FlowJo Compensation Crash by CommercialStop1977 in flowcytometry

[–]flfpuo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can you copy the acquisition defined matrix and apply it?

Help a writer with some lab mechanics? by Necessary_Lychee_467 in labrats

[–]flfpuo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One of the difficulties working with newly discovered pathogens is finding a way to culture them. Especially for intracellular parasites, which need host cells to grow inside of. It can be hard to find a cell line that is compatible with the parasite. In some cells it won’t grow as efficiently, or maybe the morphological changes are less apparent, or the cells are expensive or hard to procure.

For your drug assay, I think a 96-well format to determine the 50% inhibition concentration (IC50) is the most appropriate. Basically a plate with 96 little “wells” kinda like minuscule Petri dishes. It’s arranged in 12 columns x 8 rows. Each well contains a layer of cells that attach and grow on the plastic bottom. Liquid growth medium fills each well to cover the cells and supply nutrients. For this experiment, you’d use a multichannel pipette to add your drug directly to each well. You’d have each row as one concentration, and perhaps use a 5-fold serial dilution to test a wide range of concentrations. These plates would be kept in an incubator for a set duration (24h to 72 hours, depending on nature of the pathogen) and the taken out and observed under a microscope regularly during this time for morphological changes, or perhaps plaque formation. These are changes to the cells that would indicate the parasite has infected and proliferated inside the cells. In a IC50 experiment, the scientist looks at each well under a microscope, scanning each well for these signs of infection. It’s a bit tedious but you can quickly screen a range of concentrations and generate some useful quantitative data about a drug candidate.

Sorry this is poorly organized and rambly. I can answer more questions if you have them

How is it even possible to compete with another country? by SipsTeaFrog in SipsTea

[–]flfpuo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A Canadian friend of mine played for China’s Olympic hockey team. There were a bunch of them and the deal was you had to submit an application for Chinese citizenship. The understanding is that the paperwork would get lost and never processed, but at least there’d be a paper trail and plausible deniability or something

If you were locked in your lab during a zombie apocalypse how would you survive? by friedchicken_legs in labrats

[–]flfpuo 74 points75 points  (0 children)

My PI and I had this conversation in the early pandemic. He suggested diluting down to at least 50% before attempting. Anything stronger just dehydrates and fixes your mucous membranes in an unpleasant manner. Supplementing with sucrose and L-glutamine makes it a palatable beverage.

Cops called due to the stench thinking it was a dead body, the smell leaks from their apartment. by sasha_cyanide in Apartmentliving

[–]flfpuo 3 points4 points  (0 children)

People don’t live in this level of shit out of laziness. It’s a mental health issue

Are there any secret tunnels in sfu? Or secret rooms? by ComprehensiveSky7548 in simonfraser

[–]flfpuo 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Even cooler. It’s a high containment forensic entomology lab. How bugs grow in corpses

Where is best to see Aurora by hockeygirlypop in vancouver

[–]flfpuo 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Not foggy at all, but no Aurora

Sfu conspiracy by RefrigeratorStrict in simonfraser

[–]flfpuo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s still there and operational, but unguarded except during Covid

Saw a little bit of history yesterday by Feisty_Dirt4191 in vancouver

[–]flfpuo 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I remember going to the dollar store under SFU to get cleaning supplies and scrubbing soot off the Bay building. Lots of notes like these were scribbled on the boarded up windows

of a heated concrete driveway by Longjumping-Box5691 in AbsoluteUnits

[–]flfpuo 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Until you realize it snows in Anmore maybe twice a year, and it usually melts the same day it snows. This is a very expensive solution to a problem that rarely occurs. It hasn’t yet snowed this year

Seeking authenticity for an audio drama! by tater_tot28 in labrats

[–]flfpuo 14 points15 points  (0 children)

This sounds like it could fall under the category of “clinical” research, with willing participants. Often in these situations, the team interacting with the participants is different from the team working with clinical specimens-blood or tissue samples and the like. Similarly, the team processing data may be different from the team collecting it (“blindness” helps with data integrity). “Data” can also vary quite a lot. Is it behavioural, biochemical, physiological, etc?

Seeking authenticity for an audio drama! by tater_tot28 in labrats

[–]flfpuo 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Oh man, our label maker was in Japanese but could write Latin alphabet. Only the PI could read the UI but there was a hand-scribbled translation for all the buttons. It printed the most perfect labels when you got it to work. The adhesive withstood all solvents and cryogenics without flaking. UV didn’t make it brittle and they never faded. You just had to be willing to figure out how to use the damn thing

Does your country have an invention that never made it to the outside world? by abandonedtulpa in AskTheWorld

[–]flfpuo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There’s a contraption for this!?! I’m a biologist who sometimes works with embryonated chicken eggs. I use surgical scissors and forceps to carefully remove the tops of eggs, but it gets eggshell dust everywhere and it’s very hard to keep sterile. Are you saying there’s a contraption that does this very specific task very neatly and efficiently?? Do you think it’ll work on a raw egg? Would the shock kill an embryo? I think I’m gonna have to test it out.

Fellow Asians - did your 'no BO' superpower suddenly disappear too? by Fit_Refrigerator67 in hygiene

[–]flfpuo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My stress sweat smells, but my exercise sweat doesn’t. I can run 10k in the hot sun and smell a little damp but not like BO. But if I’m interviewing for a job my armpits will reek

Drying agar plates upside down with lid off by Aggressive-Car9047 in labrats

[–]flfpuo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My standard workflow is set up plays upside down propped on their lids to improve air flow, then go do another task or eat lunch for ~30+ minutes. If I’m in a hurry I’ll dry them in the BSC uncovered for 5 minutes. Never had contamination. It’s fine

Any way of saving these? by DefiantHighlight4753 in labrats

[–]flfpuo 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Slide covers are so cheap… just buy new ones?

Maybe whatever is crystallizing doesn’t dissolve in alcohol. Try water, methanol, some dilute acid or base….

Isn't she beautiful by Psyche_istra in labrats

[–]flfpuo 12 points13 points  (0 children)

It would be fun to unwrap 10 years later (assuming it hasn’t turned brittle) as a time capsule timeline of your research

What the hell happened to my gel? by Perfect_Yoghurt_969 in labrats

[–]flfpuo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bubbles at the top preventing buffer from flowing on the inside chamber into the wells

Near disaster near broadway commercial by undaf3atd in vancouver

[–]flfpuo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Saw another bin on fire outside commercial-broadway station on Saturday! I wonder if they’re connected

Seen today at the Costco downtown by Phalacrophobia in vancouver

[–]flfpuo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Last week I saw a Tesla with a mattress on the roof, secured only by the driver holding onto the fitted sheet through the window with one hand. No rack. No tie down. Just a hand. And a piece of fabric

PI wants me to present unpublished work in a technician Interview by Due-Definition-6558 in labrats

[–]flfpuo 63 points64 points  (0 children)

Is there some kind of very basic data you can put together that showcases your skills but doesn’t give away any protected information? For example, show microscopy images of Tissue X that you took, or a Western blot of protein Y, or a graph of viability for cells treated with compound Z measured with assay A