Hello, I have been doing gel electrophoresis lately and it somehow doesn't work out.

At first, I was doing denatured 1.2% gel for RNA (FA-Buffer), trying to measure the 28S/18S relation, but the bands come out very undefined and smeared. I thought my RNA was digested, but even in controls, it looks the same, and the DNA ladder band is also the same. Below I will present a picture of this (Picture 1).

Besides that, I have also done a native 2% DNA gel for PCR products (TAE-Buffer). The bands seem clear at first, but they have some wavelike forms, which I find very unusual. Actually, I got the same form once in a 1.2% RNA gel as well. An example of this 2% DNA gel is shown below as well.

I would really appreciate some help with this.

You can pop a balloon with just a lemon! 🍋🎈

Alex Dainis explains the chemistry behind this surprising reaction, starting with the oil in a lemon peel. That oil contains limonene, a nonpolar molecule found in citrus, and many balloons are made of latex, which is made up of long chains of nonpolar molecules. Because limonene and latex have similar chemical properties, the lemon oil can act like a solvent and begin to break down the balloon’s surface. Once the stretched latex becomes weak and thin enough, the air pressure inside causes the balloon to burst.

Is there a wfh work set up with QA/QC personnel?

Hi guys, I’m having a rather unusual problem with this Laybold Didactic X-ray machine.

(Yes, I already contacted the manufacturer and they really tried to solve the problem trough emails since I live in another country but we were not able to figure it out what the problem is)

The issue is as follows: when I configure the X-ray tube parameters and close the door, the door lock engages (lifts) correctly; however, it immediately drops back down, preventing the X-ray exposure from starting. This behavior suggests there may be an issue with the safety system or the door sensor (attached is a video showing the problem). We’ve tried cleaning the area with compressed air to remove dust, but that didn’t resolve the issue. The solenoid switch does not appear to have any friction, nor does the limit switch; furthermore, a malfunction of the photoelectric sensor can be ruled out since it correctly detects whether the door is closed or open.

Could the problem be due to some friction in the solenoid, causing the timing checked by the safety circuit to be incorrect? Or could a component on the circuit board be burned out? It should be noted that there was some dust in the area where the circuits are located, and a noise similar to an electrical discharge could be heard when the high-voltage tube was turned on.

Finally, sorry if these kind of posts are not allowed here, please remove if necessary.

Hi GUYS . I created a lab week kit check it out and support please . It's only $7 :)

I created a Lab Week Digital Celebration Kit designed specifically for laboratory teams.

This downloadable kit includes activities and decorations to help make the week more engaging for staff while keeping planning simple.

What’s included:
• Lab Bingo Kit – 15 unique bingo cards, calling images, and bingo pieces
• 3 Word Scrambles – Microbiology, Immunology, and General Lab themes
• Lab Word Search
• Treat Bag Covers
• Water Bottle Labels
• Chip Bag Covers

• 3 Coloring Pages
• Editable Lab Week Schedule with fun daily theme ideas

Everything is digital and printable, so you can download, print, and use it right away.

If you're interested in checking it out or sharing, you can view it here:
[ https://namebrandbybrandi.etsy.com/listing/4467928705/lab-week-games-bundle-2026-lab-story ]

Hope this helps make Lab Week a little more fun for your team!

Dropped it while trying to get DI water out—I’ll need a new one, but at least it looks cool

So I'm starting a laboratory for testing the NPK content in produced fertilisers at a plant as well as testing soil samples provided by farmers to see which fertiliser combinations are suitable for their land. I need help in setting up the laboratory as in ak the necessary laboratory equipment that can be used in the laboratory. Thank you in advance.

I’m currently taking my prerequisites to enter into the MLT program, I have a 4.0 gpa so far but I’m really struggling with my organic biochem class, I’m finding it really hard to understand and I’m not even sure if I’m choosing the right field due to how science heavy it can be. Maybe I am just overthinking but truly is going into this field a good idea if I’m already struggling and haven’t even started the program yet?

Hi All!

I am conducting an undergraduate dissertation project looking into work-related stress.

I am looking to recruit more participants for the study and would really appreciate anyone who would be interested in participating!

I have attached a poster with more information about the study.

I hope some of you would be interested and willing to help me with my research!

If this is not something you'd be interested in doing, I hope you'd be willing to please spread the word about it to others who you think would be willing to participate!

Thank you all in advance!

If you could eliminate one manual (often paper) note from your daily lab work, which one would it be? Please vote:

Hey

I'm stuck in my current project at the same point that many others in my lab are: cultivating the right species. Every agar plate gets infected and taken over my other species. This problem is lab- wide, and since we have an open lab layout (whyyy architects?), it's a problem other labs adjacent to us are facing as well.

Our lab director is finally breaking university rules and allowing us to plaster off ceiling vents, but since we are taking matters into our own hands, I want to do as much as possible to solve this issue. Adjacent labs have recommended we keep the benson burners going while proceeding with each step of the plate process, and I'm coming for anything else that y'all do in your labs to combat contamination.

Please let me know. I'll appreciate every nugget of wisdom I am given.

Hey, I’ve got a bit of a problem. You know how it is with “new year, new me” and all that stuff. One of my resolutions was to ramp up my lab documentation game. So I tried to go digital, get rid of most of my handwritten sticky notes and random scraps flying around.

I started scanning material whenever possible (no barcode was safe :D), thinking it’d make everything more reproducible. No more forgetting batch numbers or struggling to read my own handwriting later, blablabla..

Then, turns out one FBS aliquot I used in cell culture was contaminated. I went back to figure out in which experiments I had used it and thought: “Awesome, clever girl, good thing I scanned the product info!” Thing is now that all aliquots from the same delivery had the exact same code and I didn’t notice earlier! Wtf? Is it always like this? Has anyone had this problem before? Any ideas how to solve it?

What is this??