What I learned so far while working in a Lab...

[El Nino]

What have I learned thus far:

-Scientists waste A LOT OF CRAP
-Everything MUST BE KEEP STERILE while working in a fume hood
-Working in fume hoods is a pain
- A door leading into a Bio safety lab lvl 2 containing a lentivirus apparently should be left open and not closed even though there is a huge @ss sign that says "KEEP DOOR CLOSED RG2 (risk group 2)"
-Culturing endothelial cells ... hard especially if you don't want to contaminate them
-Its common to f*** an experiment
-Scientists have developed slang for every method, technique and product. e.g. "gel" refers to gel electrophoresis, .1% gelatin and a number of other things.
-I realized how much I sucked at math.... we're using the metric system. I'm having trouble with dilution factor etc.
-Undergraduate pre meds don't associate themselves with high school students
-Their public library has an age requirement of 18+ - "Unattended child policy"
-Although the day-to-day lab work may be boring, if the people you work with are exciting then it really makes up for it
-MD/PHD are insanely educated people. They're like Gods in the lab but, out of lab hmmm....
-Researchers tell the BEST STORIES
-Researchers sometimes don't even know what they're doing
-GOOGLE AND WIKIPEDIA are heavily used for everything
___________________________________________________________________Edit: adding
-Hot girls do work in labs
-Most researchers aren't married
-People who excessively cough like to joke they have TB (lol these people work with TB also)
-"Guangzhou destroying angel" the toxin from this mushroom is dangerous. *A little worried
-lol People tell you your "not going to work with anything dangerous" though you end up doing so
-Seeing a black male (me) walking around the campus is not common. People get over yourselves and don't stare...

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[huskerdye]

seems like a lot of common sense too me.. not to burst any bubbles or anything

 

[El Nino]

Common sense somewhat true

I can finally say that I actually enjoy doing and learning about science, just based off of my current experience in the lab. Though I admit a lot of people say they enjoy science etc. majority of them don't have any true experience (lol at those AP Bio and Chem labs) that allows them to say such things. At least now I know what I want to do in college.

 

[greatnt249]

What have I learned thus far:

-Scientist waste A LOT OF CRAP
-Everything MUST BE KEEP STERILE while working in a fume hood
-Working in fume hoods are a pain
- A door leading into a Bio safety lab lvl 2 containing a lentivirus apparently should be left open and not closed even though there is a huge @ss sign that says "KEEP DOOR CLOSED RG2 (risk group 2)"
-Culturing endothelial cells ... hard especially if you don't want to contaminate them
-Its common to f*** a experiment
-Scientist have developed slang for every method, technique and product. e.g. "gel" refers to gel electrophoresis, .1% gelatin and a number of other things.
-I realized how much I sucked at math.... were using the metric system. I'm having trouble with dilution factor etc.
-Undergraduate pre meds don't associate themselves high school students
-Their public library has an age requirement of 18+ - "Unattended child policy"
-Although the day-to-day lab work may be boring, if the people you work with are exciting then it really makes up for it
-MD/PHD are insanely educated people. There like Gods in the lab but, out of lab hmmm....
-Researchers tell the BEST STORIES
-Researchers sometimes don't even know what their doing
- GOOGLE AND WIKIPEDIA are heavily used for everything

Seems fairly standard if you ask me.

Though I admit a lot of people say they enjoy science etc. majority of them don't have any true experience (lol at those AP Bio and Chem labs) that allows them to say such things.

It isn't hypocritical to enjoy science without wanting to work in the laboratory. There are those who simply enjoy theory more than practice.

 

[tennisball80]

- GOOGLE AND WIKIPEDIA are heavily used for everything

Interesting. Any good examples from your experience?

What did your peers google/wikipedia ?

 

[El Nino]

Seems fairly standard if you ask me.

It isn't hypocritical to enjoy science without wanting to work in the laboratory. There are those who simply enjoy theory more than practice.

I'm new to labs that is why I'm a little enthusiastic about it. Fairly standard to you uh okay.... to me

Well a lot of information in college and high school textbooks is written like its known to scientist in fact it is not. According to my PI.

Interesting. Any good examples from your experience?

What did your peers google/wikipedia ?

Proteins
Protocols
Examples of healthy and non-healthy endothelial cells
Pics of virus

 

[greatnt249]

Well a lot of information in college and high school textbooks is written like its known to scientist in fact it is not.

Again, this is fairly standard. In college, you transition from seeing textbook information as "cold, hard facts" to knowing that what's written is just the best explanation we have right now. It's not a bad thing.

And by standard, I meant you'll find what you listed in basically any lab you walk into.

 

[NickNaylor]

Research is pretty cool, even the standard stuff. That's good that you're enjoying yourself.

