Likes and Dislikes in Lab

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reine1jb

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During some down time in an experiment I thought of three questions, Just curious as to what everyone would say.

1) What is your favorite model organism and why?

For me, I have only worked with two. Zebrafish and Drosophila and i would say that I liked zebrafish more. They are seriously cool. Something about watching development happen right before your eyes is just amazing to me.


2)What is your favorite macromolecule/molecule to work with (what is your least favorite)?

I love working with protein, Western blots are fun and easy to do, sooooo much more simple than working with something like RNA (which I am right now) degradation is not cool, dumb RNases everywhere

3) What is your favorite and least favorite laboratory technique?

As stated before, I hate having to isolate RNA but I'm taking a class on confocal microscopy and I have to say, the type and quality of images you get from a confocal microscope is just unreal compared to anything i've ever really seen


Hope this thread isn't too dumb.....👍👎
 
reine1jb said:
...3) What is your favorite and least favorite laboratory technique?...
Click to expand...
Electron microscopy is one of the coolest techniques out there. With newer low-vacuum and environmental techniques, you can stick almost anything in there and see endless details. And a bonus is the data - everything is right there, a simple picture.
 
I'm running a Western blot right now (blocking...) so this seems apropos 🙂.

1. I've only ever worked with M. musculus and E. coli (but who hasn't?) But D. rerio seems really cool!

2. My favorite macromolecule to work with is DNA. It's much more stable than RNA (which, incidentally, is my least favorite for obvious reasons), it can be amplified ad infinitum with great accuracy...if you are running low, just run a PCR and you have scads more, unlike protein which you have to go through the trouble of expressing and purifying...what a drag). Plus you can get protein from DNA, but definitely not the other way around! Plus I just think it's so cool how four little chemicals spell out the entire structure of life...proteins have it easier: they get to pick from twenty amino acids, not even counting chemically modified ones!

3. Favorite technique: ChIP...very elegant
Least favorite technique: It's not an analytical technique, but I really hate MaxiPrepping. Takes too darn long for no data. A necessary evil.

Let's also add:

4. Who are your past and current heroes of biomedical science?

For me,
Past: Frederick Sanger foremost, but too many others to list.
Current: Robert Sherwin, Daniel Drucker, Britton Chance, and my PI 😀.
 
I actually dont mind maxiprepping! equilibrating the columns is a bore, but in the end, you get a huge white chunk of dna that you can see. its a welcomed break from pipetting clear liquids.
 
1. E. Coli...since that's the only thing I've ever worked with...

2. Proteins...since that's the only thing I've ever worked with...

3. SDS-PAGE...since that's the only thing I've ever worked with...

Me thinks my research experience is quite limited...
 
1. e.coli - things just work
2. RNA b!tches!
3. favorite = PAGE (fast and i like the solidifying part) least favorite = CsCl prep (liter flasks of e.coli smell soooo bad)
 
reine1jb said:
During some down time in an experiment I thought of three questions, Just curious as to what everyone would say.

1) What is your favorite model organism and why?

For me, I have only worked with two. Zebrafish and Drosophila and i would say that I liked zebrafish more. They are seriously cool. Something about watching development happen right before your eyes is just amazing to me.


2)What is your favorite macromolecule/molecule to work with (what is your least favorite)?

I love working with protein, Western blots are fun and easy to do, sooooo much more simple than working with something like RNA (which I am right now) degradation is not cool, dumb RNases everywhere

3) What is your favorite and least favorite laboratory technique?

As stated before, I hate having to isolate RNA but I'm taking a class on confocal microscopy and I have to say, the type and quality of images you get from a confocal microscope is just unreal compared to anything i've ever really seen


Hope this thread isn't too dumb.....👍👎
Click to expand...


pretty dorky, but I'll bite.

1) C. elegans. It's just sooo easy for pretty much everything.

2) RNA sucks.

3) PCR is always nice and easy. Cloning invariably goes wrong for me.
 
I would have to say my favorite scientist of the present is Eric Kandel...

While I can't relate to his work from an interest standpoint, reading about the kind of man that Einstein was and how is life just kind of stumbled into the theory of relativity is amazing to me so he would be my favorite scientist of the past
 
solitude said:
pretty dorky, but I'll bite.

1) C. elegans. It's just sooo easy for pretty much everything.

