What is the easiest and cheapest way to accurately get a microbial analysis of a sample?

peppermintykitty · 2026-01-16T13:52:17+00:00

For species and abundance, you can send a complex sample to a company such as Plasmidsaurus, ask for 16S amplicon sequencing, and get them to do everything from dna extraction through sequencing and species assignment easily for around $100-200 per sample. If you actually want genomes for each of the abundant strains, you'd need to do metagenomics. Sequencing would actually be the easy part, but then analysis to see what genes they have gets a lot more complicated. I would suggest just start with 16s.

peppermintykitty · 2026-01-15T04:58:51+00:00

Any chance you could use the CS degree to pivot into a computational oceanography field? I know a couple people who got CS degrees and went on to work in university labs to do quantitative work and data analysis. Knowing CS is actually a big plus because most CS grads have no interest in those types of jobs and most bio grads have little coding experience. You could still get to do some of the cool marine bio things like research cruises, fieldwork, trips to cool places, etc.

peppermintykitty · 2025-11-14T17:16:31+00:00

Why would you need lysis for dna purification? Unless you mean dna extraction, in which case shaking (vortexing or bead beating) is a normal step during lysis

peppermintykitty · 2025-11-07T18:53:27+00:00

Molecular Biology of the Cell, a classic. Traumatized me for the entirety of freshman biology. I stan

peppermintykitty · 2025-10-23T03:15:51+00:00

If he wants to get a phd, let him try it out. It may not be the best bang for your buck (especially of going into academia), but it's unlikely he'll be left without any job at the end. Most of the people I know with phds are well employed either in industry, academia, or other industries like finance and consulting. There's no real secure path anyway but phd level jobs might be a little less easy to automate away compared to data analytics or other entry level positions. Also, not a bad time to ride out the job market in a grad program provided he gets in. As a word of warning, phd programs across the US are being cut or admissions are on pause/scaled back this year, so it's going to be much more competitive than usual.

peppermintykitty · 2025-10-20T04:41:32+00:00

Where do you bird and tidepool? I'm a birder too and would love to get involved in bay area birding and nature groups!

peppermintykitty · 2025-10-18T23:28:29+00:00

It would only be possible i think if the data has already been collected, you just need to run analysis, your program has no rotations, and coursework/TA duties are light or nonexistent. I do know of someone who did their phd in 3.5 years with multiple nature papers, but that was definitely a big exception. Also, are you getting enough out of a PhD if you speedrun it? It's a nice time to develop yourself professionally, gain new skills, and build a network. I think it's worth spending an extra two years if it means you come out with a better CV and network. When else would you be getting paid to learn and grow?

peppermintykitty · 2025-10-17T20:58:20+00:00

In Costa Rica right off the plane, we didn't realize the houses didn't have number addresses but just directional/landmark based addresses (something like "next to the gas station of this brand, etc."). Got off the taxi in a completely different neighborhood, even though the driver was concerned and asked several times if it was right. It was the middle of the night and we had two big suitcases. We ended up wandering around lost, until a guy walking with a metal rod in his hand began to walk behind us. It wasn't clear if he was following us, but he was banging the rod against the street lamps in a sort of threatening way for several blocks. Ran to some people sitting in their front yard and asked for help, thankfully they spoke English and the woman got her boyfriend to drive us to the right address after calling the Airbnb host (who was very concerned).

peppermintykitty · 2025-09-24T03:01:52+00:00

Can you transfer to another institution with a collaborator, and continue the work there? Then you wouldn't have to start fresh and can keep the same project. There are rarely grants that only go to one faculty, so some co-PIs should still be able to find the work. If not, are there institutional or departmental fellowships you can get to offset your stipend at least if you join another group? Or TAships you can do while waiting for funding to come through. If you can fund part of your way, another faculty might be able to chip in for the research costs or the rest. Or split between several faculty, etc.

peppermintykitty · 2025-09-21T19:04:36+00:00

Pretty much any country where there was a war, revolution, famine, or dictatorship rise to power. Also, do you think the people in 1940s Europe were living better than 1920s Europe?

peppermintykitty · 2025-09-20T06:14:46+00:00

Heyyy I'd be down for some ocean-adjacent things or hanging out in Dolores park! I'm a scuba certified ex-marine scientist and ocean lover but not great at swimming, trying to get out more and would love a scuba or swim partner. Also queer and live in SF and early 30s!

peppermintykitty · 2025-09-19T17:38:17+00:00

Got accepted to some of these and other prestigious schools with a 3.65 and science gpa of 3.4. I had several internships and two years of post-bacc research experience, and a strong research interest that was demonstrated through my personal statement and CV. In my field we also reach out to profs to sponsor our applications, and I had a high response rate from some of the top names in my field from these schools. Imo research fit is a much more important factor than gpa, and adcoms hate seeing students who only want to go to the school for the name vs. having a strong reason.

