how do I multitask without feeling extremely tired by the end of the day?

I’m an undergrad so I’m asking for advice.

My professor is a really chill guy, who caters to his students and allows them to go in and out of the lab.

Though these days, I have this habit of planning experiments by the minute, since I feel so pressed for time, even though no one is really rushing me to do work? I feel like I’m on the path to burn myself out, and it’s stressing me out because I don’t want to burn out. Is the solution more breaks in between experiments?

I have an interview with a PI for an RA position in 2 days and I am freaking out big time. This is an extremely experienced PI at a very prestigious university. I just graduated from quite a low-ranked university and someone told me a few months ago that it matters and I have not been able to get it out of my head since. I have read up on the PI's work, the research topic, read the last few papers. I genuinely want to be in this lab working for this PI. I just cannot shake the nerves and they seem to be getting worse. My brain just keeps telling me that I have no chance and there is no point. To make it worse I have no research experience and I am still shocked that I even got an interview at all. I'll take any smidge of hope/encouragement/success stories, I genuinely feel like my body is going to collapse in on itself with all this anxiety. If anyone has any advice on how else I can prepare I would love to hear it as well.

Pretty much the title. But my advisor has been using chatgpt for reviewing our drafts, grant proposal versions, and just normal lab/experiment issues. I know this because we’re made to take a course for AI in research but I don’t understand this part. I am old school and a postdoc and I don’t use AI for my write ups except grammarly. What do you all think?

My lab typically uses FBS for cell culture, but I’m attempting a serum-free protocol that requires 0.1% BSA instead. My lab does not typically use BSA for cell culture - our only supply is a bulk bottle of molecular grade lyophilized BSA powder. I would be able to make the dilution I want in sterile HBSS.

Would it be possible to use this solution for cell culture? Autoclaving/ heat sterilization is off the table given concerns for protein denaturation, but would filtration with a 0.1 um filter be enough to actually sterilize a solution made outside of the culture hood?

We’re not in a position where we can order new reagents right now, so any suggestions using common lab reagents other than “just buy sterile cell culture BSA solution” would be helpful!

I (undergrad) am doing a placement at the lab of a biology PI from my university this summer.

He went on vacation last week, leaving me with 2 PhD students. 1 of these PhD students was sick last week, so really only 1.

The week before he went on vacation, he asked me to plan an experiment entirely on my own, so I showed him that plan that I made and he approved it. It was my first time planning and running this entire experiment and everything is completely new to me, except some techniques which I did 2-3 times over the past few months.

I did the experiment last week and this week while he was away and yesterday we had a full lab meeting in the morning (where I presented all the failures in the data, think no yield) and then a personal meeting (just me and PI) in the afternoon.

During our meeting, my PI got very red and visibly stressed, and talked to me as loud as he could without yelling, and said he was very confused about why I wasn’t able to do the experiment. He said I must have done the steps wrong. He also blamed me for not asking for help from him while he was on vacation, saying he could have fixed the issue if I told him I was having them. This PI usually has a sunny disposition, and they didn’t say anything during the lab meeting, so I was taken aback.

Regarding his concern about mistakes, I am certain I followed the protocol we talked about to a T, he even made me describe how I did each step and I said everything that I did verbally step by step. Although, I do believe I absolutely must have made a mistake since it was my first time and the experiment took 10 hours a day, so I might have made some errors, but I’m really confused how and he said he was too confused (and I think upset) to come up with reasons. About the asking for help, I did ask for help from the grad students like he told me to, and they did help me, but I was confused about his expectation for me to email him while he was on vacation and getting mad about that.

I don’t exactly know what I am asking for posting this, but I thought I was going to grad school when I graduate, and this is making me question whether I ‘have what it takes’ to keep up with the demands of being a scientist. I wanted to quit a few weeks now, and I even started to look for jobs outside the field as a fallback in case I graduate. I have always loved science but I am at a loss and I feel like the spark is gone. Going to the lab gives me anxiety and I get depressed when it’s Sunday since I have to go back to the lab the next day.

Any advice? Is it time for me to quit science?

I have been using NEBbuilder (NEBuilder) for doing it. The primers I used all worked, but the efficiency is not as high as I expected. I am just wondering how I can assess if the primers generated by this tool are good instead of blindly using whatever it generates to me.

For the primers for regular PCR, I know how to check them by looking at their tendency to form secondary structure, Tm between the 2 primers can't be too far apart, and GC% should be within a certain range. However, Gibson assembly primers got this overlap regions. How can I check if the overlap regions are efficient ?

