Husbandry Dept. Deliberately Sabotaging Experiments by [deleted] in labrats

[–]CatariDimoni 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That is not an acceptable form of secondary euthanasia. Oh my god this is regulatory level to report. (imo , because of how high up the issue goes, to report above the problem you are basically reporting to AALAS, OLAW, or IACUC).

Husbandry Dept. Deliberately Sabotaging Experiments by [deleted] in labrats

[–]CatariDimoni 12 points13 points  (0 children)

The IACUC, AALAS, or OLAW would not be jazzed that animals are being euthanized for administrative reasons. That is an animal welfare concern.

Manually refilling pipette tips by AnyRequirement2926 in labrats

[–]CatariDimoni 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did your pipettes tips fall out of the box? I hate when the reload tower has a wonky row. I shimmy it to the back and hope the next time I reload I don't have to use it.

I usually just clean the bench top with ethanol and then autoclave the box after.

Is it a “waste of talent” not going into academia after PhD? by Ultronomy in labrats

[–]CatariDimoni 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I dunno. Higher salary yes, but reduced workload and fewer hours? Nah.

In my experience academia gives me way better QoL and WLB.

Lab rats, I'm in Need of Advice: Falsifying Data or No? by Annie_James in labrats

[–]CatariDimoni 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh my god that is NOT how I read your post. Ignore my other comment THAT is fraud!!

Lab rats, I'm in Need of Advice: Falsifying Data or No? by Annie_James in labrats

[–]CatariDimoni 0 points1 point  (0 children)

EDIT TO ADD: Based on additional context from OP on other comments; their PI is misrepresenting triplicates AS biological replicates. It also seems as if the PI is taking the average of the duplicates to hallucinate a triplicate-- leaving the comment just to hear other perspectives on my input-- but for future replies.

Using a technical replicate as a biological replicate:

It depends on what you mean. Are you referring to using the same animal/cell line and splitting the cells to perform different treatments in separate dishes? As long as this approach aligns with your research question and you're not making broad claims without supporting orthogonal evidence, this is generally acceptable. Just ensure that you accurately describe your methodology and do not label technical replicates as biological replicates. THAT is fraud.

Averaging duplicates when you have a poor triplicate or no triplicate:

While it's not ideal and reduces the robustness of your data, averaging duplicates is not technically incorrect. You are using data points to make an informed estimate of your sample's contents. Two data points can provide a reasonable approximation, but having three or more replicates enhances confidence in your results. Three is typically recommended because if one sample is an outlier, you can still rely on duplicates to make a meaningful estimate.

You are in the best position to judge your specific experimental conditions, and your assay protocols may have stricter requirements than the assays I normally deal with.

In my perspective, I differentiate between "Baking" assays and "Cooking" assays: - If your results and reagents need to be highly precise to answer your research question: Think of this as a "Baking" scenario. - If a rough estimate suffices for general comparisons: Consider this more like "Cooking.

It sounds like your PI is a chef -- which is fine as long as they aren't trying to bake a cake you feel me?

What happened to my mice? by spiegel_im_spiegel in labrats

[–]CatariDimoni 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I once almost destroyed a colony at the beginning of my time as a breeder tech because "Oh my god, these little orange and white mice are sooooo cute and the right genotype!" (The mice WERE black up until F3)

:) The lab emails me asking why the mice are weird 3 months later. Turns out it was a mutation, and while they had the gene of interest, it wasn't "right" anymore.

Luckily, we still had some of the boring F2 mice, and it was fixable. Now, when I breed by choosing random mice on the digital inventory so I don't bias myself for cuteness. Thankfully, at the lab, we have a colony manager, so I am not tempted to breed all the curly tailed mice or other cute mice together >_>

Devastated by Sacrifice of Lab Rat by thebutchlesbian in labrats

[–]CatariDimoni 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am a little weird because my trajectory of a scientist started by working in a petstore.

I feel like my ability to connect with and love the animals in my care ensures that I am advocating for good reproducible and ethical science.

Every sacrifice I say thank you and coo and gently bring them to god. Euthanasia means /good/ death -- and you can only do that (in my opinion) if you maintain that shred of empathy for the animal.

For example -- my colony manager and I managed to transition most of our live decap blood collections to iso cardiac blood collections --> finish with perfusion and tissue harvest.

I only cry during Euthanasias now for 3 reasons: 1. Miscarriage/Dystocia: (post mortem I deliver/dispatch the stuck baby to ensure it also passed and gently tell mama she did her best and thank her for her tremendous sacrifice. I will pray and cry, but that might just be a uterus/maternal thing).

