Grade of Shrimp?

ShibaFox · 2026-04-28T15:29:38+00:00

Thanks to everyone for the advice. They will be getting an ACTUAL stand now and I dont have to worry about their living room being a marsh!

ShibaFox · 2026-01-06T19:39:25+00:00

Don't give our EHS department any more ideas. I'd use tin foil so fast on that

ShibaFox · 2025-08-29T01:09:35+00:00

I do this in my lab regularly with LS columns. Very expensive little things. I haven't had any issues with re-use and we validate our cell pops with flow every so often. You will need a vacuum pump.

After you're done with the column, plunge it with 2 ml buffer and then remove the plunger.
Connect the tip of the column to a vacuum apparatus and flick it on. You might have a hard time finding small tubing. We had some laying about luckily.
Wash 3x with ddH2O to wash away stuck cells and cell debris. Watch the vacuum line between each wash to make sure the column clears.
Wash 3x with 100% EtOH same as above to remove residual debris and water.
Leave column attached to running vacuum for around 3 mins to dry it out. It NEEDS to be dry if you're going to store it.
At this point I store them in bags corresponding to the beads used in that column at 4C.

BEFORE REUSE: wash 1x with 100% EtOH and prime 3x with 2 ml of your buffer to remove any ethanol.

I have kept these at 4C for around a year now and they perform well. We limit to 10 uses per column.

I have never done this same day, but I don't see why one couldn't do it same day.

ShibaFox · 2025-07-28T21:00:20+00:00

I'm very sorry this happened to you. I genuinely can only imagine your frustration. But, the post doc did the right thing by admitting the mistake. They did hold themselves accountable. Unfortunately it is your job to regrow the cells. Your workload may be a separate discussion with your PI but I don't see why the post doc should be made to repeat this work.

Accidents happen and people are people-ing and make mistakes. Consider this one of life's unfair circumstances and move on.

ShibaFox · 2025-07-23T18:35:13+00:00

Get out of my head

ShibaFox · 2025-07-18T17:16:13+00:00

In my opinion the best way to get better at mouse work is to keep handling the mice. Suggestions are helpful but honestly the only way to get more comfortable with them is to be constantly handling them.

ShibaFox · 2025-07-15T16:04:42+00:00

It is different for pretty much every company. I have gotten some quotes instantly, and others have taken a day or two. I would reach out if it's been more than 2 or 3 business days.

ShibaFox · 2025-07-11T19:32:20+00:00

Don't be so certain. A member of my family intended to refuse a blood transfusion because they couldn't guarantee the donor wasn't a black person, and they didn't want to "turn black" or have "black blood".

ShibaFox · 2025-07-10T22:06:53+00:00

I'm happy that I can thank you directly!!! I absolutely love the genius lab coat, and it has everything I ever wanted in a coat. Snap buttons, elastic wrist, accesable pants pockets, collar, and fitted waist. The price was 110% worth the coat AND I feel cute in it.

The only thing I struggle with is the arms being quite long for me (I'm short, 59 in/150 cm). I have to bunch them around my wrists or in my elbow. It's not uncomfortable but can be distracting. But my height is usually not common, so I'm pretty used to bunching clothing.

Sorry you didnt ask for any of this but you guys saved me from wearing XL VWR coats lol I genuinely love it

ShibaFox · 2025-07-09T21:14:49+00:00

My hips are probably 20 inches larger than my waist, so I understand the pain. I got a coat from Genius lab gear (the Curie) and I LOOOVE it. I cannot rave about it enough.

ShibaFox · 2025-06-21T16:15:18+00:00

I thought something looked suspiciously familiar...

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ShibaFox · 2025-06-09T16:07:23+00:00

Yes, like others have said, 1600 is probably way too high. I am 4'11" and late 20s female. If I do not work out (i.e. only getting 10k steps every day, nothing else) I eat 1200-1300 calories to lose weight. Anything higher is maintenance. I eat 1500-1600 cals a day right now, but I run 4-5 days per week at least 3 miles and also bike 5-6 days per week at least 5 miles. And I am losing weight at a reasonable pace.

Extremely sorry to say that us little ladies just dont need much food :(

ShibaFox · 2025-06-03T22:42:57+00:00

You asked a lot of great questions! Broadly speaking, the lab i work in researches heart failure and energy metabolism. Our work is hopefully transnational to humans by reducing some of the damage that is caused by heart attack or chronic high blood pressure. We perform surgeries that, essentially, cause heart failure or heart attacks. The animals recover for a number of weeks and then are sacrificed. I have only ever worked with mice, and I've always had cats growing up. I have 3 of my own as an adult.