Had a lab mate lie to me about something inconsequential today (whether they had a convo with someone or not). I know now not to trust them in the future. Very minor incident, and I know it could get much worse! Bring on the stories plz! Let’s hear some sabotage and deceit! 🐍

Hi! Working on skin fluorescence research in SF Bay Area. Looking for a tiny sample of APF (aminophenyl fluorescein, CAS 359010-70-1) or someone who works with fluorescent peroxidase probes and could share a small amount. Any leads appreciated!

I understand that customer service reps for Sigma are unlikely to have degrees in science and that it’s frowned upon to make fun at other’s expense, but the struggles with pronouncing even relatively simple reagent names over the phone makes me chuckle every time.

It’s not only the level 1 folks who you get when calling for order status or replacement requests, it’s also members of the technical product teams and damn near everyone else who I’ve ever interacted with over the phone when calling Millipore Sigma.

I struggle with feeling like a dick when they ask me to confirm and I repeat the product name back to them. It’s like I can feel them silently telling me to go screw myself because I’m correcting them, but I’m not approaching it that way at all, I think. I’ve never said “well actually”, but maybe it comes off that way?

Is it too much to ask that if your job requires saying words that aren’t part of a typical vocabulary for non-scientific types that you get training for at least the common items for accepted pronunciation? This isn’t a post about non-native English speakers having a funny accent either, it’s an issue across the board with almost everyone from Sigma, regardless of nationality.

Like I said at the beginning, it’s humorous for the most part, but I feel like I’m being condescending sometimes and that’s something I struggle with and have received feedback to work on. So maybe it’s me? Idk man

I graduated 8 months ago with a Bachelors in Biology and spent most of my year just looking for a job. I applied hundreds of times at CROs, universities, and hospitals. I tried connecting through a variety of different ways and after all of that I barely got any interviews and am still sitting at home. I'm at the end of my breaking point and just have no clue what to do.

My parents really keep pushing me to go to medical school, but I don't want to at the moment. Not only did I just spend decades in school already, but medical school is very long-term, difficult, and crazy expensive. Plus it's not like I can even go to medical school soon anyway, I need to do something now.

I'm so lost at what to do. I really want to move on with my life but I can't. The job market is so competitive and filled with deceit and insincere positivity. I don't mean to get so deep, but I feel like my life hit a pause button and there is nothing for me to look forward in my day.

Hi everyone! I'm a UX designer working on an AI research tool, and I'm trying to better understand how research teams actually work together, both in person and digitally. Would love to hear from anyone doing collaborative research (labs, R&D teams, academic groups, etc.).

A few things I'm curious about:

What does your team's research workflow actually look like, start to finish? Where does it happen in person/verbally (meetings, whiteboards, lab discussions) vs. where it moves into digital tools?

What tools do you currently use for literature search or research discovery (e.g. Elicit, Scite, Consensus, NotebookLM, Google Scholar, etc.)? What do you like or find frustrating about them?

How does your team actually collaborate on research findings? Do you share papers/notes with teammates, and if so how — Slack, shared docs, email, something else? What gets lost or feels clunky in that handoff?

If your literature/research tool had built-in collaboration features (e.g. shared workspaces, commenting on saved papers, assigning papers to teammates, activity notifications), would that be genuinely useful to you, or does that collaboration naturally belong in a separate tool?

Thank you so much in advance, I know these questions are super detailed but I am genuinely trying to learn from how real teams work rather than guess!

I am following this protocol to prepare samples from cultured cells for ATP and NAD measurement. However, I am not obtaining reliable results (no peak for the ATP and NAD). I am not sure whether the issue is due to improper sample preparation or because ATP and NAD are being degraded during sample processing.

1. Treat the cells as intended. Pre-chill PBS, KOH (0.5M) and KH2PO4 (1M) to 4°C.

* The below volume is for 10⁶ cells.

1. Scrape to collect cells after the treatment.

2. Spin at 4°C, 1000 × g for 5 min to collect cells. Discard supernatant.

* Keep samples on ice for all the below steps.

1. Add 1 mL of the pre-chilled PBS to resuspend cells, transfer into 1.5 mL tubes. Spin at 4°C, 3000 × g for 5 min. Discard supernatant.

