Being a member of a large research facility, I come by lots of weird offers mass-mailed to all the staff. They range from the bizarre…

Late 1980′s superconducting neuromagnetometers are available. Expertise in electrical engineering and familiarity with cryogenics and high vacuum required to operate. Systems use about $30,000.00 per year in liquid Helium and must be operated in a magnetically shielded room. The equipment offered was originally purchased with federal grant money and only federally-funded investigators at —– would be eligible to receive the equipment.

…to the downright creepy…

Dear colleagues,

I am writing to you to inquire whether the research community would be interested in a new service from our Transgenic and Gene Targeting Core, the generation of transgenic rats.

If you are interested in generating transgenic rats, please e-mail me with the number of constructs you envision to use in the next 1-2 years. Based on this information, the Core will decide whether providing this service is economically feasible.

I’m no member of PETA, but I can see how using the language of “the number of constructs you envision to use” is a factor in moving from this to this.

Guest Scrogue Djerrid lives in the Greater Boulder/Denver area and is a frequent contributor to some of S&R’s liveliest discussion threads. A father of two, he actively follows politics partially as his solemn duty to remain an informed and involved citizen and partially for the soap opera-esque entertainment. His degree in anthropology lets him view world events and local happenings as cultural phenomena. His favorite ice cream flavor is chocolate.

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