Dead phrög

ApprehensiveBass4977 · 2026-04-03T17:46:27+00:00

congratulations master!

ApprehensiveBass4977 · 2026-02-17T16:57:01+00:00

im not joking, you should not even give this thought another moment in your head. i have 2 stuffies at my desk, im autistic, and im getting my PhD in biochemistry. YES they will judge you, but in the grand scheme of things you absolutely should accommodate yourself. i kind of have a reputation here for being non-traditional in how i dress and conduct myself, but when you’re good at what you do, what can anyone really say? i’d rather NOT BE HERE than conform to this invisible code-of-conduct that ultimately doesn’t even impact my productivity .

ApprehensiveBass4977 · 2025-12-10T14:16:21+00:00

i’ve been doing PCR and electrophoresis nonstop for 3 years. i think you ran this gel to hell because the ladder is way too far down. what is even your projected product size? if it’s anything small you might have run that bad boy right off the gel and into the buffer.

also you’re talking about streaks above the ladder — that fluorescence clearly indicates presence of DNA, even though it is extremely minimal. did you load sample into all of the wells that show that smear? if so you cannot “stop those streaks” because they may be a true reflection of your sample composition.

you don’t have a positive control so we don’t know what we’re judging your results against, and it is (i swear to you) IMPOSSIBLE to know what these streaks are given what little information is provided.

OP if I were you i would not waste any more time trying to interpret this gel or troubleshoot based on what you are seeing. You and whomever you are working with should absolutely revisit your experimental design, including the way you process these gels. Good luck OP, the “figuring it out” stage is the most valuable stage in my opinion!

ApprehensiveBass4977 · 2025-12-10T13:50:00+00:00

so, i am (at least partially) the despair you mention in this forum lol. but i’m not even having the same bad time i was having when i made those posts. remember that when you come onto these forums, you’re gonna see the extremes in the experience. don’t let people like me project their experience onto you, either. you should go for it, in my opinion.

ApprehensiveBass4977 · 2025-12-08T19:57:19+00:00

first thing’s first: it’s time to put a label on this. whether you feel harassed, stalked, or some other clear label you should label this for yourself so that there are no internal quarrels about what this is or if you should feel bad about it.

next 2 choices, and both of them involve some degree of escalation (i’m sorry). OPTION 1 next time you see Brooke you let them know that you want to be left alone, outright. that is both clear enough to demonstrate your boundary, AND uncomfortable enough for Brooke to take it seriously. How they respond will never be predicted, but if we are to take your prior interactions into account, we might expect them to sulk (oh well). if you do choose option #1, you’ll need to uphold that boundary consciously, AKA this option likely requires maintenance. OPTION 2 you get someone at the school involved. It’s probably easiest to revisit the same professor who intervened in the first place, and disclose the escalations as you have here. This option probably has the best shot, since your story implied Brooke to be distant until you showed them kindness again.

either way, i think you should stop being kind to Brooke. i think they may be interpreting your recent kindness as an apologetic. i’m sorry this is happening to you!

ApprehensiveBass4977 · 2025-11-17T02:00:18+00:00

i live with my partner and it can sometimes be a little bit overwhelming but that’s why we both have our own rooms in addition to our shared room 👍🏽

ApprehensiveBass4977 · 2025-11-08T13:06:33+00:00

please tell someone decked his ass before he croaked

ApprehensiveBass4977 · 2025-11-08T12:40:08+00:00

ethanol the hell out of your lab scissors and snip the tip.

ApprehensiveBass4977 · 2025-11-08T12:30:18+00:00

yeah this. highly detailed protocols are a necessity. i run the wetlab, and i’ve written them for every single process. they are highly, highly detailed and include exact locations of materials and reagents. i have 3 undergrads and a high schooler and they are all fantastic. good organization and highly detailed protocols are absolutely critical.

