Isn't it sort of cool to have this? Jess and I were recently noting how our conversations tend toward a popcorn aesthetic so this is kind of perfect for that. Right?! RIGHT?!
Um, the lab is getting way less scary which is good. I mean, at first I was super freaked out that every time I diluted SDS in PBS the lab was going to explode, but I'm getting over it. I can even use the big honking centrifuges (the ones that spin Nalgene bottles at 40,000 RPM) without having to weigh everything to the .00000001 grams first. It's great!
So, yeah, the lab is okay. I work with a bunch of people I like a lot. I've got two projects going right now. One is trying to isolate and purify glomeruli and then figuring out what immune cells are hanging out in them, both in general and then after we give the mice nephrotoxic serum (it's supposed to be a model for diabetic nephropathy but eh). Anyway, it's going okay. I'm trying a couple of different things right now and naturally, none of them are working. My other project is cloning a cell line which goes like this:
1. Digest DNA
2. Run gel to see if digestion worked. If yes, move on to 3. If no, repeat.
3. Repeat 487,986,346,345,875 times
4. Ligate
5. Isolate DNA
6. Run gel to see if ligation worked
7. Repeat 1,342,672,345 times
8. Grow up small cultures
9. Wait
10. Grow up big cultures
11. Repeat
Then you transfect a cell line (which doesn't ever work, or works with like, 1% efficiency) and then you do the same thing over and over again until (a) you can perform an experiment and get a paper or (b) you quit science and get a degree in policy.
Also, St. Louis is full of catholics. It's the most catholic city in America. I went to the bar the other night and had a long, involved conversation about if the Vatican endorses exorcisms (yes).
Also, Panera is not Panera. It's the St. Louis bread company but, Katie in case you were worried, the asiago bread is still good.
Well, I guess I should get back to this "work" of which you speak. Did you know that, like, they expect you to keep up with the current literature? What is this, an Amy Mul class?!
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My daily routine does not require quite so much painful iteration as yours does, but you got to keep the bigger picture in mind. You're cloning shit, and that is cool, even if it is boring to do. That's what I keep telling myself, anyway.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, the current literature thing, so overrated. And unfortunately, for my project, it's not just 'recent' papers. No, I'm reading everything that's been written about Jamaica geology since the 1680s! (which I shouldn't complain about, it's fun!) But yeah, I don't approve. It is good to have something to do while the computer is busy running models, though.
Mimsy I wish we were in the same city so we could hang out and watch top chef together, it's not the some without you! Also, I have gin and lime, but RAN OUT OF TONIC! I have to remedy that soon!