Some experiments make you feel like a magician in the lab. Others…test your endurance, precision, and emotional resilience. I was recently asked which method/part of research I do not like, and that made me think. 

If you’ve ever done 𝗺𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, you’ll understand the terror of walking into the lab the next morning, opening the incubator, and seeing no colonies on your agar plates. You triple-check your ligation mix, your competent cells, your antibiotic [1] — still nothing. The 𝘟𝘓10 𝘎𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘌.𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘪 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 might give you false positives, or worse, false hope.  

Then there’s the 𝗗𝗼𝘁 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝘁 https://www.linkedin.com/posts/activity-7384981573600845824-njcL?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAC7R33oBU_8RoYPHRDoVcF5C0OEYKzEXkxY — simple in theory, devastating in practice. I once set up my vacuum manifold, only to realize halfway through that the seal [2] wasn’t tight. All samples vanished — precious supernatants from 4-week differentiated cultures. A single air bubble, one leaky membrane, and an entire experiment gone.  

And if you’ve ever performed 𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝘃𝗲𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗲, you know true patience. Who has never tried to restrain a laboratory mouse has no clue what I am talking about. Rats are calm, guinea pigs are cooperative, but mice — especially males — are an entirely different challenge. They are just like dogs — 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘷𝘪𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩. Handling them successfully [3] requires calm confidence and steady breathing — almost like a meditative state. 

But believe it or not, I decided to love them all, learn them all, and repeat them whenever science requires it. I once heard that even university professors must first become excellent technicians, and I couldn’t agree more. 

𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂: Which lab method tested your patience the most? 

Stay tuned for 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟰𝟲: 𝗠𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰𝘀 – 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 

𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀: 
1. ISBN: 9781936113415 
2. https://www.jacksonimmuno.com/secondary-antibody-resource/immuno-techniques/dot
blotting-for-quick-detection/ 
3. https://www.jove.com/v/20228/tail-vein-injection-method-to-administer-cancer-cells-for-metastatic  

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