Everyone who has ever worked in a lab knows about it. The flow. Those rare golden periods when everything you do just work. All controls turn out as you expect. Your Western blots are clean and give clear-cut results. Your DNA preps give maximum yields. There is a slot open at the fully booked FACS machine just when you need it. And even more important – your results make sense, they are coherent, and they point you in a clear direction. Everyone who has ever worked in a lab also knows that these flow periods are extraordinary rare – gifts granted by the lab gods after years of hard toil. And the only thing you can do when you happen upon them is to work work work. Run all experiments possible before the luck turns – just like Sabbi’s worms. So I have been submerged in work for the last week and a half. And still am. But I know this cannot last – for every experiment I run I get more and more nervous. The wait in the dark room before the film comes out of the developing machine gets more and more uncomfortable. Because I know for every completed experiment I get one step closer to the first failed one. To one of those results that raises more questions than it answers. Or is just a big smear where my bands should have been. And then life is back to normal. But for now, I’m going with the flow.
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On Science and Things by Anna Vilborg
I am a PhD student in Sweden working with something that could best be described as molecular cancer research. I’ll be blogging about my work, about being a scientist in Sweden, and a bit about how science is presented by media around here.
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Go with the flow
- Date:
- Sunday, 22 Nov ember 2009 - 13:44 UTC
Last updated: Sunday, 22 Nov 2009 - 13:44 UTC
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Comments
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It’s like consecutive strikes in bowling, first downs in football… the suspense of the unknown make people nervous, then again, it adds more to the excitement (or disappointment).
I have to admit to never experiencing one of those golden moments, but after your description, I seriously wish I had. Good luck with yours, and I hope it lasts a long while! Fingers crossed. Toes too.
It’s like consecutive strikes in bowling
I must admit I never experienced that, but I imagine it’s a similar feeling :)
@ Anna – Thanks for the crossed fingers! It’s a weird coincidence of having gotten a number of experiments right (and then repeating them) and having the surrounding things actually work (which is almost unheard of) but now I have repeated enough and have to move on to new experiments so I’m pretty sure things will be back to normal soon enough :)
Yes, take advantage of it by all means, Anna!
I really think we scientists are more and not less superstitious than the general population.
I’m so envious…
I still haven’t had a break from the Murphy’s Law of turbulence-and-resistance-to flow effect.
but hope things continue to be smooth for ya!
Thanks! Though I’m sad to say that this week things are back to normal. The rotator breaking down during an overnight incubation, the CCD camera computer crashing just before I have time to save my data, the usual stuff…But that’s comforting in a way – when Murphy’s law stops applying it’s almost like if gravity would give in – you get quite confused :)