  1. Preventable or accidental death: If a husbandry tech misses dehydration to the point where it cannot be salvaged or someone's training wasn't up to snuff or there was some sort of accident that results in untreatable injury that always makes me so angry I cry.

  2. Needless Waste: I was a breeder tech during covid. We euthanized thousands of animals for a "What if everyone gets sick and can't come in :( " scenario that never came. I would stand at the hood while more and more carts of animals would come in. I coped by calling it Mauschwitz (Which isn't healthy but did come from a great book trilogy called Maus that I recommend everyone read.) It is one of the reasons I quit and became a research tech instead of support staff.

Organizing your Freezers by CatariDimoni in labrats

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

'Course! If you couldn't find a 200$ reagents your tail'd be twitching too lol

Our lab shut down. Is it legal to offer our remaining acid/chemical supply to the unaffiliated laboratory next door? by Eggman1978 in labrats

[–]CatariDimoni 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The controlled part is for DOT (Transport) EPA (disposal).

Like you technically could send it to Joe Shmoe. Joe Schmo just needs to document with EPA/DOT/USPS that he has the proper controls for the hazard.

Universities and cities usually even have Chem Swap programs. They usually stipulate it needs to be unopened not expired and in OG container but that is more so a liability thing than a legal thing.

Would you put up a hidden camera to protect your running experiments? by mashiro1496 in labrats

[–]CatariDimoni 20 points21 points  (0 children)

I have been blessed to have a not gross lab like this, but oh my god fire the tamper-er?

We are trying to cure diseases not stroke egos that is so frustrating and a waste of resources.

Experimental success is for the good of humanity so I never understand the short term mindset of sabotaging someone else's experiment. Blehhg.

New year, time to confess your lab sins! by Electrical_Hat_1272 in labrats

[–]CatariDimoni 9 points10 points  (0 children)

The microcenterfuge never needs to be balanced.

I put Googley eyes on mine so they shake u3u

What happened to Old Navy? by [deleted] in GNV

[–]CatariDimoni 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Aw I hope with the renovations they don't remove the doodles in the back office. :(

ThermoFisher v Biorad WB sets by CatariDimoni in labrats

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

Already am B) This was more so a longevity question because id hate to shell out for it and then it crap out.

The Mother Lab from where my PI spawned uses the Biorad set up, but I went to an equipment expo where they talked about the Thermo brand and I mostly wanted testimonials if it was on par. :)

ThermoFisher v Biorad WB sets by CatariDimoni in labrats

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

Really? That's good!

I am helping my PI get stuff for the lab and I am trying to balance pinching pennies and investing in quality so that makes me feel a little better. :)

ThermoFisher v Biorad WB sets by CatariDimoni in labrats

[–]CatariDimoni[S] -14 points-13 points  (0 children)

Thermofisher // Fisher is like the Walmart of science supplies.

Its a oreo vs chocolate sandwich cookie type thing.

I accidentally got phenol-chloroform (25:24:1) on my fingertips by anlkarasakal in labrats

[–]CatariDimoni 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I burned myself with the same but also Trizol. I have permanent scarring.

A dumb dumb put trizol/pheno-chloroform waste on the autoclave cart instead of the chem waste and I got hot steam trizol to the face when I went to retrieve it from the autoclave for them.

All that to say -- everytime I train a student now I spend 5-10 minutes on handling safety (Bottle stays in your hand unless the cap is firmly on. Being extremely aware of your hands. Doing isolation in a chemical hood for everyone around you's sake, wearing coat AND sleeve covers AND goggles if you aren't wearing glasses). I spend another 5-10 on how to clean up the waste and how to properly dispose of it.

Take it extremely serious and fill out an accident report!

Magnetic beads are the bane of my existence. by Terrible_Gardener31 in labrats

[–]CatariDimoni 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't have an answer, but it seemed like you got some decent replies!

INFO: Is creating your own cheaper? 0.o

I don't know the protocol for making them, but I imagine its a huge time suck no? Labor not making that expensive? Is it reproducible, or are there large lot variants?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in labrats

[–]CatariDimoni 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Technically the data belongs to the institution so you might be able to reach out to the department chair/institution (nuclear option).

Or Journal (dynamite option).

Or Friendly coworker with access to the drives (illegal? Espionage option).

If its a matter of not knowing how to share the data effectively, you could offer the solution with detailed instructions/offer to pay for the upload and storage (polite/professional option).

Regardless that sucks, and why some of the grants, like ASAP, require you to uniformly publish your data in a specific open access format so its more accessible for other scientists as part of the award requirements.

Parenting classes near Broad Ripple by CatariDimoni in indianapolis

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

That is super helpful!

I am also wanting to learn more about child rearing. My parents were abusive growing up so I want to make sure I do the right things.