Well this week has been busier, making the time go so much faster. I've finished all my training now so I have started doing actual work on my project. One of the products that Genzyme markets is a dermal filler, works in a much 'friendlier' way than botox, which is a neurotoxin and kills the nerves in the muscles (hence people can't smile after having the treatment). Instead it is composed of a hydrogel made from hyaluronic acid, a natural substance continually made in the body. My role is to take the two different dermal fillers that the company produce, one is a soft gel for small wrinkles and the other a much harder gel, and to try and form a gel that is in the middle somewhere, but has the lifetime, or longer lifetime as that of the harder gel. I must admit I did find it overwhelming the fact the they are actually interested in the results I get and that I will have contributed something to the research into possible future products. So basically my week has consisted of mixing gels and doing rheology tests, finding out how viscous and elastic they are.

I have also attended a couple of workshops that are provided for the interns to give advice on how to apply for jobs, what to write on the 'resume' and the benefits of living and working in Boston. These workshops are also a great way to meet the other interns, from around America and elsewhere in the world, on less formal terms.

As well as being busy in work, we have also been very busy in our spare time, trying to use every minute we can to see as much as possible. We went to a Paolo Nutini concert on friday, not many people at work knew who I was talking about however when I told them. Then the Beach Boys had a free concert outside at a venue a 15minute walk from our apartment., which was amazing, but so busy and couldn't really make out the actually people as we were that far away. On sunday evening we went to the theatre to see Rent which again was a great experience and I would suggest it to anyone to see. At the moment we are just making plans of how best to spend this week, I'm sure whatever we do, will be an experience I won't forget.

I think I am gradually beginning to adjust to the very early starts and I am extremely curious to see what kind of results I can get from my project and what that will mean for the progress of the products currently on the market.