5 "Aha!" Moments In The Lab

Alternatively, I could have also called this post "five illogical things I did in the lab today that seemed to make perfect sense at the time..."

1) If the label on a powder chemical says, "use mask, toxic to airways," pulling the collar of your pink, Nike long sleeve running shirt over your nose is not an acceptable substitute for a real surgical mask. In fact, the fabric doesn't protect at all from the diffusion of powder through the air, through the semi-spandex non-barrier and into your air passages. Indeed, as you are coughing and choking on the white substance, you will probably think back to what it does and why it's toxic: dissolve proteins. You may then be slightly concerned about it coming into contact with your lungs and the membranes being degraded...

2) If you are working with mice that are known to be a particularly aggressive strain, make sure the head is securely held back between your thumb and pointer and tail is wrapped tightly around your pinkie before attempting to inject estrogen inhibitor (particularly if you are a twenty something female hoping to have kids one day) with your other hand. The aggressive mouse will fight you, bite you, and squirm away from you before you can say "infertile." Before you know it, you will be on your hands and knees, heart racing, trying to grab the tail with oily, estrogen inhibitor all over your gloves, hoping not to get it on any of the surfaces.

3) If you are working with aforementioned aggressive mouse strain, be sure to notify the animal facility technicians of this lovely uniqueness. This prevents escape of feisty rodents from the cage to the Great Unknown. This is handy information if the mouse is worth, say, $400 plus six months of hard labor on your part.

4) If working with your mice requires you to be in a surgical mask for 5+ hours, be sure to take hourly breaks to get fresh air. This prevents development of mouse allergies and, for instance, nose bleeds. Should you get a nose bleed after being in a mask for six hours, do not be surprised and try not to leave a trail of blood from the lab to the bathroom. Oh, and FYI, the lab's paper towels are not very blood absorbent, so the blood will just pool on top and then spill over the sides, thus adding to the trail.

5) If making a buffer from a powder base, remember that a buffer is a detergent, even in powder form. So, should you spill several grams on the counter top, try not to clean it up with a wet paper towel or you will soon find the entire counter covered in suds. Not the worst thing to happen, but it will take at least 10 minutes to remove all bubbles and lots of H2O.