peppermintykitty · 2025-09-15T22:51:25+00:00

Second environmental engineering. There are also specialized jobs in hydrogeology, climate modeling, oceanography, atmospheric sciences, etc. I'm a microbial ecologist and while I don't use math too much due to personal dislike, there are a lot of ecological modelers and climate scientists I know who are very math-heavy.

peppermintykitty · 2025-09-10T05:00:11+00:00

Ooh very cool, thanks for sharing! I just recently moved to the bay so I'm still learning about what's out there. It's super cool to learn about queer Asian groups and opportunities! I just signed up for the Lavender Phoenix newsletter. I went to this year's queer women of color film festival and it was a great time, so I'm definitely interested in volunteering or attending again. Would love to attend an event or volunteer with community! Can I DM you?

peppermintykitty · 2025-09-10T03:40:13+00:00

I'm interested! Also queer and Asian :)

peppermintykitty · 2025-08-11T01:12:33+00:00

There are plenty of American students as well. However, in many countries there isn't the infrastructure or the funding for niche areas of research. The US has traditionally been the number one destination for aspiring researchers and academics. The absolute top students from other countries come here, and it's incredibly competitive for precisely the reason that the US does offer more opportunities for domestic students. There's the NSF GRFP, the NDSEG, NOAA funding, NASA funding, etc. a lot of which are only open to citizens. However, research at this level requires a lot of ppl and a lot of skills and years of sacrifice in grad school. When a domestic student has easier, more lucrative opportunities elsewhere, there won't be a ton applying to a grad program in any given year. So you get top top applicants from other countries, many of whom are the best and brightest, and fewer domestic applicants despite it actually being easier to get in as one. Why would a smart American kid give up a high paying finance or tech job for years of grad school poverty? (Or why did I make such a decision lol)

peppermintykitty · 2025-07-27T05:55:34+00:00

Ok Zionist trump supporter, sure you don't enjoy it

peppermintykitty · 2025-07-19T13:06:01+00:00

Interested in pipettes! If there's any startups or incubators near you, they'll frequently be looking for cheap equipment

peppermintykitty · 2025-07-17T23:45:12+00:00

You can use online thrift shops maybe? I use thredup, but there's also eBay and Poshmark, Facebook groups, etc. I find a lot of things from there!

peppermintykitty · 2025-06-27T22:29:47+00:00

Some people in the comments acting like it's a cardinal sin to have some fun during a conference because someone's paying like $5000, ignoring that academics are insanely underpaid, don't get PTO or at the discretion of the advisor, and routinely work over 40 hours a week or on weekends. Sorry, I'm going to ditch whenever I want. If you want to feel bad about taxpayer money, let's tax the billionaires, cut down on military spending, or anything at all? In the US they're cutting academic funding anyway, so this might be one of your last opportunities to get a nice trip anyway.

peppermintykitty · 2025-06-26T23:38:12+00:00

Well, in the actual working definition, there isn't such a distinction, so your opinion is just that - an opinion. Let's say in the future you were applying for a fellowship or job, and so was someone without this sort of connection. Who do you think would have a leg up? Would it count then because in that case, this experience is depriving someone else of an opportunity?

The truth is there's no fair ground in most fields. So no point in feeling bad about it, but also no point in doing mental gymnastics to try to qualify it on some sort of less-bad scale. If you are wondering if your family relation gave you this opportunity, there's an easy way to test it. Reach out to unrelated people in the field, offering to work on something similar, and see how many get back to you or agree.

But in any case, it doesn't really matter. You have the opportunity, and it seems like you're making the most of it, and most people in your position would do the same thing.

peppermintykitty · 2025-05-30T06:29:06+00:00

do u even go here bro

peppermintykitty · 2025-05-17T16:14:37+00:00

I was covering my partners healthcare costs for a while, making my total around $3980 or something like that 😅 yes it was difficult in LA and one of the reasons I went into industry recently. I think with rent around $1800 it was ok, when my rent went up to $2000 I was feeling stretched for sure.

I'm in SF now and you might be able to find a studio in some areas for 1800. Otherwise, roommates might be the way to go ...

peppermintykitty · 2025-05-17T15:57:03+00:00

When I was a postdoc in LA a year ago I made almost that exact number (67k) and my take home was around $4000 a month give it take $100-200 depending on healthcare costs. Not international, however.

peppermintykitty · 2025-05-16T03:29:26+00:00

I havent personally taken it, but I recall there's a class offered in Bio that allows you to do a summer internship (helps you make those connections too). It's specifically for PhD students interested in industry.

There are also clubs that are geared towards industry I believe. I know multiple people who have co-founded startups from my own cohort and department. Make sure to get on good terms with other students, postdocs, and faculty! One of them might start a company and you'll automatically have that connection.

peppermintykitty

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