• Blog

    YouTube University

    What type of learner are you? I recently did an online quiz that revealed (information I already knew) that I am mostly a visual learner. While I agree with that, I also learn effectively with an appropriate combination of all three types of learning styles categorized by scientists. These learning styles are visual, kinesthetic, and auditory. There are scientific debates on whether these concepts are valid or if our learning styles depend on the nature of the material to be studied. However, I know how I understand and retain the information I learn in school and as I continue to study, I find different styles more useful for certain courses.…

  • Blog,  Journey

    Road to Grad-School

    “Stories connect the past and present to the future. Our stories and our learning from them honors and respects our ancestors and us. They can awaken future generations to their potential. They model a way to use their stories to release themselves as they connect to their history and to our values.” – Rachael Freed My name is Edidiong Nkiruka Essien, my friends and family have called me Kiki for most of my life. One day, I will muster the courage to make other people pronounce my name correctly, but for now, Eddy is fine. I am a graduate student at UIC-Rockford, studying Medical Biotechnology. Read my previous post on…

  • Blog,  Journey

    A week in my Quarantined life

    Even though I am somehow convinced that we are all living the same lives, - I mean, you are at home, working, or schooling or whatever but, you are at home - I have decided to share how my week went; schooling and studying from home. This is my first post of the year and I know I have a lot of stories to tell, but this is a start.

  • Blog

    5 Science Posts You Should See

    Hello again to all my friends, I’m glad you came to play. Our fun and learning never ends, here’s what we’re doing today. Who else loved Barney? 😅 (If you don’t get it, you’re too old. Keep reading anyway.) If you followed me on Twitter, you’d see that I share links leading to news on some interesting biotechnology innovations. Thousands of articles are published everyday and thousands of researchers work daily to create solutions to world problems. I honestly cannot keep up with them all, but I try my best to read at least one article a day. I have decided to share some of the intriguing ones I find.…

  • Blog

    Letter to My Friends

    Kikie’s Biotech Hub November 15, 2019 Hello friends, First, a big thank you for always stopping by and reading my stuff! I’m calling you friend because I appreciate you for taking time out to read my imperfect writing. I’m also writing this post as a letter and it would be rude if you do not respond to me (expecting a response in the comments 😉).  It’s been a little over a year since I finally bought my domain name and set up this blog (even though it took some more months before I decided to publish my first post). I honestly didn’t know what to expect after I started up…

  • Blog,  Journey

    Online Courses – Stanford University from Yaba

    Let me tell you how… Online education involves the use of digital networks for interaction and learning, without any face-face meetings. You must have heard about platforms like Coursera, edx, LinkedIn Learning. These platforms provide access to courses from leading institutions worldwide. If you have optimized these platforms, good for you. If you are still procrastinating; I’m judging you. There is so much you can learn on the internet these days and if you’ve been thinking of “self-development” for a long time and you’re not sure how to go about it, I might have a suggestion for you. So, in between experiments (like when I have to incubate cells for…

  • Blog,  Journey

    My First Scientific Conference and Presentation

    I will be away from the lab for a week, attending the annual of Biotechnology Society of Nigeria, conference. The conference this year holds at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan and I’m super excited to attend. I’m also really excited because I’ll presenting my work, on a poster. This post will share basic information on poster presentations: what you need to know, as well as some reference materials that I’ve found helpful.

  • Blog,  Fun Facts Friday (Science Edition)

    Alcohol vs Bacteria

    I was at a gathering and someone suggested that a lady could rinse a cup with some alcohol because it can “kill germs” and somehow, I became annoyed. So I used that opportunity to school him a little on microorganisms 😉. I’m here to teach you too 😅 I remember when I learnt that 100% alcohol cannot kill microorganisms, but 70% can. This didn’t make sense to me. I’m like, how is that possible? 😅 In the laboratory, we use 70% alcohol (especially ethanol) to sterilize work benches, our hands, laboratory bottles, and some equipments. A lot of hand sanitizers also contain some alcohol. Scientists have established that 50-80% alcohol…

  • Blog

    8 Science Podcasts You Should Listen To

    My Favourite Science Podcasts What are you listening to? I am sure you know that there is so much you can gain from listening. Well, I have been listening to a lot of podcasts recently. A podcast is essentially a digital radio, although some podcasts can be in video forms. Learn more about podcasts here. You can listen to almost anything on a podcast, from comedy to messages, to tips on running a business, motivational talks and lots more. Listening to podcasts, are easy if you have access to the internet. Just find a podcast platform or app that suits you, find the podcast you will love to listen to…

  • Blog

    Bacterial Wars

    Hello 😊 Thank you for stopping by today. So I mentioned on Instagram that my research proposal had been accepted and I will be contributing to science in my own little way (If you don’t follow me on Instagram already, you’re missing out). As a graduate research assistant, I never anticipated inciting a study, I am really grateful for this and excited about what I’ll be working on so I will share a brief summary in this post. Let me know what you think of this work and make suggestions in the comment section. I will be putting up good and bad bacteria against each other. Just as there are…