the blood coagulation cascade, it is a vital part of haemostasis. Platelets and coagulation factors work together to prevent bleeding in incidences such as vascular injury. So one can’t be without the other and like most systems in the body, it…
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Beth talks blood: Part 4
Platelets (or thrombocytes) are tiny blood cells that help our body to form clots to stop bleeding! Platelets are pretty important for normal haemostasis (arrest of bleeding), without platelets we’d bleed out from the smallest of injuries [1, 2]. Max Schultze in 1865 first described platelets as “spherules” which he noted were much smaller…
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Beth Talks Blood: Part 3
The blood circulatory system (cardiovascular system) delivers oxygen and nutrients to all the cells in the body. It is comprised of the heart and blood vessels that run through the entire body. Blood is circulated around the body through blood vessels by the pumping action of the heart [1]. In animals with lungs, arterial blood…
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Day 2 of Lockdown 2.0
Here in England we went into a 4 week Lockdown yesterday (5th Nov 2020) and I’m feeling pretty anxious about it. This was inevitable really and I’m not going to go on about what we should have done and when, I’ll be here all day otherwise and I think I’m tired of the frustration about…
beth + biology = bethology
naturally curious
beth + biology = bethology 