Rick Issitt

Father of 2 boys, husband, wine lover. Oh and Paediatric Perfusionist, BHF Researcher and wannabe Data Scientist in my spare time....

[Rick Issitt @rick229]

Many years ago, I sat in a classroom at Exeter College with a friend of mine, discussing potential email addresses (it was a new thing at the time!), and he suggested, as I was so geeky, that it should be professor_rich. It stuck, and I told him that one day it would be true....

[Rick Issitt @rick229]

@englandcricket Possibly the worst performance by England I've seen in a long, long time. Tactically outplayed, one dimensional bowling, inept batting performances. I hate criticising anyone (I sure as hell couldn't do it!), but something needs to change.

[Helen Spencer @DrHelenSpencer]

#Raceforrecipients ⁦@GreatOrmondSt⁩ ⁦@R4R2023⁩ Heart lung team. Small but mighty ❤️

[Rick Issitt @rick229]

@Tazzmaverick @L_ellinoire @SpursOfficial @Madders10 @Sonny7 @bendavies33 @Pedroporro29_ @HKane @ericdier As they say, some things are bigger than football...👍🏻

[Rick Issitt @rick229]

@ShaunR180 @L_ellinoire @SpursOfficial @Madders10 @Sonny7 @bendavies33 @Pedroporro29_ @HKane @ericdier Whilst that's very flattering of you to say, it's really the kids that go through all this and still come out the other side smiling and happy that are the real heroes, and why we are lucky to do what we do!

[Rick Issitt @rick229]

@LizzieDavies7 @L_ellinoire @SpursOfficial @Madders10 @Sonny7 @bendavies33 @Pedroporro29_ @HKane @ericdier Thank you, but I'm really just a very lucky guy who gets to help sick kids!

[Rick Issitt @rick229]

@Timpitt77 @L_ellinoire @SpursOfficial @Madders10 @Sonny7 @bendavies33 @Pedroporro29_ @HKane @ericdier It's ironic, my best man, @NickBray82, saw GOSH, heart, and Spurs and so sent the tweet to me! He didn't know I was the one that did it, and I didn't know they were Spurs fans!!

[Rick Issitt @rick229]

@L_ellinoire @SpursOfficial @Madders10 @Sonny7 @bendavies33 @Pedroporro29_ @HKane @ericdier Not quite the Spurs hero that you asked for(!), but had I known, I would have put this on instead of the scrub top I wore whilst running your heart-lung bypass machine yesterday, Finn! Have a speedy recovering, and you never know, I might see you at a game real soon!

[Jon @L_ellinoire]

This is my son, Finley. He is the biggest @SpursOfficial fan. Today, he is undergoing major heart surgery at #GOSH. If he coud receive a message from any of his heroes, it would help his recovery no end.

@Madders10 @Sonny7 @BenDavies33 @Pedroporro29_ @HKane @ericdier

[Rick Issitt @rick229]

@L_ellinoire @SpursOfficial @Madders10 @Sonny7 @bendavies33 @Pedroporro29_ @HKane @ericdier Thanks, Jon, very kind of you. It's always a pleasure to help kids like Finn out (especially if they support the correct team 😃) #COYS

[Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children @GreatOrmondSt]

Congratulations to our amazing GOSH Heart and Lung team at the #BritishTransplantGames for being crowned the BEST Heart and Lung team of 2023! 🏆🎉

Such an incredible achievement! We couldn't be more proud of our competitors and their families. 💙🙌 @WHBTG

[Rick Issitt @rick229]

@rmarkdown @cortina_borja have you used this?

[Rick Issitt @rick229]

I have a fully funded, 3 year PhD Studentship available at @UCL_ICS in conjunction with @GOSHDRIVE of @GreatOrmondSt in machine learning in the operating theatre!
Apply now and help us make children's heart surgery safer!!!
https://t.co/0kW1cotHLy

[Veera Rajagopal  @doctorveera]

A mind-blowing paper has come out today in @Nature

In 2016, JC Venter Institute scientists trimmed a bacterial genome to its barest minimum required for life to synthesize what they called a "minimal genome" (https://t.co/Rk8oZJ0bUj).

Today, a group of scientists from Indiana University reports how that minimal genome evolved over 2000 generations in comparison to the non-minimal genome.

The authors found that even when you reduce a bacterial genome to its absolute minimum where every nucleotide matters, the genome undergoes mutational events generation after generation as much as the non-minimal genome. One simply cannot stop the evolution.

Just over 300 days of evolution (equivalent to 40,000 years in humans) the minimal cell has gained everything it lacked in fitness on day one in comparison to the non-minimal cell.

When comparing the evolved traits between the minimal and non-minimal cells, the scientists found something striking. The evolutionary process increased the cell size of non-minimal cells but not that of the minimal cell. But that is not the striking part.

The scientists were able to identify the key mutation that resulted in cell size evolution. And it turned out that the mutation that helped the non-minimal cells to grow bigger is the same that helped the minimal cells to stay smaller. Growing bigger had a survival advantage for non-minimal cells and not growing bigger had a survival advantage for minimal cells. So, the mutation had a context-dependent effect. This just demonstrates that the evolutionary effects on traits have no absolute direction. All that matter is what is beneficial for the organism's survival.

The conclusion of the paper is metaphorically a quote from the Jurassic Park movie:

“Listen, if there’s one thing the history of evolution has taught us is that life will not be contained. Life breaks free. It expands to new territories, and it crashes through barriers painfully, maybe even dangerously, but . . . life finds a way". (https://t.co/UlxRlb86CT)

https://t.co/zA9OAqSoAu

[Rick Issitt @rick229]

@voegeli_david Not at all. I can't get over that, yet again, we hear about how important research is and how much equipment will be funded, yet there's not funding for giving people time to do the research! What do they think we do, use the Force?!

[Led By Donkeys @ByDonkeys]

Water privatisation is a con.

(Location: Thames Water HQ)

[Rick Issitt @rick229]

I can be the world's worst at being incredibly work driven...but never, ever doubt the power of family time! Time away, doing something different, seeing the world is so important and enriching. Paradise on Earth is the Exumas in the Bahamas

[Katharine (Francis) Issitt @katieissitt]

Flying the flag for @BucksHealthcare at the 50th year of the #APAGBI2023 in London #dghpaeds #CPD

[Rick Issitt @rick229]

@KenCatchpole As one of the Perfusionists there now, thanks for your work with us! We have a fairly unique relationship (based primarily upon mutual, respectful pisstaking!) with our surgeons and other theatres staff that I believe probably stems from that work.