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I make my TEV protease with a GFP tag.
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Jun 29, 2016 04:55
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Karl Fischer titrations suck so much.
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Jun 29, 2016 05:59
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I used to make nucleotides with rhodamine, cyanines, and fluorescein labels. They look like you're running highlighter inks through the HPLC. Edit: Here's an old photo of some Cy5 in an unmixed layer of HPLC waste: 
RadioPassive fucked around with this message at 11:33 on Jun 29, 2016 |
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Jun 29, 2016 11:29
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I had to purify pyocyanin from Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It's a blue pigment and the bacterial cultures themselves are a murky green color so they already look kinda neat. To extract you do an organic phase separation into chloroform and you get a brilliant green organic phase. Next you acidify the organic phase and it turns bright loving red then you repartition it into water a few times, take the same red organic phase and re-neutralize it and it ends up being this brilliant royal blue color. Looks cool as gently caress and is the only legitimate lab protocol I've ever done that looked like Hollywood science.
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Jun 29, 2016 13:18
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I do a test to find sulfites that uses methyl red indicator, there are lots of pretty purples, pinks, reds, and yellows in that test.
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Jun 29, 2016 13:38
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All I ever see are white powders and off white powders. And basically empty vials for wits analysis.
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Jun 29, 2016 17:58
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DemeaninDemon posted:Karl Fischer titrations suck so much. I could always tell when Karl Fischers were almost done when running moistures on ethanol samples. If the moisture was way too high on a < 1% spec sample, the timing on color change was noticeable. On other news, has anyone heard anything about Poly-Med being bought? Heard about it this morning, but with very little in details.
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Jun 30, 2016 00:30
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It's burgin' time! 
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Its always nice when I come into the lab and am immediately handed papers for a "random" drug test at least the Quest was empty and not full of old people for once Nissin Cup Nudist fucked around with this message at 03:42 on Jun 30, 2016 |
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Jun 30, 2016 03:39
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DOOP posted:Its always nice when I come into the lab and am immediately handed papers for a "random" drug test Meh... I test every day at work.
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Jun 30, 2016 10:26
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I heart bacon posted:Meh... I test every day at work. Can you expand on this? You get drug-tested every day?
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Jun 30, 2016 18:29
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Sundae posted:Can you expand on this? You get drug-tested every day? Probably means I heart bacon is the one doing the benchwork for the tests. All of the liquids I play with are colourless(certainly not odourless though...!) except when we're measuring DNA concentrations with flourescence. Then we use Pico Green, which is actually more of an amber hue. But it's photoreactive so I get to see its pretty colour for all of ten seconds while pipetting it...
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Jun 30, 2016 18:55
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DOOP posted:Its always nice when I come into the lab and am immediately handed papers for a "random" drug test "Sweet! What drugs are we testing today?"
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Jun 30, 2016 20:37
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Sundae posted:Can you expand on this? You get drug-tested every day? I work at a place that makes drug test kits. Incoming drug strips and all devices that are built there are tested against human specimens along with various controls. I'm usually the first one in every day so I set up the lab and give a donation (what's the greatest nation in the world? DOnation!) It's voluntary, if that matters at all.
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Jun 30, 2016 21:24
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I heart bacon posted:I work at a place that makes drug test kits. Incoming drug strips and all devices that are built there are tested against human specimens along with various controls. I'm usually the first one in every day so I set up the lab and give a donation (what's the greatest nation in the world? DOnation!) It's voluntary, if that matters at all. That seems like it might be kind of a cool data set. Do you see any fluctuation, like if you eat a poppy seed bagel?
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Jun 30, 2016 21:39
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Epitope posted:That seems like it might be kind of a cool data set. Do you see any fluctuation, like if you eat a poppy seed bagel? I do notice fluctuations in the intensity of the lines whether I've been drinking or dehydrated. They're good solid negatives, but they can be weaker negatives sometimes. The more water I drink, the more intense the negatives are. My most intense negatives are OPI, COC, and MET. pH and specific gravity turn up normal also.
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Jun 30, 2016 22:15
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goodness posted:"Sweet! What drugs are we testing today?" 420 smoke weed every day The people that were selected to be drug tested were me, the guy who wears a marijuana headband to work everyday, and one of the more likely suspects to actually use drugs Best part was that I wasn't even supposed to be selected. It was another lab tech but he's on vacation this week, so management said "eh, make DOOP piss in a cup." I heart bacon posted:I work at a place that makes drug test kits. Incoming drug strips and all devices that are built there are tested against human specimens along with various controls. I'm usually the first one in every day so I set up the lab and give a donation (what's the greatest nation in the world? DOnation!) It's voluntary, if that matters at all. this is pretty cool.
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Jul 1, 2016 02:56
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DOOP posted:this is pretty cool. It is! I really like it. I'm going in tomorrow (probably with a slight beer buzz) looking to check incoming drug cards to build kits next week. I miss my paychecks from working in the ethanol biz, but this job has been much more flexible with learning proper QC. I hope it works out so I can move into a decent paying job in west Michigan within the next year or two. Also I wear a blue labcoat here and most people in this company see that as the enemy.
