The last two weeks have been fantastic! My latest experiments tell me that operant conditioning and classical conditioning actually can be dissociated at the genetic level. I have mutants that are defective in classical, but not in operant conditioning and vice versa. This is big - the first truly operant learning genes since Skinner! I'm very excited!
At the same time, three students have independently asked to work for me. One is from India and wants to come for a three months summer project (I have two great projects for him), Another is a graduate student from Emory University and is trying to get into an exchange program to come and work here for six months testing some of her data with the algorithms we developed for analyzing spontaneous behavior. The third is a fully financed student from Lebanon who wants to do her PhD with me. And right now I already have recruited a computer science student for programming an automated behavioral paradigm for the fruit fly Drosophila. Things really seem to be taking off right now, let's see how all this pans out. The only thing missing now is a job offer

In the meantime I'll head home for some nice Caipirinha - there's a celebration going on at home because the female part of my household has handed in her PhD thesis today!



We brought some of the finest Cachaça with us from Brazil and some of that will be used up today!