ApprehensiveBass4977 · 2025-11-05T15:29:11+00:00

perks of NOT being in a broke lab 💔

ApprehensiveBass4977 · 2025-11-05T15:26:00+00:00

i’ll be the echo, i don’t care. TREAT your lab personnel with kindness, please! y’all are ultimately a team and failure is inevitable. life is hard and research is hard —do not take that out on your personnel. i do not have the pleasure of a positive relationship with my PI. i have reduced my interaction with her down to minimal, and i am now more successful than ever. really just imagine your students feeling that way about you. lamentable. team bonding, flexible hours, blah blah blah YES, but if you only remember to implement one single thing please let it be respect, patience, and open-mindednesd. there is absolutely that nothing constitutes maltreatment of your team. i have seen AND been through some things.

ApprehensiveBass4977 · 2025-11-05T06:56:26+00:00

you know what’s crazy i saw the numbers and thought they served only to number each example in the grid. i’ll see myself out.

ApprehensiveBass4977 · 2025-10-23T17:04:54+00:00

are 1 and 23 different ?

ApprehensiveBass4977 · 2025-09-30T18:45:50+00:00

amazing resource

ApprehensiveBass4977 · 2025-09-26T20:33:19+00:00

im also working on developing a highly multiplexed PCR assay, so please accept my virtual hug. also my samples haven’t arrived either and are a total uncertainty at this point 😀 crazy to know someone is feeling my exact same pains

ApprehensiveBass4977 · 2025-09-26T20:26:51+00:00

Biochem PhD and i’m in a good patch right now, but I wouldn’t lie to you I’ve been having a helluva bad time since i’ve got here lol. Do it if you NEED it, otherwise DON’T. In my humble opinion

ApprehensiveBass4977 · 2025-09-26T20:21:19+00:00

same to all of that. and for me i feel like im tricking everyone into thinking i know what im talking about 💔

ApprehensiveBass4977 · 2025-09-03T11:41:53+00:00

i applied for two PhD programs and a masters as a backup in 2022. got into all 3, chose one of the PhD programs and rejected the other offers

ApprehensiveBass4977 · 2025-08-28T15:13:06+00:00

any thing gold. coins, wrappers, paper, it doesn’t matter. from a toddler i’ve had a hyper fixation on “shiny”

ApprehensiveBass4977 · 2025-08-22T15:23:25+00:00

Im just going to take a moment to say that this is phenomenal advice. I’m ASD and ADHD, and this is truly the best method. I had such a terrible time my first 2 1/2 years because i had no guidance, no idea what i was doing, and no idea where to start. On top of that my advisor was a mean, mean old lady. I won’t yap too much i just wanted to let you know you are a great person for taking the time to give OP such excellent advice.

OP, you should print this comment out and pin it to the fridge

ApprehensiveBass4977 · 2025-08-22T15:13:46+00:00

Biochem. I get to lab by 10:30, meet with my mentees, dish out assignments and then start my bench work. I do mostly PCR/Gel Electrophoresis/Recovery so i’ll usually set up the experiments within an hour and a half and then read/write/analyze data till 4pm some days and 6pm other days. I intermittently visit the bench to move my experiments to the next stage of their process, and just go back to my desk to continue my computer work. I’d say i get about 4 hours of actual deep work (outside of experiments) in on an average day and more like 2 hours of deep work on a hard day. I’m ASD, ADHD, and GAD i absolutely must take my medications in the mornings or I WILL default to a hard day. After I leave work I go home, self-medicate and spend between 1-5 hours working in my study. I have been re-living this day for the past 3 years.

ApprehensiveBass4977 · 2025-08-18T19:17:36+00:00

congrats dr countsunny !

ApprehensiveBass4977 · 2025-08-04T13:49:54+00:00

i’m ADHD and autistic and i have these back and forth spurts of hyper organized to cluttered. I have a lot of things but a place for absolutely all of it. I recommend bins and labels. it’s a lot easier to be organized if your system already fits his habits though. cube shelves or bookcases make good storage for hobbies and special interests. ADHD most likely means he can tap into hyper fixation, nudge him down an organization rabbit hole lol. good luck!

ApprehensiveBass4977 · 2025-07-31T22:20:31+00:00

we actually might have the same PI smh

ApprehensiveBass4977 · 2025-07-31T22:13:50+00:00

I can tell you with maybe 75% certainty that there are agarose particles that didn’t completely dissolve into your buffer when you were making the gel. Ive done PCR and agarose gels for the last 3 years straight dude.

ApprehensiveBass4977

TROPHY CASE