More tests confirmed more enhanced genetic activity —including some RNA transcribed from genes whose purpose I hadn't yet been able to discover.
Hours of work left me, in equal measure, elated, because I still couldn't quite believe I'd really made such a breakthrough, and disappointed, because I hadn't made the breakthrough I'd really wanted.
Around ten, I packed up and headed out, nodding to the grad student who'd ensconced himself a few stations down the lab bench halfway through the evening.
He'd been peeking at what I'd been doing all night, and I'd had to resist the urge to hunch over my laptop and growl like a dog with a juicy bone.
My research direction wasn't exactly a secret, but this particular experiment wasn't one I wanted to become part of the university gossip mill.
I had one more stop before I headed home, and I'd already mentally composed a shopping list. No reason to dally.