2) RNA sucks.

3) PCR is always nice and easy. Cloning invariably goes wrong for me.
Click to expand...


RNA is not fun to work with at all, haha in fact I was in the middle of an RNA prep isolation when i was creating this thread so..But yeah C. elegans is a sweet organism to work with. A professor at my school works with them and does a lot of cool imaging on the confocal with them and you're right you can use them to study almost anything....
 
RxnMan said:
Electron microscopy is one of the coolest techniques out there. With newer low-vacuum and environmental techniques, you can stick almost anything in there and see endless details. And a bonus is the data - everything is right there, a simple picture.
Click to expand...

I agree scanning microscopy is simply amazing. The pictures are wonderful. I worked with another undergrad who is a microscopy student. He took some wonderful SEM images of some Drosophila for me. Luckily I didn't have to do all of the sample prep but I did get to watch him manipulate the scope.

little side note but do you see any reason to learn SEM if you're not going to be a "microscopist"? I thought about taking the SEM class offered at my school but I was kinda under the impression if you ever needed SEM pictures as a researcher you usually just send them off for someone else to do as SEM's are not commonly available for just anyone to use...Is this wrong??Because if so I would love to learn how to use them as you said the amount of detail (and data) you get from them are unsurpassed
 
SEM??... nah man. Gotta go with that cryo-negative TEM! Oh yea, RNA all the way, baby.

-E
 
reine1jb said:
...little side note but do you see any reason to learn SEM if you're not going to be a "microscopist"? I thought about taking the SEM class offered at my school but I was kinda under the impression if you ever needed SEM pictures as a researcher you usually just send them off for someone else to do as SEM's are not commonly available for just anyone to use...Is this wrong??Because if so I would love to learn how to use them as you said the amount of detail (and data) you get from them are unsurpassed
Click to expand...
Well, if you've got access to one of the more modern ones, they're really user friendly and so there's not much time-cost associated with learning. I got an hour talk on sample prep from the guy who ran the lab and then I was let loose.

I don't know how a microscopist (a technician?) would know what you're looking for in your study. They may miss the feature you're looking for.

Unless you're talking about some collaborator (a PhD). In any case, even if I trusted the microscopist (worked with them a lot, or my PI trusted them), I'd still want to take at least a few of the pictures. As a student, you should really learn something about every facet of your project. If only to be able to deflect questions during your defense! :laugh:

I did my SEM work as a part of a biomaterials project. SEM also has a place in device testing (especially failure analysis) and some pathology labs use it to diagnose diseases (though this has gone away in favor of immunofluors). So if you want to do prosthetics of any type, path, ortho, rehab - all are places where you could apply SEM techniques.

But then again, techniques are just the tools researchers use to test hypotheses, and new ones can easily be learned. They shouldn't be thought of as "career-defining."
 
RxnMan said:
Well, if you've got access to one of the more modern ones, they're really user friendly and so there's not much time-cost associated with learning. I got an hour talk on sample prep from the guy who ran the lab and then I was let loose.

I don't know how a microscopist (a technician?) would know what you're looking for in your study. They may miss the feature you're looking for.

Unless you're talking about some collaborator (a PhD). In any case, even if I trusted the microscopist (worked with them a lot, or my PI trusted them), I'd still want to take at least a few of the pictures. As a student, you should really learn something about every facet of your project. If only to be able to deflect questions during your defense! :laugh:

I did my SEM work as a part of a biomaterials project. SEM also has a place in device testing (especially failure analysis) and some pathology labs use it to diagnose diseases (though this has gone away in favor of immunofluors). So if you want to do prosthetics of any type, path, ortho, rehab - all are places where you could apply SEM techniques.

But then again, techniques are just the tools researchers use to test hypotheses, and new ones can easily be learned. They shouldn't be thought of as "career-defining."
Click to expand...

Very interesting point with how would they know what to look for in relation to your project. I just know that the SEM student I work with he is going to look for a job at like a high octane microscopy facility and he made it sound like a lot of people don't actually do it themselves but I think if I can next semester I will definitely true to take the course i could potentially take TEM too what are your thoughts on that?
 
reine1jb said:
Very interesting point with how would they know what to look for in relation to your project. I just know that the SEM student I work with he is going to look for a job at like a high octane microscopy facility and he made it sound like a lot of people don't actually do it themselves but I think if I can next semester I will definitely true to take the course i could potentially take TEM too what are your thoughts on that?
Click to expand...
Sounds like he's been doing this sort of work for awhile. If so, then consider where this information is coming from.