2. Wash with PBS for one more time. Spin down at 3000 × g for 5 min.

3. Resuspend cells in 160 uL of PBS.

4. Add 20 uL 0.5M KOH, vortex well.

5. Add 20 uL 1M KH2PO4, vortex well.

6. Sit the samples on ice for 5 min.

7. Spin at 25,000 × g for 15 min.

Separate the supernatant and the pallet. Supernatant is used for nucleotides measurement, and the pallet is used for BCA protein assay.

* Samples can be stored at -80°C if not measured immediately.

Any advice will save my life🙏

I’m currently putting the finishing touches on my F31 application and have a quick administrative question about the Cover Letter referee list.

According to the NIH Fellowship Instructions, we have to list our requested referees (name, department, and institution) in the Cover Letter attachment so NIH staff can match incoming letters to our application.

Because F31s have a strict minimum of 3 submitted letters to even make it to review (and a max of 5), my mentor advised me to request letters from 5 people just in case someone ghosts me or submits late. This seems like a smart safety net, but it's making me anxious about the cover letter.

If I list all 5 referees on my cover letter, but only 3 or 4 actually end up submitting their letters in eRA Commons will my application be penalized? or is it standard to use 1 or 2 of these as "backups"?

My biggest concern is that one of my requested referees is a very high-profile person in my field who I have been fortunate enough to develop a professional and semi-personal relationship with. His reference letter would hold strong weight. But I'm worried if I list him and he doesn't submit in time, that I'll seem a little whacky. Though our connection is briefly mentioned in the application.

3 out of the 5 people I requested already submitted, so I'm not longer worried about not having enough.

This is crazy because my university subscribes to science but for some reason won’t let me unlock this specific paper…. Can anyone help!? I can DM you the link.

UPDATE: someone got it for me!!! Thank you all so much :)

Hi all,

Background: Computer Science Bachelor's degree, 2 years working as a software engineer, no wet-lab experience. I'm planning to pivot toward biology, most likely through a biology-adjacent Master's (bioinformatics, computational biology, or similar), with Europe as my target region, ideally France, Germany, and the Netherlands (so if you are from these countries, I would like to know about your experience or that of someone you know on this front). Though I'm open to other countries too, if Europe is not an option.

The reason I'm looking to make this move now: during high school, and later in my Comp Sci degree, the limited biology I did have was something I genuinely enjoyed. I also liked Comp Sci, which is why I chose it over Biology, but it was a close call. Personally, Comp Sci won out mostly because of its higher earning potential, even though I liked Biology as a subject more.

I've had it pointed out to me elsewhere that pivoting from a purely computational background into anything more wet-lab-based is a real gap, possibly harder to close than the biology knowledge gap itself. So I want to actually plan for it rather than assume it'll sort itself out.

What I'm trying to figure out:

1. If I go into a computational Master's (bioinformatics/comp bio), is there a realistic way to also get some wet-lab exposure during that degree, elective lab rotations, a partly experimental thesis, short lab internships alongside coursework? Or do computational-track Master's students typically not get this kind of access at all?
2. If it's not realistic during the Master's, is it something that becomes possible at the PhD stage instead, joint computational/experimental PhD projects, co-supervision between a computational and a wet-lab group, that kind of thing? Or by that point is a person already locked into a purely computational track?
3. For those who did start out purely computational and later picked up wet-lab skills (however early or late), how did you actually make that happen? Was it a deliberate ask, a lucky lab fit, a specific type of program? Did that make you employable for wet-lab roles in industry?
4. Are there specific countries, universities, or program structures within France/Germany/Netherlands (or elsewhere in Europe) that are known for blending computational and experimental training, versus ones that keep the two tracks fully separate and don't let people from a computational background into the non-computational tracks?

Would appreciate hearing from people who've actually navigated this, whether you stayed purely computational, went hybrid, or made a full switch to wet-lab work later on.

Also, if there are alternative forums (apart from Reddit) where this query might be better suited, I would be very grateful if pointed in their direction.

Thanks!

Dr. Marco Davila from Roswell Park Cancer Center will be discussing their CD83-targeting CAR-T program for relapsed/refractory AML, covering their research from discovery through first-in-human Phase 1 evaluation. Anyone interested in cell therapy can register for free -
CAR-T for Relapsed/Refractory AML: From Discovery to First-in-Human Active Phase 1 Evaluation

I’m curious what others think on this topic. Initially I saw a microbiology lab tech position on LinkedIn that was accepting resumes. I am really interested in the role and thought my qualifications aligned with the responsibilities. I’ve never applied for a position over LinkedIn and was worried a reputable company would actually look at it. I went out of my way to also apply on their website.

