More of a vent. But wow, I’ve come by a few current PhD or undergrad students who rely on ai for everything. It’s absolutely wild to me. As someone who did all of their training without ai, it’s mind boggling to work in a lab with someone that relies on ai for absolutely everything.

Do many of you use ai, if so, what for? Do you think this tactic of relying on ai will come back to bite this next generation of college and graduate students in the butt?

This is aimed at really anyone with a supervisory function, in academia or industry. I don't know if it's the particular institution I moved to two years ago, sampling bias or just that I'm slowing becoming a grumpy old man, but many of the students (mostly masters level) I've worked with lately have seemed to lack all ability or willingness to troubleshoot problems independently or otherwise take the initiative in their projects. There's this sort of passivity or even helplessness I don't know how to deal with. Is anyone else struggling with this, and how are you encouraging your mentees/trainees to develop a higher degree of independence?

Hi all, we do not have a cold room in our lab. Do you think i could incubate my membrane fully covered in TBST/primary overnight in the 4^(o)C fridge without agitation? Has anyone done this before and how did it turn out?

Thank you!

Is it normal to have been told at first that my thesis would be a bit of an independent project, just to be informed a week before it starts that it is part of someone else's PhD project?

Hey everyone,

I am working with a QuantStudio3 qpcr machine and was wondering how you keep track of tubes without marking the tops?

Normally, when working with tubes, I’ve labelled the tops with ethanol resistant marker from VWR. After speaking with the rep from Thermo, they told me that shouldn’t be done because it will cause damage to the detector and/or optics of the unit.

How would you mark them? Is this a reasonable concern that they’ve brought up?

Hi. I have been been exchanging msgs with my potential PI for 2 months and he has helped me a lot in terms of PhD application and what to work on to get published. Eversince, I have always been feeling reluctant with this opportunity due to low stipend. (Dorm and tuition are covered).

Yesterday I got a much better offer in terms of funding, institution’s credibility, facility, and PI’s global contributions. It’s a big dream come true for me and it will leverage my potential + network much more.

But how do I turn down my first potential PI? I feel bad about disappointing him especially since he’s been really assistive eversince.

No contract or any sort has been formalized/ presented yet in both opportunities, which are btw within the same southeast asian country.

To organize my questions:

1. Does it make me a bad egg to leave my 1st potential PI hanging? Since September intake is coming.
2. Is it normal to be honest in turning down a PhD offer?
3. Should I just think of another alibi so things will feel lighter?
4. Should I help or offer help in finding a replacement instead?

Pls help :( Thank you :)

hi everyone, can you please give me advices ?

For example, my PI tells me, "This week you'll be doing qPCR, NGS in parallel"

How can I prepare myself to stay organized and avoid inattentive mistakes?

maybe I need checklists that follow me throughout my lab experiments

My grant just ended and with how things are going at NIH I'm trying to extend how long I can keep my lab going until I can secure another grant. I currently use Gibco DMEM/F12 with Glutamax and phenol red, no HEPES, high glucose. Closest I've found is this product by Corning but the rep says they don't sell it in the US. I can't seem to find a mix that doesn't include either L-glutamine or HEPES and I'm trying to avoid switching to a media that doesn't use L-alanyl-L-glutamine. Hoping someone here may have suggestions on where to find this or something close that we can supplement.

I am 35, have a Masters degree in Chemistry in Germany (I am also german), and have been stuck in a professional, low paid dead end for a few years now.

I graduated at the end of 2019, meaning my entry into the job market coincided exactly with the first wave of Corona (a terrible combination, to say the least in my experience). After a long search, I compromised back then and took a position below my qualification level. I just wanted to gain work experience somehow and didnt want be on gov. benefits.