And Wikipedia rules for pretty much everything.

 

[Vicviper]

Yeah, actual research labs are way more interesting than run of the mill class labs, especially if you're working with animals - unless they're mice or rats, because hamsters rule.

And if you had to type Gel Electrophoresis 30 times a day in emails and memos and what naught, you'd say gels too, haha. I find that researchers ALWAYS abbreviate stuff, my PI even abbreviates her own name and only uses her initials.

As far as Wikipedia, heck yeah, if you're trying to research something and you want to get some basic background information on it, that's the place to go. Granted you'd never cite wikipedia, and in journal articles I always find an actual source to confirm, it's invaluable.

 

[unitofpain]

yeah google is probably the most amazing search engine..i use it more than pubmed now.

 

[Pepipanda]

What have I learned thus far:

-Scientist waste A LOT OF CRAP
-Scientist have developed slang for every method, technique and product. e.g. "gel" refers to gel electrophoresis, .1% gelatin and a number of other things.
-Undergraduate pre meds don’t associate themselves high school students
-Their public library has an age requirement of 18+ - “Unattended child policy”
-Although the day-to-day lab work may be boring, if the people you work with are exciting then it really makes up for it
-MD/PHD are insanely educated people. There like Gods in the lab but, out of lab hmmm....
-Researchers tell the BEST STORIES
-Researchers sometimes don’t even know what their doing
-GOOGLE AND WIKIPEDIA are heavily used for everything
___________________________________________________________________Edit: adding
-Most researchers aren't married

I agree with you on wasting. I was modifying some glass pipettes, and told that it didn't matter how many I messed up. Also, when I visited a BME lab on the other side of campus, the guy showing me around got out a coil that they use for making stents and let me inflate the balloon and then threw it away, along with another thing that looked like a tiny slinky that they said was made of platinum!

Yeah, I have to ask what things are a lot, although a pretty significant amount of that is physics stuff that I haven't covered yet in school.

I can't speak to undergrads, since there aren't any in the lab I'm in.

The library thing is funny! I'm so glad that where I'm working doesn't have one of those!

I heartily agree on the day-to-day versus people stuff, but I really like my MD/PhD students. One of them is really interesting (She spent 10 years as a nuclear engineer in the Navy and now is a mom in her 6th year of MD/PhD) and the other has been extremely helpful to me and does a lot of the teaching and explaining that I need.

Also agree on not always knowing what they're doing, and the great stories I've heard from some of them.

Really? More than half of the people working in my lab are married, and most of those have kids too(or will soon).

Another thing that I've learned is that people have to spend a lot of time on paperwork, and that it can take a while before you can figure out how to get results out of your data.

 

[loveoforganic]

There's never enough glassware.

 

[El Nino]

Yeah, I have to ask what things are a lot, although a pretty significant amount of that is physics stuff that I haven't covered yet in school.

I use a lot of glass pipettes, packaged filters, 24 wells, vol. tubes and pipette tips etc.

Really? More than half of the people working in my lab are married, and most of those have kids too(or will soon).

Well there are a few people married and with kids. However, I just overheard a couple of people talking about how hard it is to find a husband or wife.

---------------------------
Lol any drama in your lab?

 

[Yellowfin]

You can learn a lot doing research projects.

 

[DrHoosier]

What have I learned thus far:

-Scientist waste A LOT OF CRAP
-Everything MUST BE KEEP STERILE while working in a fume hood
-Working in fume hoods are a pain
- A door leading into a Bio safety lab lvl 2 containing a lentivirus apparently should be left open and not closed even though there is a huge @ss sign that says “KEEP DOOR CLOSED RG2 (risk group 2)”
-Culturing endothelial cells ... hard especially if you don't want to contaminate them
-Its common to f*** a experiment
-Scientist have developed slang for every method, technique and product. e.g. "gel" refers to gel electrophoresis, .1% gelatin and a number of other things.
-I realized how much I sucked at math.... were using the metric system. I’m having trouble with dilution factor etc.
-Undergraduate pre meds don’t associate themselves with high school students
-Their public library has an age requirement of 18+ - “Unattended child policy”
-Although the day-to-day lab work may be boring, if the people you work with are exciting then it really makes up for it
-MD/PHD are insanely educated people. There like Gods in the lab but, out of lab hmmm....
-Researchers tell the BEST STORIES
-Researchers sometimes don’t even know what their doing
-GOOGLE AND WIKIPEDIA are heavily used for everything
___________________________________________________________________Edit: adding
-Hot girls do work in labs
-Most researchers aren't married
-People who excessively cough like to joke they have TB (lol these people work with TB also)
-"Guangzhou destroying angel" the toxin from this mushroom is dangerous. *A little worried
-lol People tell you your "not going to work with anything dangerous" though you end up doing so
-Seeing a black male (me) walking around the campus is not common. People get over yourselves and don't stare...