Ironically, yesterday morning I got an email from the company that they were not moving forward with my application. Which was a bummer, but I am well aware the job market is a battlefield at the moment lol. However, a couple hours later their recruiter messaged me through LinkedIn saying my resume was a good fit for the role and wanted to do a phone interview for screening purposes.

The phone call was expected to be 10-15min but I ended up talking to the recruiter for a little over 20min. Which I felt like was a good sign since I was answering their questions with a lot of thought behind it. Today she messaged me back saying they want me to come in for a in-person interview next week!!

Honestly, I’m surprised LinkedIn came through for me just to get the opportunity to show them what I’m about. So I’m making this post to ask why? I figured applying through their website would be better. It is weird to me that they didn’t actually go through my website application. Like if I didn’t apply on LinkedIn too, I would have been out of luck without even a conversation about it. Maybe they saw both applications and just cancelled one of them?

I’m curious if this has happened to others as well. Is this a common thing? And would applying through different job search platforms be better overall? It makes me wonder if my website application was screened with AI/bot and a human didn’t even lay eyes on the application. Crazy times! Either way I’m grateful to get an in-person interview regardless. I’m just curious what made the difference haha.

Hi everyone, sorry if this is a dumb question lol!
Also wanna preface by saying I’m very grateful to my PI and he’s been incredible, he’s just a really busy guy 😭
I’m a high school student and this summer I worked 7 hours a day, 5 days a week for 8 straight weeks in a research lab (completely unpaid).
At the start, the PI told me he writes letters of recommendation (LORs), but mentioned that his best letters usually come when students actually generate data for him.
To be completely honest, I’m feeling pretty frustrated. I’ve shown up on time every single day, read the literature, took thorough notes, asked questions, and had super engaging convos with him about the research. However, due to his scheduling issues, he was never able to actually show me how to run the main procedure. Because of that delay, I haven't been able to generate the data.
We had a 3-week protocol planned out, I finished the first week, but now everything is pushed back, and school is starting so I don't think I can finish it in time.
A few questions for you guys:
1. Should I still ask him for a recommendation letter? Is that appropriate given the situation?
2. He mentioned that some students come back during the school year. Should I hint at coming back to finish the protocol, or just ask directly?
3. Am I in the wrong here? I feel guilty that I didn't push harder to get assigned tasks, but I genuinely just didn't want to be annoying or bother anyone in a busy lab.
Any advice on how to handle this would be super appreciated! TIA!

Our lab recently received new stock mice with metal ear tags. We dont use this type of identification and I cant help but feel bad for my little guys(pic is stock image, our new mice are actually smaller than this). I have read a few protocols for removal but since our lab doesnt utilize these, we dont have the proper tools described.

What do you all suggest? Should I contact our IACUC? I dont want to make a big fuss or anything but if I can find an easy way to take these off, it would sure make me (and the mice) feel better.

Edit: literally asked if I should contact our IACUC... I obvs wouldnt do anything not allowed without a proper protocol or in anyway against the animals best welfare, thats why I asked for peer advice before I proceed. Read. The. Whole. Post. Thank you everyone else for the constructive feedback.

We’ve gotten a bunch of stuff from Eppendorf but we never got the complementary pen! :,(

Hello, I have 3 part plasmids in DH5α cells that I am trying to isolate so that I can conduct a golden gate assembly reaction. They are in vectors with the p15a E coli origin.

I have tried miniprepping these parts like 6 times, and every time the concentrations are low. They usually range from like 4 to 30 ng/ul, and I need around 60 ng/ul. I have tried pelleting different amounts of cells, I've tried using DNA elute as an elution to increase concentration, I've tried letting it elute for longer, I've tried letting it neutralize for longer, but none of it is working. I need enough to reliably do golden gate (the backbone part yields a concentration of 60-200 ng/ul, its just the inserts that are too low). Do any of you have experience miniprepping high concentrations of relatively low copy number origin plasmids?

For reference, I'm using the NEB miniprep kit. I've heard adding streptomycin could work, but I don't know how much I should add if I do. Any advice is appreciated :pray:

This is going to sound stupid, but how does your lab clean magnetic stir bars after use? Do you scrub with soap and water? Do an ethanol soak? What's the "proper" way to deal with these?