Much like the phylogenetic trees I am supposed to be researching, my focus is spiraling out to new and interesting topics which barely resemble the original branch of the project. The Astrobiology Conference which I just attended has acted as an academic shot to me and one which I am trying to ride to productive horizons. Sometimes the best ideas come in the strangest times and places and while networking with some of the conferences PHD students and discussing karaoke songs (in the centre of the known universe, the Aikmans basement), I realised that I could dramatically extend my project into planetary modelling and looking and re-constraining the habitable zone (wonderful news for a physicist lost in a world of biology).

Lichen

The biology aspect has been fascinating though and I now have actual data outputs for phylogenetic evolution which *seems* to show some level of correlation and will be I am sure be investigated by a statistical test taken by a future and more knowledgeable Murray. My attempt to compare the lichen distribution globally has been foiled by an incredibly bias dataset (one guy in the american midwest has ruined multiple days of research for me by being a bit too obsessed with lichen). But progress is progress, and after reading through similar methodologies for masters thesis it looks like i am in the home stretch for evolutionary biology. My computer is no doubt happy with this news as I think having to process the sheer amount of spreadsheets and convoluted softwares that I have put it through has taken humanity several steps closer to an computer revolution. I now have a number of traits which I can map onto the phylogenetic trees, I am hoping i may be able to isolate the genes responsible for UV protection, pressure resistance and desiccation tolerance as excellent astrobiological proxies. I am deeply regretting my soft humanities A level choices as a grounding in biology would have probably helped stifle this learning curve, but I am also realising that everything in this world is applied mathematical modelling, which is making me wish I had taken the module of mathematical modelling as i feel like there may have been some transferable skills there. 

Space

Astrophysically I feel like a Brown dwarf, on the verge of greatness if i just have a bit more energy and nutrients, this is being supplied in the form of Hotel du Vin mochas which we have discovered are incredible and surprisingly affordable. The new concept is that I can use the earths biomes, lichens current and historical ecology, and evolutionary traits, and use some excellent software that I was pointed to, in order to model lichen habitability on Mars, where research has already suggested can survive under some conditions and so this would apply it to the entire planet and its history. The other aforementioned tipsy research proposal I have labelled the "Dark Lichen Hypothesis", which builds on Lithopanspermia and is in a nice scientific position of being technically possible but having absolutely no way to disprove it, I have plans to model it though and after discussing with other academics they agree that it is a significant gap in research, which should be investigated at least, so nice to have some academic support. 

Musings from a sleep deprived mind

In short I am realizing I am trying to combine 3 separate PHD projects into a single 6 week project, and I am equally interested in all them, this is proving to challenge my studying skills as I seem to rotate between research on all 3, and is most likely going to extend well beyond the 6 weeks and something for future projects and work, but is exciting nonetheless.  

Socially this has been a really fun few weeks, from Karaoke, dinner parties, pub nights, and finally organising long planned catch ups, I have been busy most waking hours and feeling much better than my anxiety was overthinking it to be. Thanks to the best laidlaw cohort ever for being awesome and making this such a fun summer so far :).