The Most Annoying Things About Working in a Lab (And Why We Still Love It)
Working in a laboratory can be fascinating, rewarding and occasionally enough to make you reconsider your entire career.
Whether you're studying cells, preparing samples or spending hours behind a microscope, laboratory life comes with its fair share of frustrations. Some are unavoidable parts of scientific research, while others really shouldn't be as difficult as they are.
So, in the spirit of shared suffering, we've rounded up a few laboratory annoyances that might sound painfully familiar.
The Mysterious Case of the Missing Lab Supplies
Last week, there were ten boxes of pipette tips. Today, there's half an empty box and absolutely nobody knows what happened to the other nine.
Nobody used them, nobody moved them and, remarkably, nobody seems to know who's responsible for ordering more.
The same mysterious phenomenon affects gloves, marker pens, tape and that one pair of tweezers everyone prefers. Somewhere, there's presumably a secret laboratory containing everyone's missing supplies. We'd quite like to visit it.
When Your Experiment Has Other Plans
You've spent hours preparing samples, following protocols and carefully checking every detail. You've even double-checked your calculations, which is usually a good sign that things are about to go horribly wrong.
Perhaps your cells aren't cooperating, your staining hasn't worked or your fluorescence signal has mysteriously disappeared. Whatever the reason, the experiment has decided it won't be producing any useful results today.
Still, at least you've learned what doesn't work. Again.
Equipment That Knows When You're in a Hurry
Laboratory equipment seems to possess an extraordinary ability to detect when you're working to a deadline.
The centrifuge that's been making a suspicious noise for months finally gives up. The microscope computer decides it's the perfect moment for an update. And the printer, which worked perfectly five minutes ago, now insists it has a paper jam despite containing absolutely no paper.
It's almost impressive how reliably everything becomes unreliable at precisely the wrong moment.
When Your Microscope Illumination Joins the Rebellion
If you're still using traditional mercury or metal halide illumination for fluorescence microscopy, you'll probably be familiar with a few additional frustrations.
Waiting for bulbs to warm up, dealing with unwanted heat, replacing lamps and managing changes in illumination intensity over time can all add unnecessary complications to an already busy day.
And discovering that your bulb needs replacing just as you're about to start an imaging session? That's unlikely to improve anyone's mood.
Fortunately, modern LED illumination offers a much simpler alternative. CoolLED's LED Illumination Systems provide instant on/off operation, adjustable intensity and stable output , without the mercury-containing bulbs or regular lamp replacements.
We can't guarantee your experiment will work, but at least your illumination doesn't have to be another problem.
The Shared Lab Fridge. Enter at Your Own Risk.
Every laboratory has one. A fridge containing a fascinating collection of carefully labelled samples, vaguely labelled samples and containers that appear to predate the laboratory itself.
Somewhere near the back, there's probably a mysterious bottle nobody wants to claim ownership of. Meanwhile, six nearly empty bottles of the same reagent are taking up an entire shelf, and the one thing you actually need has disappeared.
There's always a handwritten notice on the door reminding everyone to keep it tidy. Judging by the state of the fridge, it's been there for several years.
The Experiment That Finishes Just After You Were Supposed to Leave
You've been in the lab since 8am, you've skipped lunch and, against all expectations, your experiment is finally going to plan.
Then you check the protocol and realise your final incubation finishes at 5:01pm. Unfortunately, there's another step afterwards, followed by something that needs washing, something that needs recording and something else that apparently needs checking before you can go home.
By the time you're finished, the car park's empty and you're seriously considering whether the vending machine constitutes a balanced evening meal.
One Less Thing to Worry About
We're afraid CoolLED can't help with missing pipette tips, uncooperative cells or whatever's growing at the back of the shared laboratory fridge. And despite our best efforts, we haven't developed a way to make experiments finish conveniently at 4:30pm on a Friday.
But we can help make fluorescence microscopy illumination one less thing to worry about.
With instant switching, precise illumination control and reliable, low-maintenance operation, CoolLED's LED Illumination Systems help researchers spend less time dealing with their light source and more time getting on with their work.
Let's Make Lab Life a Little Easier
Discover CoolLED's range of LED Illumination Systems for fluorescence microscopy, designed to give researchers precise control, reliable performance and one less thing to worry about.
Discover CoolLED's LED Illumination Systems →And we'd love to hear from you. What's your biggest laboratory pet peeve?