Now, Im in a minimally better-paying job (a technician position for an HPLC analytical service provider) with a good working atmosphere and a relatively high amount of working from home, but with zero growth perspective and a pretty bad pay. The work is mostly routine, almost like assembly line work. I absolutely hate it. The incredibly poor pay (even though I am the assistent team leader) is one thing; the incredibly monotonous, dead-end work is another. I just hate it. Ive realized that I enjoy tinkering and troubleshooting much more than the office-job part of it. Honestly, Id rather maintain wind turbines than do my current job.

Over the last four months, Ive sent out about 50 applications (broadly spread across lab/team management, QM/QA, IT-related roles, hazardous materials management, and the public sector). The response has been minimal: just two interviews, both of which ultimately led nowhere. In two weeks, I have an appointment with a career counselor who will look over my application materials. I just can't imagine that it's only down to me (though that seems like the most obvious explanation). I am well aware that Ive botched my "career." For the first few years, I was able to drown it out a bit and fill the void with hobbies (the work-life balance is actually quite good at this company), but by now, this feeling of failure is really taking a toll on my psyche.

I am seriously considering whether a complete change of direction, for instance into a technical trade like an electrician, industrial mechanic, or something similar, would make more sense than continuing the job search in chemistry. Ive also thought about doing a state technical traineeship (though I suspect nothing will come of that either) or becoming a teacher (but Im not good with kids, and I don't want to put either myself nor the kids through that). Another idea would be a dual study program in tax administration.

Does anyone have any advice on how to turn this around

Hello! I'm a senior high school student from the Philippines helping fellow high school researchers who are currently developing their research projects.

We're looking to connect with professionals, graduate students, researchers, or faculty members who may be willing to answer occasional questions or provide guidance related to the following fields:

• Biochemistry
• Biotechnology
• Materials Science
• Nanochemistry / Nanomedicine / Nanotechnology
• Pharmacology
• Phytochemistry

We're also looking for individuals experienced in:

• Molecular Docking / In Silico Methods
• Diabetes Research

Also:

• Mechanical Engineering
• Computer Engineering / Computer Science
• Electrical Engineering

We're not asking for anyone to do the research—only hoping to build connections with people who might be willing to share their expertise or point students in the right direction when needed.

If you're interested or know someone who might be, I'd really appreciate it if you could leave a comment or send me a private message.

Thank you so much!

I keep having people in the tech space come up to me and say stuff like, "Oh, just wait, in a few years your work will be completely done by AI." Then they always hit me with the advice: "You need to pivot and get involved in AI medical stuff." To be honest, I think this narrative is diabolical and just fundamentally untrue.
I’ve worked with computational tools before, and the reality is that they always have to be backed up and validated by wet lab work- most turn up to be wrong.When it comes to developing drugs and running clinical trials, it should be done by humans, not robots or algorithms. You can't just simulate complex human biology flawlessly without real-world, physical verification. And i know in fee years, it will be so damn smart for ai and they will be capable of doing many things, but i refuse to think it will replace us?
Beyond the science of it, there's a personal side to this too: I actually like manual work. I like using my brain and using my hands in tandem. I don't want to spend my entire career staring at a screen managing prompts.
It feels like a lot of tech people don't actually understand what goes into biological validation or the ethical necessity of human-driven medicine.
What do you guys think about this? Are you seeing this same pushy attitude from the tech sector, and how do you actually see the balance between AI and wet lab work panning out in the real world?

Hi everyone,I have a slightly intrusive, mad-scientist thought. I’m thinking about trying to make/bake a cake using a laboratory centrifuge.Before you all scream at me in the comments: This is purely a joke experiment/thought experiment. I am NOT going to eat anything that comes out of a lab centrifuge! (Safety first, I promise.)My general plan/idea:Put the cake batter into 50mL Falcon tubes.Spin them to see what happens to the texture or if it separates completely.(Or maybe trying to solidify it under high G-force?)Has anyone ever tried something this absurd? What do you think would happen to the flour, sugar, and eggs under high RCF? Would it just destroy the emulsion and ruin the cake, or create the densest, most interesting pastry ever?I’d love to hear your scientific predictions or technical advice (like rotor balance warnings)!Thanks!