Eye Spy the Parliment and Big Ben

     After visiting Westminister in the first part of the day, we decided to ride the London Eye later in the afternoon and we were able to take some nice pictures of London from this vantage point.  Afterwards, we walked over Parliment Bridge towards the Parliment and Big Ben . . . the weather was hot and humid!  One thing I can say, London was very crowded with visitors this day.


The London Eye is a slow moving ferris wheel
that allows you to enjoy a view of London like nothing else can!



Walking over the Thames River on Parliment Bridge



Parliment



Big Ben

We go to London to visit the Queen . . . .

    We're getting the English train schedules down pretty well -- even found Harry Potter's Platform 9-3/4 at King's Cross as we made our way into London.  We walked through Green Park to Buckingham Palace and then walked further on to Westminster Abbey.



The gates leading to Buckingham Palace from Green Park





Buckingham Palace - security blocked off everyone at the gates



Queen Victoria Monument



Heading to Westminster Abbey

 

No photos permitted inside during our tour - so we bought a book with photos.

Sanger

     On Wednesday afternoon, we all boarded a large bus to travel to Hinxton, where the Sanger Institute, the largest genome research center in Europe, is located.  There, the class was given two lectures by resident scientists involved in different aspects of DNA sequencing, and a tour through the facility.  Below are photos of the field trip.


We take the bus!



We arrive at the Sanger Institute in time for a little rain



The facility is very large and modern -- different from Cambridge!



Steve Scott welcomes the group to the Sanger



Dr. Darren Logan lectured the group on instinctive behavior
and the genetics of fear



Dr. Matt Berriman lectured on parasite genomics,
with a focus on malaria and worms



The class is then split into two different groups for a tour of the Institute



This is a sequence is a tiny sliver of the "X" chromosome.
Each letter [ATC or G] is about the same size of this font.
That large sheet of paper covers 20 feet of ATC or Gs.
It would take 100 of these sheets to make the whole chromosome.



Our tour continues through labs and a review of sequencing equipment
and we get to put on lab coats.



Ian and Eileen, wearing lab coats, pose in front of PacBio DNA sequencer.
Retail price?  1.5 million pounds.

 

Although hard to see through the reflection of the students in the glass,
this is the Sanger's data storage room.  It's a big one.

 

The half of the class on this tour pose in front of the data storage room.



Time for us to leave the Sanger! 



Class is in Session

    The students attending Mark's genetics course are very bright and hardworking.  They come from UCD, UCLA and UCSD. They are all very nice and seem to get along well.  I am enjoying meeting them and learning about their goals for their futures.  Here are a few photos of class in session at the Latimer Room in Old Court:

Dr. Sanders

  

Dr. Paul Brakefield presented a seminar on molecular biology of translation.
He is a Cambridge Professor of Zoology and is also Director of the University Museum of Zoology

 

Students getting ready to return to their studies after morning tea



Mark, Carole, Ian (tutor) and Marie (tutor) in front of the class