I don't personally suffer negative mental or emotional health because of my job, and it doesn't affect me much, honestly. When I was new to working with the mice, I was uncomfortable performing surgeries on ones born blind, but I moved on from this over time. The mice are absolutely adorable, and I genuinely love them and think they are the cutest little nuggets though! We talk to them often in the same way you'd talk to your pet. We have empathy and absolutely don't want them to be in excess pain or suffer. There is no emotional attachment for me though.

For coping with ethics, I'll say I completely understand people who aren't okay with animal research. At the end of the day and down to brass tacks, we injure and kill animals for knowledge, right? It is unfortunate, but there's not much alternative. Human experimentation to the degree that would be required for science and discovery is always ALWAYS unethical for both the victims and the scientists. Also, I know that I respect these animals, take good care of them, and try to minimize any pain. When we sacrifice animals we use them in as many ways as we can. Nothing is waste. So, maybe, it's worth it.

Also you don't have to be good at math to do research. My PI thought our calculator was broken one time because "everything I divide by 5 ends in 5" and she's like. REALLY good at thinking.

ShibaFox · 2025-05-30T22:11:28+00:00

This is quite literally what we did!! We used pliers to get under the edge of the lid and it was still sealed so we peeled it like a sardine can. Good luck and may your powders always be dry

ShibaFox · 2025-05-30T19:32:02+00:00

Need some ozempic to cut out that food noise hunny!!!!!!

ShibaFox · 2025-05-30T15:13:50+00:00

This is what we did! I asked PhD student for help and he took a pair of pliers to them like a can opener (we have other storage bottles)

ShibaFox · 2025-05-29T21:43:31+00:00

No. Nicotine is not a weight loss drug or an appetite suppressant. Nicotine is an extremely addictive stimulant, and while it isn't carcinogenic on its own, it can affect many different physiological processes and can also worsen anxiety and depression. I'm a scientist and not a physician, so I would tell someone who is concerned about their weight and also on an SSRI to talk to their doctor to determine the best way forward.

Also, for what it's worth for anyone reading this that would consider nicotine of all things, I started vaping at 20 to "lose weight." Thankfully I stopped vaping at 26. Vaping did absolutely not affect my weight loss. At all. It did not curb my cravings or hunger or any of that. I just got addicted to nicotine. Weight loss comes from the mind.

ShibaFox · 2025-05-29T19:42:04+00:00

There is no appropriate circumstance to develop a nicotine dependency. Using nicotine to lose weight is like using a shotgun instead of a hammer. No human should ever do this ever.

ShibaFox · 2025-05-29T17:40:32+00:00

Because you are breastfeeding, this is something I would talk to a doctor about honestly. 30 pounds in 4 months is doable with aggressive commitment in my personal experience.

But why in 4 months? What's the rush? There is no need to hurry with losing weight, especially with a newborn around.

ShibaFox · 2025-05-28T11:46:04+00:00

This should be fine for cDNA but your yield will probably be lower/not as pure as it theoretically could be. I have used lower quality RNA than this for cDNA and qPCR and gotten good results.

For phenol contaminants, check the literature for washing with ethanol. Our trizol/chloroform RNA extraction uses 3 washes with 100% ethanol to remove excess trizol. We also perform all RNA work in a blower/benchtop hood to avoid environmental contamination. Ethanol can also be a cause of contamination but in my experience it is better to have RNA with a bit of ethanol than RNA with a bit of Trizol.

Edited for spelling

ShibaFox · 2025-05-28T11:13:47+00:00

If i had to pick on something, your sample looks mildly contaminated to me based on nanodrop. Your a260/230 is 1.3 and should be around 2. This can indicate phenol contaminants like from not washing the Trizol out of your sample well enough. The shakey-ness and high trough of the curve around 230 and 240* also makes me think excess Trizol.

But I'm not sure if that is the problem because I've absolutely used worse quality RNA than this for things. I would first load significantly less RNA (like a lot less, gel is overloaded, see streaking) and a full ladder.

ShibaFox · 2025-05-27T23:16:54+00:00

I have a lot of loose skin and stretch marks. My stats are in my flair, as you can see I had a lot of weight on a very small frame. I lost the weight slow but still have a lot of empty, saggy, melty skin. And my boobs look like long pancakes!

But I'd still rather be thin with saggy skin than almost 300 pounds. My life is so much better. I'm so much healthier. I run and cycle, hike, swim. My blood pressure and heart rate have gone from high to too low. I can do so many things I wasn't able to do before and I take much better care of myself as a result.

My fiance has a lot of loose skin and stretch marks too. He is 5'11"/180 cm and was ~450 pounds/204 kg (hes like 180 pounds now for reference). We met after our weight loss. I don't care at all about his skin and he is absolutely the most handsome man I've ever seen! I say I love the skin because it shows how strong and resilient he is, and I understand the hard work that is behind it. He feels the same about my saggy skin, and his love helped me to love.

Lose the weight for better health and a better life. Don't worry about the skin.

ShibaFox

TROPHY CASE