Thanks for the info! im starting research next week, and this was pretty cool to read and see what it's like.

 

[globaldreamer]

lol lol lol. that's me and my lab right there.

 

[tennisball80]

lol lol lol. that's me and my lab right there.

What a gunner.

Are you working in a lab during high school?

 

[El Nino]

What a gunner.

Are you working in a lab during high school?

I asked for MCAT Prep material in junior year of high school

Quoted for irony

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

While Google* and Wiki are fine for basic information, don't get too set on them, because professors in college tend to be more strict with what is an acceptable reference. Most professors (myself included) prefer scholarly journals and resources, as anyone can publish a website and Wikis can be changed to include bad information.

*Pub Med and related scholarly databases are the exception, as they are indexes of legitimate (peer reviewed) articles. You'll still want to look up the primary source of the text, but a quick PubMed or Google search can give you an idea of what is out there and probably provide some citations to get the ball rolling.

 

[loveoforganic]

There's never enough glassware.

To add to this, you are bound to either break something expensive or waste an expensive chemical if you work in a chemistry lab.

 

[El Nino]

The OP's post has so many grammatical and spelling errors I want to hide in a corner and cry; especially since he's already in college. The OP seriously needs to take A LOT of writing classes before med school. In my experience people with mediocre spelling and grammar skills either don't get into med school in the first place or if they do, face lots of mockery from classmates and teachers. I've seen residents make fun of students and interns when they make major spelling and grammatical mistakes in real medical notes and documents during call. An initially innocent grammar mistake today may mean a lawsuit from a poorly made clinical chart tomorrow.

No, I'm not in college yet.

I will admit that I do have bad grammar and poor writing skills, however I believe this is due to the schools I've attended (which weren't the best). I'm glad you pointed out my one of weaknesses though. Definitely something I'm working on.

Well, it's unforunate to hear of your terrible experiences. Thankfully in my experiences, I've never encountered these type of students, professors and residents etc who enjoy mocking the pitfalls of others.

I can't tell if your post is serious, but if so, I hope you have a nice day.

 

[CaliGirl14]

How on earth are you getting research experience not even in college!?

 

[El Nino]

How on earth are you getting research experience not even in college!?

An internship. I know what your thinking, why on earth would they allow someone with poor writing skills intern in a lab at UCSF?! The world will never know.

 

[Pepipanda]

I spent the summer between my sophomore and junior years (summer 2009)working in a lab. My parents heard that a woman whose kids used to go to my school (and thus we kind of knew) would take a high schooler to do unpaid work every summer. I sent her my resume and a personal statement on why I was interested, and I got the job.

ETA: For this summer, I'm applying for a spot in a program that is aimed at undergrads but does take some high schoolers. Since this one is rather selective, I'm applying to other summer programs and may try for research in another lab at the same institution that I was at this past summer.

 

[Average Joe]

The OP's post has so many grammatical and spelling errors I want to hide in a corner and cry; especially since he's already in college. The OP seriously needs to take A LOT of writing classes before med school. In my experience people with mediocre spelling and grammar skills either don't get into med school in the first place or if they do, face lots of mockery from classmates and teachers. I've seen residents make fun of students and interns when they make major spelling and grammatical mistakes in real medical notes and documents during call. An initially innocent grammar mistake today may mean a lawsuit from a poorly made clinical chart tomorrow.

I'd assume EN's posts are informal.

Your comments are a little strong, don't you think?

 

[avatarftw]

A

 

[El Nino]

God damn, if spelling and grammar is so difficult for people how are they going to be doctors.

That is an interesting judgment. Also, I believe there should be a question mark at the end of that sentence. However, since I have poor writing skills, I may be wrong.

 

[Depakote]

The OP's post has so many grammatical and spelling errors I want to hide in a corner and cry; especially since he's already in college. The OP seriously needs to take A LOT of writing classes before med school. In my experience people with mediocre spelling and grammar skills either don't get into med school in the first place or if they do, face lots of mockery from classmates and teachers. I've seen residents make fun of students and interns when they make major spelling and grammatical mistakes in real medical notes and documents during call. An initially innocent grammar mistake today may mean a lawsuit from a poorly made clinical chart tomorrow.

The ironing is delicious.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

The ironing is delicious.

I agree with you're incite. Their are differing things to consider wen yew reed threads on SDN, so due knot fore get you're manors. If ewe bee leave that sum one has bin two mein, please rapport them. Other wise, pleas except that sum comets are bettor then others. I'm shore that wee all at won tyme have maid miner mistakes.