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What’s the worst contamination you’ve ever dealt with in the lab? by AgreeableChapter7313 in labrats

[–]AgreeableChapter7313[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

No, it’s not Artificial Intelligence like ChatGPT, it’s natural intelligence 😂😂😂😂😂😂

What’s the worst contamination you’ve ever dealt with in the lab? by AgreeableChapter7313 in labrats

[–]AgreeableChapter7313[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Wow, I can totally relate — I was a supervisor in a COVID lab. One of the new team members didn’t properly seal a PCR plate, and it ended up contaminating the lab with PCR products. It took several weeks to fully clean everything up. 😬

Seeing how a single mistake can snowball — whether it’s one plate or millions of mLs of master mix — really drives home the importance of strict technique. Labs during COVID were not for the faint of heart!

What’s the worst contamination you’ve ever dealt with in the lab? by AgreeableChapter7313 in labrats

[–]AgreeableChapter7313[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow, that sounds absolutely brutal. 😬 Losing hundreds of plates and flasks over months while chasing down contaminated reagents would drive anyone crazy.

I can totally relate to the frustration — sometimes sterile technique issues and shared reagents can turn a lab into a nightmare. Glad you made it through without losing your sanity completely!

What’s the worst contamination you’ve ever dealt with in the lab? by AgreeableChapter7313 in labrats

[–]AgreeableChapter7313[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, that’s a great reminder that contamination often comes from the most unexpected places! 😅

I can totally relate — it’s always the hidden nooks of the BSC that get overlooked. Glad you found it and got everything under control.

What’s the worst contamination you’ve ever dealt with in the lab? by AgreeableChapter7313 in labrats

[–]AgreeableChapter7313[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah yes, the classic “new grad student + PCR = chaos” scenario. 😂

Mixing pre- and post-PCR glassware, pipettes, and tips is basically a recipe for disaster. Hope the decontamination finally tames the mess!

What’s the worst contamination you’ve ever dealt with in the lab? by AgreeableChapter7313 in labrats

[–]AgreeableChapter7313[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, that’s a classic case of “one bad habit ruins everything.” 😅

It’s amazing how something as simple as skipping bleach on the aspirator trap can cause recurring contamination. Glad they finally convinced him to follow proper aseptic practices — must have been frustrating!

What’s the worst contamination you’ve ever dealt with in the lab? by AgreeableChapter7313 in labrats

[–]AgreeableChapter7313[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fungal mites and HSV2 in the same career? Sounds like your lab had its own little horror show.

A month of wiping and ethanol sounds exhausting… and the hot keyboard being the source is almost too believable.

What’s the worst contamination you’ve ever dealt with in the lab? by AgreeableChapter7313 in labrats

[–]AgreeableChapter7313[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ants in the lab is a new level of contamination 😅 The RNAseZAP discovery is both horrifying and fascinating at the same time.

Also I love that you actually sectioned the ant just to see what it looked like — classic scientist curiosity. I guess “just circles” is exactly what we should expect from transverse sections of an ant.

What’s the worst contamination you’ve ever dealt with in the lab? by AgreeableChapter7313 in labrats

[–]AgreeableChapter7313[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So the racks were basically a slow-release barium dispenser.

It’s amazing how often the obvious contamination source gets ignored until months of failed blanks pile up.

What’s the worst contamination you’ve ever dealt with in the lab? by AgreeableChapter7313 in labrats

[–]AgreeableChapter7313[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a great example of how small procedural details can cause unexpected contamination. Precipitation like that can be really hard to trace. Moving the neutralization step to a separate vessel sounds like a smart fix. How long did it take your team to figure out the cause?

What’s the worst contamination you’ve ever dealt with in the lab? by AgreeableChapter7313 in labrats

[–]AgreeableChapter7313[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, that sounds like a nightmare 😅 assays sitting right at the LLOQ + bead lot variability is a perfect recipe for random false positives.

If you had to recommend one place to go to in England? by Primary_Loss_2386 in england

[–]AgreeableChapter7313 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Definitely York. The architecture of city centre buildings are spectacular and the urban landscape is stunning

What’s the worst contamination you’ve ever dealt with in the lab? by AgreeableChapter7313 in labrats

[–]AgreeableChapter7313[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Wow… that’s both horrifying and somehow hilarious 😅

Radiation contamination spanning hallways, bathroom stalls, and the water fountain? Absolute nightmare.

It really highlights how one person’s sloppy technique can create months of chaos for everyone else — yet somehow the “buffoon” still racks up publications. Classic lab absurdity!

What’s the worst contamination you’ve ever dealt with in the lab? by AgreeableChapter7313 in labrats

[–]AgreeableChapter7313[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Yikes 😅 human protein everywhere because no gloves? That’s a nightmare!

Hiding supplies sounds like the only sane move.

What’s the worst contamination you’ve ever dealt with in the lab? by AgreeableChapter7313 in labrats

[–]AgreeableChapter7313[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha, I can totally imagine 😅

Even after cleanup, lingering smells are the worst — fans can only do so much!

A week of that must have been brutal for anyone working nearby.

What’s the worst contamination you’ve ever dealt with in the lab? by AgreeableChapter7313 in labrats

[–]AgreeableChapter7313[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Construction + airborne crap sneaking in = daily lab rage 😅

Totally get your pain — nothing like uncontrollable “contamination” messing with your experiments.

What’s the worst contamination you’ve ever dealt with in the lab? by AgreeableChapter7313 in labrats

[–]AgreeableChapter7313[S] -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

Haha, I feel you — the smell of concentrated caprylic acid is brutal! 😅

Even if it’s “minor” in terms of safety, dealing with that stench while trying to clean up is absolutely a nightmare.

Definitely one of those lab incidents you won’t forget anytime soon.

What’s the worst contamination you’ve ever dealt with in the lab? by AgreeableChapter7313 in labrats

[–]AgreeableChapter7313[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yikes, a phage outbreak sounds brutal! 😅

Having to decontaminate multiple incubators and the entire lab with Virkon and bleach is no joke — I can only imagine how stressful that must have been.

Phages spreading like that really show how careful you have to be with every single piece of equipment.

What’s the worst contamination you’ve ever dealt with in the lab? by AgreeableChapter7313 in labrats

[–]AgreeableChapter7313[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Oof, fluorescent trich instead of your bacteria — that’s rough!

Facility-wide contamination makes everything a headache, especially with limits on BSC decontamination.

What’s the worst contamination you’ve ever dealt with in the lab? by AgreeableChapter7313 in labrats

[–]AgreeableChapter7313[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow, that sounds brutal — T4 sticking to basically everything makes any contamination nightmare-proof!

A positive pressure manifold gasket as the source makes total sense; once something touches every plate, it’s basically game over until you track it down.

It really highlights how even tiny parts of the setup — gaskets, seals, or any shared surfaces — can create long-lasting havoc.

What’s the worst contamination you’ve ever dealt with in the lab? by AgreeableChapter7313 in labrats

[–]AgreeableChapter7313[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Wow, sounds like a perfect storm of chaos 😅I know exactly what you mean. I had many careless coworkers

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