When I planned my grad courses, I did the required core, then I did a class concerning each of the different aspects of my thesis project.

If this is an intro to SEM class, then it won't prep you to go to some high octane place, but it will probably give you an overview on the theory, sample prep, and methods of a number of different related tools. TEM methods may be included in the SEM class. If you think that this class will help you complete your thesis, then go for it.

If I knew anything about TEM, you can bet that I would have said something snappy in response to skillmatic (above). If you think that it will allow you to get some specific information that is relevant to your thesis, and there isn't another (cheaper) method that can get this information, then sure. But the best thing to do is to talk it over with your advisor.
 
RxnMan said:
j-weezy, this one's for you:
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uafUVNkuzg[/YOUTUBE]

"PCR, when you need to find out who the daddy is"
Click to expand...

Oh man, then Maury and Springer must be going through those Taqs like crazy.....
 
seraph524 said:
Oh man, then Maury and Springer must be going through those Taqs like crazy.....
Click to expand...

hahaha that is probably one of the funniest things I've ever listened/watched definitely...I know what I'll be humming the next time I do a PCR haha
 
RxnMan said:
j-weezy, this one's for you:
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uafUVNkuzg[/YOUTUBE]

"PCR, when you need to find out who the daddy is"
Click to expand...

props - major props
 
Gotta represent for the engineers! I don't work with a lot of model organisms or macromolecules but ...

3) Gotta love the rapid prototyping. Stereolithography is super sweet when you get to see your design magically grow right in front of you 🙂

4) Past: Allan Cormack Present: Ioannis Yannas, and of course my PI 😛
 
RxnMan said:
j-weezy, this one's for you:
[youtube]7uafUVNkuzg[/youtube]

"PCR, when you need to find out who the daddy is"
Click to expand...

Thank you for posting this, it has truly enriched my life!
 
1) What is your favorite model organism and why?

Hmm, of the ones I've worked with, I probably like Xenopus best for biochemical stuff and mice for genetics. Of the ones I haven't worked with, I've always had C. elegans envy - great genetics and good biochemistry plus (relative) ease of maintenance = great model organism. I think zebrafish would be cool to work with, too.

2)What is your favorite macromolecule/molecule to work with (what is your least favorite)?

Favourite macromolecule: DNA. Least favourite: probably RNA, but I don't really mind it that much.

3) What is your favorite and least favorite laboratory technique?

Favourite lab technique(s): Almost anything to do with DNA, incl. PCRs, native and denaturing gels, minipreps, restriction digests, etc. Least favourite lab technique(s): cryosectioning 😡 and chicken embryo electroporation 😡
 
What I like is to watch this video 500x in lab...


[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNvbPzSTpPI[/YOUTUBE]
 
seraph, is that your Super Smash Brawl?? Btw, I'm down for that...I was never allowed to have video games, so what better time than a year (or years) of pass/fail grading to make up for the lost entertainment.

2. DNA, definitely...so well behaved

3. Maybe not my favorite on it's own, since I'm not the kind of person that likes to be in a dark room alone all day with my cells/slices, but I'm definitely sold on the power of the patch clamp. What other technique can you use to measure the activity of a single protein??

4. Seymour Benzer, basically the founder of behavioral genetics, and way, way underrated. He ran his lab all the way up until he recently passed at the age of 86...very inspirational. I also recommend reading Time, Love, Memory...which is about his career and his flies.
 
Haha, no...super smash brawl has been delayed until March 9th...I've just been watching old super smash videos on youtube to tide me over...
 
seraph524 said:
Haha, no...super smash brawl has been delayed until March 9th...I've just been watching old super smash videos on youtube to tide me over...
Click to expand...
I've been waiting for this one myself, hence the avatar:

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxSdbSNckTQ[/YOUTUBE]

Sadly, it will come out when I'm well into my 3rd year rotations.
 
Hell yea man! Haha, I recognized your avatar before! Fallout 3 is going to be so badass...too bad my crappy comp won't have the specs to run it... Guess I'll just settle for Fallout 2 🙁
 
skillmatic said:
I need you in my life. Where are all the RNA folk?
Click to expand...

