The posts* in this blog reflect my opinions, recommendations and/or suggestions about the respective matters** – at the time of writing. I am open to discussion and/or constructive criticism about them all – looking at them now, especially those before 2017, I most probably won’t agree with them myself (in fact, I’m embarrassed by some of them!). I write this blog only to (i) provide answers to frequently asked questions, (ii) collect and share my observations, and (iii) keep a diary of some personal events in this fast-paced world. I do not in any way aim to dish out advice or criticism but there are certainly some unintentionally didactic posts in here – especially older posts. (NB: I only value my contributions – if any – to science/scientific matters and do not want my personal opinions on other matters to be taken too seriously)
You don’t have to agree with anything I say here, however if what you read gave you some positive energy, led you to change something for the better in your life or inspired you in anyway, then this blog has humbly done more than what it had set out to do. Thanks for reading!
(NB: The photos in this blog cannot be used without permission. Everything else can be used with attribution – except for commercial reasons)
*Bilingual readers (i.e. Turkish and English speakers) can read all my posts from the Homepage
**The posts I list under ‘Discussions‘ are the ones I open up for discussion; and the ones under ‘Personal‘ are for myself to ponder upon or are there for diary purposes – I write them for myself. Of course you’re welcome to comment under (or send me emails on) the latter posts as well. I also share PowerPoint slides I put together for some of my academic lecture/talks in my ‘My Research‘ page
To view all my English posts please click here – or select from below (most popular posts in bold):
01/10/2025 Mesut and Co win Granta Park Football Tournament
08/01/2025 Looking back at my time at Boehringer Ingelheim and Germany
26/06/2023 20 years as an amateur football player
31/05/2023 Afternoon tea with a butterfly (short story)
07/03/2022 Physical & mental wellbeing whilst working from home
21/06/2021 Looking back as an early-career researcher in academia
19/05/2021 Exercise may directly boost the immune system
03/01/2021 Excess mortality in 2020’s Turkey
16/09/2020 A call for Novartis to provide a breakdown of Zolgensma’s asking price – world’s most expensive drug
06/06/2020 Life in Leicester, UK
24/03/2020 What is success? YOU know better!
19/02/2020 Back to basics? Prevention of diseases through education of parents
25/12/2019 Guide to an academic career in the UK
05/10/2019 Bring back the ‘philosophy’ in natural philosophy
12/01/2019 Genetics of Smokers
15/12/2018 Post-GWAS analyses
06/11/2018 Diseases: Prevention, therapy, and cure
——————Post-fatherhood (Oct 2018 – Age:30)——————
31/07/2018 Calculating the worth of an academic
23/03/2018 Should we trust health news?
03/03/2018 My views: Effects of the large-scale purges on the research output figures of Turkey-based academics
01/12/2017 AutoZplotter – an autozygosity mapper
01/06/2017 Effects of the AKP government’s purges on the research output of Turkey-based academics
18/03/2017 Blame anyone but the government
06/02/2017 World lung health study allows scientists to predict your chance of developing deadly disease
——————Post-marriage (Dec 2016 – Age:28)——————
17/08/2016 University of Bristol climbs Academic Ranking of World Universities
12/07/2016 Side-tracked dreams (poem)
28/06/2016 Lessons to social scientists from the natural sciences?
08/06/2016 Searching for “breathtaking” genes. Literally!
16/05/2016 University of Leicester – Turkish Society
——————Post-PhD (Nov 2015 – Age:27)——————
22/09/2015 What connects history, culture, law, genetics and preventive medicine?
08/07/2015 Mesut and Co win UoB Staff League Cup 2015
06/07/2015 Our ego issues
06/07/2015 Turkish sense of humour
06/06/2015 Whoopsie Daisy! (song lyrics)
02/12/2014 Discovery of a new Primary ciliary dyskinesia causal gene
25/08/2014 Logical Fallacies
15/07/2014 Calculating your Body mass index
11/07/2014 Let there be peace!
31/05/2014 Useful documents for students
22/05/2014 Make the most of Life and Love
13/05/2014 Consanguineous Marriages: Perspectives from Social Taboos, Religion, and Science
09/04/2014 Primer designing for PCR
20/01/2014 Oh Sultan, I don’t care
22/12/2013 Inter-faith Dialogue
03/12/2013 Coursera
20/11/2013 Digital Security
01/11/2013 Changing the World
10/09/2013 Sultan Suleiman and Ants
28/06/2013 Meaning of life
22/06/2013 Bristol International Cup 2013 Winners: UBU Turkish Society
30/05/2013 Nasreddin Hodja Stories
06/05/2013 Network of Students (NoS) Magazine
02/05/2013 Justice and the Holy Quran
15/04/2013 How to build a good Football team
13/02/2013 Temel and Dursun jokes
01/02/2013 Turkish/Kurdish Students in The UK Education System
26/01/2013 Handbook for Turkish Learners
26/01/2013 Bad Science
09/01/2013 An unemployed Postdoc’s song (song lyrics)
17/12/2012 Mesut and Co win win UoB Staff League Cup 2012
03/12/2012 University of Bristol – Turkish Society
27/11/2012 Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II’s message to Bosnian Christians
09/11/2012 Free ebooks worth reading!
21/10/2012 Dialogue Society
14/09/2012 My Lab Photo in 2011
23/08/2012 Science in the Islamic World and Europe between the 9th and 14th Centuries
01/07/2012 Consanguineous Marriages in the Light of New Technological Developments
27/05/2012 Do Women tend to marry ‘Foreigners’ more than Men?
27/05/2012 Joke(!) I made up
25/05/2012 Food for thought to the Muslim World
24/05/2012 Are European Men Turkish?
——————Pre-PhD (Feb 2012 – Age:23)——————
09/05/2010 Mount Argaeus in Kayseri, Turkey
09/05/2010 God of Science
01/06/2009 Anatolia FC (Leicester, UK)
26/07/2007 KK Productions videos – Kamp Kardeşler Videoları
12/05/2007 Top (Free) Online Games
I divided my posts because my views about virtually everything changed during my PhD in Bristol (2012-2015) and even more after I got married and became a father (2016-present) – as I learned a lot from my wife, supervisors, and close friends who were all of the highest quality. The dates represent publication date but the blog post may have been written earlier. Finally, the username ‘mesuturkey’ is something that I had chosen when I was a teenager and then used it on almost all my social media platforms. I, of course, would have chosen a more formal name if I was to pick it now – I will keep it as it is for old time’s sake 🙂
An ordinary blog by an ordinary bloke 
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