Being a scientist isn’t just about doing experiments, so neither are we. This is where we make breakthroughs beyond the bench for scientists.
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You’re tired. Possibly cranky. Definitely starving.
It’s been a long day in lab and as you gather your bag to head home, your mind shifts to dinner. The local grocery store closed about an hour ago and the pizza delivery guy knows you so well he’s starting to ask you to hang out on weekends, which is getting uncomfortable…
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It’s hard to get more literal in the BenchLife channel than actually creating a Life while at the Bench! For many women, the decision to have a child while still a postdoc brings up more questions than an undergraduate summer student… We turned to new mom and former MIT postdoc Joanne Gibson to find out about her experience balancing pregnancy and the lab.
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We’re always looking for a good protocol. In the lab, a proper technique can be the difference between a successful or a failed experiment. In the kitchen, it may be the difference between a moist, delicious piece of salmon or a dry, tasteless hunk of pink stuff.
That’s why when a good friend of mine, Bill Macaitis, first showed me how to use a digital infrared kitchen thermometer to cook salmon, I knew my life would never be the same…
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I’m not sure when I’ll be able to eat Au Bon Pain again. Probably not for years. There are only so many bagels and pastries one can eat in their life. And thanks to group meeting, I’ve filled my quota for a while.
I’m the first to admit that I lack all imagination when it comes to supplying the lab with food. Generally, my mornings to get food unfold as follows:
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This type of inhibition is used in blood pressure regulation, amino acid synthesis and glucose degradation. If it’s good enough for our bodies, then it’s good enough for our site… what are we referring to?
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We’ve been getting a lot of questions about which cameras to buy for filming in the lab. There are a dizzying array of camcorder types and functionalities available these days. Sites such as cnet provide general information in addition to detailed reviews on specific makes and models.
Here we help sort through the information in order to focus on a limited number of functions relevant to filming in the lab.
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The Problem:You’ve been on the job market for nine months now and not a single bite from anyone… don’t they see the two Science papers?! They do. Unfortunately, they also see the 15 keg stands, the six mug shots and the four streaks across campus…
Yikes.
We’ve all made mistakes. Not managing our online reputation would be another one. A few simple steps can have us back in control in no time.
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I was driving home from lab one evening when my phone rang. I normally don’t pick it up when driving, but I was expecting a call, so I answered:
Me: Hello?
Guy: This is Sergeant [Jones] of the SFPD, can I speak to Alan Marnett?
Me: (Quickly pulling car over and beginning to sweat) Speaking.
Sergeant: Mr. Marnett, SWAT just busted a house in south San Francisco. On the kitchen table was a mound of cocaine and credit cards with your name on them – can you explain this?
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Music plays an essential role in movies, theater and yes- even protocols! (See this week’s Technique of the Week) However, unless you’ve got a rich uncle with connections in the music industry, you may want to forget about adding “Stairway to Heaven” to your “How to pH a solution” video…
The issue is the copyright. It’s understandable why artists don’t want people using their videos without asking. It would be like showing up to a conference and seeing someone presenting one of your old posters. So are you left to bust out a kazoo and start making your own tracks?
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It’s the end of our first full week and we at BenchFly would like to take a minute to say:
