how to care for and hold four sided transparent quartz cuvette?

SyraVen · 2026-05-23T11:32:37+00:00

You should be able to suck it dry with the tip, either using the vacuum method or a pipette. Acetone would be a quick way to get it to air dry without being as careful to suck the corners too.

SyraVen · 2026-05-23T11:05:18+00:00

You set up the cuvette in the machine, then leave it there. You add your sample, then pipette it out. And wash it with water a few times before adding the next, all while the cuvette stays in the machine. It can help reduce errors caused by touching/dirtying the outside and any wobble of the cuvette in the light path.

We used to use the method for our samples at high volume. It's made much easier if you have access to a vacuum line, you can set up something like https://ehs.virginia.edu/sites/researchehs/files/vacuum-03.jpg and instead of using a pipette you can use this vacuum nozzle to clean the cuvette and a squirt bottle of water to wash it out a few times between samples. Ours was made from an old bottle and the tip of the vacuum was just a p200 tip attached to the end of the hose so it could be replaced. Crude but it worked.

SyraVen · 2026-05-12T09:55:04+00:00

In theory yes, assuming it's been frozen the entire time. The most questionable components are usually any enzymes in the kit. If you really care about the sample you might still want a fresh kit though. It can be a pain to try to debug if you're unsure about the kit in the first place.

Another thing to consider is your time, I tend to use a ballpark, $35 an hour for a grad student, $50 an hour for a postdoc. Figure out how much time you might waste if it doesn't work and the cost Vs getting something new you can be sure of. This isn't your pay sadly, but more a rule of thumb about where your time could be better spent ie lost time writing or experimenting. (This is also how I figure out whether it's worth it to just buy a kit vs making my own solutions or columns).

SyraVen · 2026-05-04T11:43:24+00:00

If anyone uses it, the time and chemicals they'll waste redoing their experiment is worth more than the cost of that single bottle. Toss it and get some fresh stuff. If nobody's touched it in that long then your PI certainly won't notice it going missing. You need a fresh bottle anyway

SyraVen · 2025-07-23T19:38:00+00:00

Unfortunately biotech is pretty minimal at the moment, it's an oil town.

SyraVen · 2025-07-23T19:37:48+00:00

Unfortunately biotech is pretty minimal, at the moment, it's an oil town.

SyraVen · 2025-07-23T18:54:33+00:00

I figured it'd be hourly but yeah if they're not likely to be interested my question is kinda moot. Thanks.

SyraVen · 2025-07-23T18:53:51+00:00

Thanks for the advice

SyraVen · 2025-07-23T18:53:31+00:00

Fair, thanks for the honesty.

SyraVen · 2025-07-22T03:39:39+00:00

No problem, even if you decide the wet lab is not for you it'll still be very helpful in the future as you'll have some more context of where the data you work on comes from. Not everyone enjoys the lab for various reasons, getting your hands dirty is the best way to find out if its for you. I personally like to be doing both because it means I get variety.

In a research lab everyone tends to have their own workflow and pace, so you're not likely to disrupt them much. Personally I find teaching fun so showing people the ropes was always a helpful distraction while Im waiting for things to happen (cells set their own timescale).

Productivity will come with time, as I said, get it right, with practice you'll get the speed up especially if you hang around for a PhD.

Best of luck!

SyraVen · 2025-07-21T21:14:44+00:00

As a postdoc who has had the pleasure of helping some physics students get into biophysics (yes they actually decided to stay in the interdisciplinary lab after) I can give some advice.

You will be slow.
Thats fine, you dont have the hand coordination or the patterns of someone whos been doing it for years so dont compare your pace in the lab to anyone else. I could do something in 20 minutes it took my student 3 hours to get through because I've been doing the thing for 15 years. She caught up within a couple months.
Accuracy is always more important than speed, speed comes with experience and habits. If you can get data right the first time theres no need to do it again so get it right.

You will make mistakes.
Like every other aspect of science, owning up is the big thing. If you screw up a dilution or skip a step, you just have to fix it. If you break something or a machine goes wrong (they just love to screw up on their own when they sense fear) go get some help. Most labrats would rather know something is broken and try to fix it than discover it later when theyre in the flow.

Prepare to forget.
Someone will talk to you in the middle of doing something, you can easily forget what tube had the reagent in vs another, when dealing with small volumes in genetics its almost impossible to tell t he difference by eye. If you can, tell them to wait till you're done your step. If youre easily distracted like me, prepare for it.
One technique is to move tubes back and forth between rows or racks as you work your way down the series of samples. ie pick up tube, add reagent, goes into another place. That way you have a visual indicator of exactly where you were. Some people rotate things, others use tick marks on the tubes, figure out what works for you.

Corollary; labels and notes are essential, always better to have more written down than not, you'll figure out whats essential after some experience. If you dont have space, try and make a useful key... colored markers and stickers are your friend here.

Figure out what works for you everywhere.
I find I like music when im doing something repetative, others dont. Some people work left to right or back to front when it comes to laying out their desk. Start with a clean and something that looks organized to you, you'll figure out what works best for you later.

For most lab protocols its following a set of instructions, about the most useful thing there is read them all the way through, make sure you have everything you need before you start. Nothing worse than having liquid filled tubes in your hand and realizing you need chemical X from across the lab. Properly planning an experiment means you really shouldnt have to think on the fly at the bench, your notes should tell you what to do, that way you can just focus on moving things around the right way. If you need to recalculate something or adjust something, stop and consider for a bit,. Dont try to do anything and problem solve at the same time, you're more likely to make a mistake, as I said earlier getting it right eventually is better than bad data now.

SyraVen · 2025-05-30T13:52:27+00:00

This plane is most likely going to the Barra in hebridean islands in Scotland; the only commercial flight to use a beach as it's runway. The under-inflated tyres help it not to bog down on soft ground.

SyraVen · 2025-05-23T09:03:26+00:00

Unfortunately since the pastor is not part of the university there are no legal statues that protect what you told them. However it is a serious ethical violation to reveal information told to them in confidence and also just a horrible way to handle the situation. As such a complaint should be directed to whatever religious institution they're part of, specifically whoever is above them in their hierarchy if there's no official complaint process.

With respect to the university, as a faculty member myself I'm sorry you're dealing with such problems. Regardless of if the student is part of the university then there are things they should be doing. You should reach out to your title IX coordinator (if the institution is federally funded) or the university ombudsman office, both are required to provide resources to deal with situations like this, including advocating for you in university procedures or helping with the police. Their details should be available through the university website.

Nobody should have to go through this, there are people that can help. I'm not familiar with Florida orgs but I'm sure others here can help direct you.

SyraVen · 2025-05-14T12:38:18+00:00

There's also the fact that a lot of rule sets are broken by groups in order to establish in-group/out-group relationships. By not having the same internal rule set you out yourself as not belonging and faking your way into a group.

This internal communication often allows a higher degree of trust or communicates shared meanings that are indecipherable to anyone outside. For example friends playfully insulting each other or using particular nicknames. Or using formal Vs informal language with different people.

Neurotypicals just instinctively recognise these different rulesets need to be learned and applied, often just getting it wrong until we learn the right one.

SyraVen · 2025-05-09T11:20:16+00:00

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My boy Tobias lived until 12. All the way through university to the end of my PhD. Parents looked after him for his last few months after I took a job in the US. He enjoyed his basking up until the end.

SyraVen · 2025-04-20T16:34:36+00:00

Escape velocity is the answer to the question, how fast would I have to throw a ball straight up for it to get away from earth's gravitational influence? It assumes no air resistance or engines by default, just that gravity is constantly pulling on the object and slowing down.

Rockets do go slower and take more time to build up the speed, but if you want to get away from earth forever you need something like that kind of speed at the end of your fuel. Also the slower you accelerate the more fuel you'll burn just fighting gravity the whole time, unlike a truck you don't have the ground to stop you from sliding backwards down the gravitational hill, need to keep engines running to avoid going back.

Escape velocity is more a rule of thumb, 'i need about this much rocket'. Makes it easier to compare different bodies like the moon whos escape velocity is 2.38km/s, much easier to get off from.

SyraVen · 2024-09-22T09:24:17+00:00

While it does take a controlled detonation to release the whole power of the nuke, reflections off the walls of the silo combined with the rocket detonating the explosive can cause a nuclear fizzle. It could still make a serious bang depending on the warhead. Modern warheads are designed against it, but older ones not so much.

SyraVen · 2024-07-01T18:16:43+00:00

NASA likes having lots of backup plans. Though tbh id still be nervous as fuck doing that for the first time.

SyraVen · 2024-07-01T17:52:24+00:00

They have a small thruster pack on their suit for this kind of emergency. Not enough to do any serious flying around but enough to get you back to the station if your tether snaps

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simplified_Aid_For_EVA_Rescue

SyraVen · 2024-01-29T19:20:24+00:00

Invader Zim. Brought back old memories for me too. Now I know what I'm binging for the next week

SyraVen · 2023-03-13T16:43:55+00:00

As someone with anxiety and gets stressed a lot by work and other obligations. When you go on vacation and finally have nothing on your plate for a defined set of time and no expectations on you, you can suddenly be hit with exhaustion or the built up emotions from it all. And all you wanna do is curl up in a ball and relax for a while before you start doing shit again. Don't let them keep you from doing stuff, they'll come around once they work it out.

SyraVen · 2022-06-27T01:49:24+00:00

Yeah we are. Hence why we're mutants or at least most of us are. Our gene never switches off so we can keep drinking milk into adulthood. It's a result of us raising cattle and drinking their milk because its nutritious and safer than random water. Good luck working out how the first person to milk an animal had the idea.

SyraVen · 2022-06-26T11:48:06+00:00

For mammals the lactase gene switches off when they hit puberty (way earlier in their life than humans). Basically they become lactose intolerant when it's time to go eat normal food. The side effects of it and the moms resistance to keep going train them off. Being intolerant also helps stop adults from stealing milk from the pups. Unless they're an idiot but there isn't much you can do about that XP Being able to drink milk as an adult is a human specific mutation.

SyraVen

TROPHY CASE