No, I’m not going to leap out of the internet wearing slices of cheese held together with spaghetti (I know you’re breathing a sigh of relief.) I’ve combined a vintage recipe with electronics and half quixotic tricks to make a hypnotic dish!
BenchLife
Being a scientist isn’t just about doing experiments, so neither are we. This is where we make breakthroughs beyond the bench for scientists.
Easiest Mac or Godey’s Ladies Meet Lady Ga-Ga
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Your Boss is Incompetent, But Could You Do Any Better?
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It has been said that in the workplace, people rise to their highest level of incompetence. In other words, individuals who are good at their job will likely be promoted, while average performance will be neither rewarded nor punished. So ultimately individuals will advance until they hold a position they’re incapable of properly performing and employees will be forced to deal the consequences of the boss’ inability. In an organization top-heavy with incompetence it should come as no surprise that employees are frustrated. But given the opportunity, could they do any better if they were running the show?
BenchFly Crossword: Back to Basics with Chemistry and Biology
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We thought what better timing than the beginning of the new academic year to brush up on the fundamentals of chemistry and biology. Or perhaps more appropriately – brush off the dust from those fading memories. But let’s be honest, who wants to crack open the textbooks on a Friday afternoon? Nobody. So today, we’re excited to kick off a new series at BenchFly – our Interactive Crossword Puzzle!
Pay It Forward with Good Lab Mojo Checks
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Know of a labmate who’s having trouble getting experiments to work? Or perhaps one who just doesn’t have the exciting ideas they did when they were younger? No, this isn’t a “Low T” ad. Turns out, you know someone who has lost their Lab Mojo. Here’s how to give it back.
Are You Prepared for the ‘Worst Case Scenario’?
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Confronted By Your Hollywood Boss
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Whether induced by the magic of grabbing our first pipette or the vapors from the ether bottle that was left open, many of us daydream about how our career in research will unfold. While the ending may vary, most fantasy scripts include completing graduate school in three years, curing a major disease, and winning a Nobel prize. But in our rush to bask in the glory of our own scientific greatness, one person is often neglected in our visions – our boss.
Group Meeting: What’s the Point?
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In last week’s poll nearly 70% of readers felt that giving group meeting more than quarterly is a waste of time. While this certainly doesn’t sound like an extreme position to us, it’s clear that respondents’ answers were influenced by their definition of group meeting. If the goal of group meeting is to get help with the problems we’re facing in lab, then maybe monthly or even weekly informal meetings would make sense. Alternatively, if the purpose of group meeting is to practice giving formal seminars, then maybe giving two or three meetings a year is enough. So this got us thinking – What the heck is the point of group meeting anyway?
Should You Be at My Bench Right Now? (Probably Not)
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Unlike traditional offices, our lab benches don’t come with a door to shut when we want privacy. As a result, there’s no physical barrier to alert visitors to the fact that they’re now in our personal space. Even in the event the approaching individual is courteous, without a door where are they to knock – on the bench, trash can, our head? Although a couple of pieces of drywall and a door would dramatically cut down on the riff raff dropping by our bench, lab safety departments would likely stroke out at the first sight of our handiwork. But there’s another way.
Give Group Meeting Again? I Just Went!
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In lab vernacular, few words can elicit a fiery range of emotions like “group meeting”. Fear, panic, apathy, anger, frustration, embarrassment and nausea are not uncommon responses as a graduate student or postdoc reads the lab schedule and realizes they’re up next week. While some will feel they haven’t had enough time to obtain new data, others will feel a tremendous amount of pressure since it’s their only talk of the year. But who’s to say how many group meetings we should give in a year?… You.
There’s Nothing Romantic About Watching the Sun Rise…From Lab
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Sleep is rarely considered a reagent, but without it few experiments reach a successful conclusion. In fact, researchers have demonstrated “sleep drunkenness“, where individuals deprived of sleep perform similarly to those who have been drinking. So while PIs may think a lack of sleep is no big deal, when’s the last time they said “Experiments still not working – have you tried drinking a 6-pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon before starting the assay?”