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Jul 1, 2016 03:58
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I heart bacon posted:It is! I really like it. I'm going in tomorrow (probably with a slight beer buzz) looking to check incoming drug cards to build kits next week. I miss my paychecks from working in the ethanol biz, but this job has been much more flexible with learning proper QC. I hope it works out so I can move into a decent paying job in west Michigan within the next year or two. Also I wear a blue labcoat here and most people in this company see that as the enemy. Your tests don't test for alcohol then?
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Jul 1, 2016 14:43
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goodness posted:Your tests don't test for alcohol then? Yes! They do. There's urine and saliva alcohol tests that we do. It's only a positive if you are actually under the influence at the time of testing. Also there's an ETG (Ethyl Glucuronide) test which will tell if you have been drinking within the last couple of days. It can go up to 3 days, IIRC. I don't do ETG tests. I do give a pretty solid positive for Cotinine, though. 
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Jul 1, 2016 22:27
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goodness posted:
ELISA plates turn blue when you add the peroxidase and then turn yellow when you add stop solution! Current ~lab drama~ revolving around a missive sent from our facilities guy regarding "appropriate footwear" for the lab. SOP states we must wear closed-toed shoes and pants that cover the ankle. which is reasonable. Apparently they've now decided that our shoes must cover the entire foot including the top and sides with no skin/sock showing, so the shoes that most female employees have been wearing (loafers, ballet flats, Mary Janes, etc) are no good anymore. I get that it's all to cover their rear end but still annoying since it's entirely corporate-directed and not based on any actual incidents/injuries. Naturally they won't be reimbursing the cost of any new shoes employees are having to purchase to fulfill this requirement.
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Jul 2, 2016 23:33
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In their defense, wearing totally encased shoes in a lab is a really good idea. Our requirement is fully leather without big stitching for stuff to get trapped in. Learned first hand why. We get spent piranha to test for acid content a lot. It's spent because the peroxide gets gobbled up after it cools so it's basically a bottle of concentrated sulfuric acid. Had a drop fall on my shoe and I just wiped it off. There's now a little pit but that's it. Darn samplers need some grip strength and close the bottle tighter. Don't like bags with dribbles of sulfuric acid in there.
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Jul 3, 2016 00:03
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I wear steel tipped boots It's cool
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Jul 3, 2016 00:58
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One place I worked at, it was steel toed shoes everywhere. We had one lab tech that would kick off her boots and wander out into the plant in her socks. She would open pressurized fermentation sample bottles and get sprayed in the face. She was special.  Also her name is kay and her nickname was special kay.
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Jul 3, 2016 01:11
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DemeaninDemon posted:In their defense, wearing totally encased shoes in a lab is a really good idea. Our requirement is fully leather without big stitching for stuff to get trapped in. Right, I'm not against the rule. I wear boots in lab myself. Just the email seemed a bit passive-aggressive (the phrase "certain people" was in there) and it was sent late afternoon before a holiday weekend with the announcement that they'd be enforcing it starting Tuesday.
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Jul 3, 2016 01:49
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Youth Decay posted:Right, I'm not against the rule. I wear boots in lab myself. Just the email seemed a bit passive-aggressive (the phrase "certain people" was in there) and it was sent late afternoon before a holiday weekend with the announcement that they'd be enforcing it starting Tuesday. I gotchya. Yeah using certain people in an email like that is pretty passive aggressive. Then the timing.... wow!
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Jul 3, 2016 01:55
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Recently work has banned the use of all in ear or over ear headphones in lab areas unless hearing protection is required. Under the guise of safety, despite there not being an incident. You need to be able to hear the 100 db fire alarm, not for hygiene reasons. This ban even extends to one ear bud in at a time. Some people use music as a way to concentrate over the 6 different conversations happening on the floor in 3 different languages. One of the guys that does this has bought some after shokz http://aftershokz.com/ to use in the lab as a minor gently caress you. I suggested we all buy bluetooth speakers and wear them on lanyards. Naturally I asked the safety lady if I was allowed to wear Class 5 Ear protection at all times. Doesnt bother us though as we play music though a re-purposed Laptop and stereo.
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Jul 3, 2016 12:01
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Anphear posted:Under the guise of safety, despite there not being an incident. This is a pretty bad attitude towards safety. Ideally, you want implement safety measures before someone gets hurt.
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Jul 3, 2016 13:03
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Anphear posted:Recently work has banned the use of all in ear or over ear headphones in lab areas unless hearing protection is required. Under the guise of safety, despite there not being an incident. You need to be able to hear the 100 db fire alarm, not for hygiene reasons. This ban even extends to one ear bud in at a time. Some people use music as a way to concentrate over the 6 different conversations happening on the floor in 3 different languages. One of the guys that does this has bought some after shokz http://aftershokz.com/ to use in the lab as a minor gently caress you. I suggested we all buy bluetooth speakers and wear them on lanyards. Lab stereo system needs rules controlling who is responsible for the music though or it's very unsafe. More color chat: KMnO4 is my favorite lab color. Something about that deep purple.
