May 9, 2014

Phylo game: Voyage of the Beagle deck update. #darwindeck #wip #whoa #soawesome

As many of you know, one of my stranger science education projects is a biodiversity themed card game called Phylo. This project has been especially interesting of late, with a variety of new elements being launched via a number of great open collaborations (AMNH, GSA, Muse, Keeling Lab, etc – see the Phylo blog for more details).

But there is also this “Voyage of the Beagle” deck (or just the “Darwin Deck, #darwindeck” as some have been calling it), that was talked about a couple months back. This is still a work in progress, but we have a list of cards (beta deck with commons images can be seen here), and most of the art has already been commissioned. It actually looks like we’ll need one more commission* (of about 8 images at $200 each), but I thought it would be cool to show you what the other amazing artists have done so far.

* If you’re interested, leave a link of your portfolio in the comments.

Robert Ball: website | instagram | twitter

Robert I actually came across by way of his very cool work on superhero drawings (I actually have his Avengers print on my home office wall). His first two pieces are below, but he’s also planing to link his 8 pieces into a final panoramic montage.

robertdarwin01

(click the below to enlarge)

robertdarwin02

Golly Bard: website | instagram

Diana (see below) did a great job of referring Golly to the project. These are Golly’s first drafts, but you can already tell that they’re going to look extraordinary.

gollybarbwipdarwindeck

Rachel Ignotofsky: website | instagram

Rachel has this great whimsical style (and some of her art has been shown here previously). She’s actually completed a couple already as you can see below!

racheldarwin01
racheldarwin02

Diana Sudyka: website | instagram | twitter

And finally, we have Diana. I’ve been a big fan of Diana’s work for a while now, especially since she worked on a picture for a piece at the SCQ. In any event, her lovely artworks (which were just finished) are shown below.

dianadarwin01

dianadarwin02

dianadarwin03

dianadarwin04

Anyway, I hope you are all as excited as I am for this #darwindeck. I’m thinking that it should be ready by late 2014 or early 2015. And don’t forget, it looks like we will need one more artist in the mix, so leave a link to your portfolio if you’re interested!

Visit Vancouver: enjoy the scenery, and (oh yeah) enjoy learning molecular biology. July 28 – Aug 1st workshop. Please RT

I’d also like to point out that all fees go towards our various public outreach programs, so even if you’re not interested in attending, it would be totally cool if you could share this with others that may be so inclined.

More details below and also via my lab’s website (bioteach.ubc.ca)

proffworkshopadJuly2014

ONE WEEK VERSION (5 DAYS) – MOLECULAR TECHNIQUES WORKSHOPS
July 28th to August 1st, 2014 (CAN$1400) – poster pdf

DESCRIPTION:This intense 5 day workshop will focus on a myriad of different techniques used in the molecular manipulation of DNA, RNA and protein, as well as inclusion of lectures of high throughput genomic techniques. Primarily aimed at researchers who are new to the area, familiar but require a quick updating, or would like more practical bench training.

Hands on techniques covered include: Various nucleic acid purification methodologies (silica bead, organic, and/or pI based), restriction digests, ligations, dephosphorylation assays, agarose gel electrophoresis, transformation (including electroporation), PCR, reverse transcriptase assay, real time qPCR, SDS-PAGE,Western blot analysis, Isoelectric focusing strips, and 2D protein gels. Lectures on next-gen sequencing, SNPs, microarrays, bioinformatic tools.

To register or inquire about the workshop, please contact Dr. David Ng at db@mail.ubc.ca or 604-822-6264. More information can be found at http://www.bioteach.ubc.ca/portfolio/professional-courses/

REVIEWS FROM PREVIOUS SESSION (Feb 2014):

“Really good workshop!! Dave really does an amazing job explaining all different laboratory experiments and the theories behind them. The workshop gives a very good overview from both a theoretical and practical point of view of the main molecular biology protocols and procedures. Very good to refresh general concepts if you have experience, or to gain exposure if you are not familiar with molecular biology.”
Jose Damon Urbez Torres, Research Scientist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

“It is a very informative workshop with balanced theoretical and practical sections. The environment is a great combination of serious/fun/relax which suited me very well. GREAT JOB!”
Silvia Heredia, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Botany, University of British Columbia.

“Loved this workshop! I came with very little background and experience with these technologies, and found myself gaining a thorough and comprehensive understanding of key methods that are 100% relevant to my current field of research. The instruction was engaging and digestable. Lectures were provided in an efficient manner. Dave Ng makes molecular methods… magical (I was going for alliteration)!”
Kaylee Byers, Ph.D. Student, Vancouver Rat Project, University of British Columbia

“Good review of the basic chemistries of molecular techniques and why they work. Great enthusiasm and entertaining instruction by Dave. An ‘A’ Grade for the workshop.”
Emily Fuerst, Scientist, Kemin Life Science

More reviews can be found at http://www.bioteach.ubc.ca/reviews-professional/