:laugh: this is the nerdiest thread eva!

But I have to admit, I like doing RNA extractions the most. Watching that clear gel form when I add the isopropanol and invert is one of life's simple pleasures. 😍 That and the quantitative data you can get turning it into cDNA. Protein is a close second, though. I miss western blots (my favorite technique). 🙁

As for the other stuff, I like mouse for a model because of the blood, guts, and cool inflammatory models, but prefer human tissue. Oh, and I hate Drosophilia - the lab down the hall from us had them and they kept escaping! 😡

For scientists, I'm going with Blalock & Thomas - true translational researchers. Bench to bedside, babay 😎
 
Hard24Get said:
For scientists, I'm going with Blalock & Thomas - true translational researchers. Bench to bedside, babay 😎
Click to expand...

I just made my wife watch Something the Lord Made, which had been sitting on our TiVo for six months. I still can't think of a better movie depiction of scientists in action (although that might say more about my memory than anything else).
 
seraph524 said:
1. E. Coli...since that's the only thing I've ever worked with...

2. Proteins...since that's the only thing I've ever worked with...
Click to expand...

ditto.

3. UV Fluorescence: something about how those anisotropy values change over a titration, indicating a binding event, gets my heart all aflutter 😍
 
jlamacc1 said:
ditto.

3. UV Fluorescence: something about how those anisotropy values change over a titration, indicating a binding event, gets my heart all aflutter 😍
Click to expand...

What type of machine do you use for anisotropy?
 
seraph524 said:
What type of machine do you use for anisotropy?
Click to expand...

I used an old Perkin Elmer LS 55 (WinLab for data analysis) in the chemistry department. The biochemistry's custom unit had been broken for a while and I didn't want to mess with it.
 
jlamacc1 said:
I used an old Perkin Elmer LS 55 (WinLab for data analysis) in the chemistry department. The biochemistry's custom unit had been broken for a while and I didn't want to mess with it.
Click to expand...

Is that a machine specifically for anisotropy?

A while ago I did some anisotropy myself in an attempt to measure Ki and Kds for a protein...it didn't work too well since it was like a UV-Vis spec machine with a polarizing lens adapter or something...but I could only read one sample at a time with a huge cuvette...

I was just wondering if you had the fancy HTS multi-well anisotropy reader thingy...

(as you can probably surmise...I'm not very technical haha...)
 
seraph524 said:
Is that a machine specifically for anisotropy?

A while ago I did some anisotropy myself in an attempt to measure Ki and Kds for a protein...it didn't work too well since it was like a UV-Vis spec machine with a polarizing lens adapter or something...but I could only read one sample at a time with a huge cuvette...

I was just wondering if you had the fancy HTS multi-well anisotropy reader thingy...

(as you can probably surmise...I'm not very technical haha...)
Click to expand...

I know what you're talking about, and no, I certainly did not have anything fancy :laugh:! This piece of work required me to make all titrations manually and record data points on paper (the computer was REALLY old and didn't like to save files). I was using it in a last ditch effort to get my thesis done after two other spectrometers went FUBAR.
 
1. Worked with the mouse, rat, people, and E. coli. I think I like E coli best - they aren't cute and fuzzy and you don't have to feel bad about killing them. Plus, they're impossibly useful.

2. Favorite macromolecule - definitely DNA. Easy to get a LOT of it and it's so stable - if you leave it out on the bench all night it's still going to be there in the morning, exactly the same.

3. Least favorite tech - immunostaining sectioned tissue is a pain. It takes forever and the tissue is so delicate (10 microns) that it rips if you look at it wrong. Most favorite - confocal. Kind of boring sitting in the dark for several hours at a stretch but the images you get are AMAZING!
 
When I work with E. Coli, I suddenly feel like I'm playing Sim City...I'm lording over millions of living cells...and I can do as I please to them.
 
seraph524 said:
When I work with E. Coli, I suddenly feel like I'm playing Sim City...I'm lording over millions of living cells...and I can do as I please to them.
Click to expand...

do you ever simulate "natural disasters?" (UFO = pipet tip plunged into colony; earthquake = flask shaker; fire = bunsen burner...)
 
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