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Jul 3, 2016 17:51
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DemeaninDemon posted:Lab stereo system needs rules controlling who is responsible for the music though or it's very unsafe. So... you're suggesting they play deep purple? Also, it's a really cool color. Back in my industrial water treatment days, you would sometimes find a spot where someone spilled a little of the dry KMnO4 when rinsing the floors down and BOOM purple rain. On headphone chat, I bet it's either a safety person trying to justify their existence in the company or someone figured out that banning them would save money on insurance. Not health insurance, but work comp insurance, BTW.
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Jul 3, 2016 18:54
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gninjagnome posted:This is a pretty bad attitude towards safety. Ideally, you want implement safety measures before someone gets hurt. I'm not poo-pooing safety as not required. I am poo pooing the safety overlords banning headphones without doing an actual walk through to see if there is a usage problem (2 people out of 35 on the floor that use headphones while working). Other departments cannot even get there people to wear labcoats when working with Human blood samples or disecting animals. I feel like these are more pressing issues than weather or not Jenny the gossip is able to tell me about what/who Becky did on her weekend while I wait for the ultra to spin down. I am still allowed to wear my $300 noise cancelling over ear headphones at my computer which is literally one door away from my lab desk. It kind of defeats the point if being able to hear the fire alarm is the actual goal. DemeaninDemon posted:Lab stereo system needs rules controlling who is responsible for the music though or it's very unsafe. Agree'd hence why the volume control on the stereo is taped to 6 out of 15 and the computer volume is set to between 15 and 25. This is about the same volume as our loud benchtop centrifuge is at 13k. No Gangster rap if someone important is due through. Anphear fucked around with this message at 03:12 on Jul 6, 2016 |
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Jul 6, 2016 03:06
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I'm talking about one person being responsible for the music so no one fights over it. It's also their fault that bad music came on. When it's just me I go with heavy metal. Get weird looks from some people dropping off samples. Their fault for dropping off samples at 3am.
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Jul 6, 2016 03:16
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oh we all take turns picking what ever pandora station tickles our fancy that day. Iron maiden in the morning. Wu Tang after lunch. Beck the next day. Anything Cold play gets a thumbs down. Weekends are a free for all as loud as you want it unless someone else turns up for work. Actual science related: Work sent me to another campus 4 hours away for the weeks to drive an exciting instrument. I set up my plates yesterday and am now sitting and waiting.
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Jul 6, 2016 03:25
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look at you fancy people with radios and such
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Jul 6, 2016 03:36
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DOOP posted:look at you fancy people with radios and such Trust me at Christmas you would want to throw the radio in a sink of HCl too So yesterday i was reading the MSDS for a anti-cancer drug that i was supposed to test, apparently exposure to it may cause cancer.
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Jul 6, 2016 12:32
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Ezekiel_980 posted:Trust me at Christmas you would want to throw the radio in a sink of HCl too Not only do most cause DNA damage, simply applying a selective pressure on dividing cells promotes cancer progression. Cancer sucks.
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Jul 7, 2016 01:51
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So our secretary came into the lab, took a bottle of acetone from the fume hood, and went back to her office with the bottle. Then when my supervisor called her to get back the acetone, she told him to bugger off. I took it back after she left 
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Jul 13, 2016 23:20
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DOOP posted:So our secretary came into the lab, took a bottle of acetone from the fume hood, and went back to her office with the bottle. Then when my supervisor called her to get back the acetone, she told him to bugger off. Nail polish remover? I know my wife constantly asks me to bring bottles of acetone back from the lab.
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Jul 14, 2016 00:53
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I mean stealing office supplies is a time honored tradition but if someone actually asks for it back you gotta give it up.
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Jul 14, 2016 01:19
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I doubt 99.5% pure acetone makes good nail polish remover. I mean, it should remove nail polish but with a whole bunch of other stuff as well  There's a reason we keep acetone in the fume hood or flammable cabinet
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Jul 14, 2016 01:35
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Eh, acetone isn't so bad. Back when I worked in a lab doing a lot of organic chemistry we were regularly washing the glassware in acetone and I'd get it all over my hands. It didn't really do much except dry out your skin unless you left it on for a long time. Apparently it is just way more thorough and fast-acting than the store remover so you can apply it very exactly and quickly without having to soak your skin in whatever the commercial stuff is, which probably isn't much better for you. She's turned it into a weird experiment, apparently 85% acetone, 10% glycerol, and 5% water is the mix she settled on working best, except for detail work which is the pure poo poo all the way. Also if you were to store nail polish remover in a lab it would definitely need to go in the fume hood/solvent storage. OnceIWasAnOstrich fucked around with this message at 01:43 on Jul 14, 2016 |
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Jul 14, 2016 01:40
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