Life Science Tools of the Trade

It makes me cringe when someone says they need their pipetman looked at and fixed. In one week two different people have told me their pipetman was off. I guess it must mean it’s time to have them looked at.

Yuck! How do you find a company that knows what they’re doing? Out track record with pipet calibration companies is awful. If any one knows of a good one, please let me know!!

I recently attempted to use the “Live Chat” feature of a vendor’s website. I was trying to find out if it was possible to synthesize a 20 mer RNA oligo with a sequence of NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN (n=a,g,c or u). I also wanted to know if it was possible what it would cost. The reply: “If you email me the sequence of the oligo I can send you a quote”. Luckily there was an option to “End Live Chat”. Unfortunately I had similar success when I tried to call their toll free tech support.

Unlike DNA oligos, I D on’T  think there are many options for RNA oligos so I still may end up ordering from them in spite of their dismal online and live support.

While training students, post-docs, technicians, undergrads and grad students I’ve seen just about every mistake that can be made.  I can usually add a touch of humor to the mess-up, admitting that I knew exactly what their error was because I had made that same exact goof at some point in my so called career.

However, this week a discovery was made. Tubes were removed from an ultracentrifuge run and they weren’t cool, they were warm, very warm!  You could have slow cooked a hotdog in them! The ultra’s refrigeration unit was broken! Or was it? Maybe it was set at 44 not 4 degrees!

The names have been omitted to protect the guilty.

Personal kucklehead confession: The first time I ever “used” RNasin I added RNase instead. Goodbye, RNA. Goodbye.

I can’t believe it’s already October!  Time has been flying by.  Getting engaged, taking a couple of vacations, attending a couple of friends weddings, selling a house, having a yard sale, the to do list was overwhelming, and still is, at times.  We keep saying we’ll plan the wedding but it keeps getting pushed off.

In between all of that I even managed to get some science done.  The paper just came out on line and I’m told will be out in a December issue of JV.

All in all its been a productive summer.
Now, if I could just get that CLIP to work.

I started a new project (RNA dependent protein:protein interaction pull down) late last spring. I took my time did some pilot experiments and optimized the reations. In a few months it looked like I would wrap up a publicaion shortly. Then…….everything just stopped working. Step by step I methodically attempted to trouble shoot and eliminate the problem. New protein preps, new reagents, new tubes, new RNA, new DEPC, new everything. Complete failure day after day.

Completely frustrated and/or incompetent (depending on your point of view) last week I threw out everything and started over. Everything! I made up every reagent-RNAs, proteins, new bag of tubes, new DEPC water, new socks, new shoes.    This week? Two days, two experiments worked and I don’t have a clue what the problem was or why it went away. You know what? I don’t care as long as the bad mojo stays away for a few months and I can wrap up this painful manuscript which is destined for some low-impact factor journal.

I shouldn’t whine too much. Another person in the lab is attempting the dreaded CLIP protocol!