cellbioS

I do agree with jimmy in that sometimes terminology is used in manuscripts that seem a little "too educated" but the audience should have a handle on basic science and be able to decipher the context. That being said, a little basic information may be required in some instances. The company I work for has both chemists and biologists that work together and write papers to be submitted to either biological or chemical publications. Therefore, you may have a chemist reading a paper that was written by biologists and vice versa so a little basic info in the background is needed, as it is intended. This, I have found, is especially important in pharmaceuticals as people are trying to work out the details of new compounds for new drugs. As a cell biologist, I am given many chemistry and biochemistry based papers so that we may better elucidate the pathways of our compounds.

The animals that are used for scientific testing are treated better than some house pets and people, as far as diet and room conditions are concerned. There are many different steps even before animal testing gets approved for a facility to ensure that the best measures are taken. Many protocols have included information about limiting pain and discomfort so that the animals do not feel these. Some protocols have to be stopped do to these issues. Testing is not done haphazardly in animals. Cell and some tissue sudies are conducted prior to animal studies. The funny thing is that some drugs, etc may be very effective when studied in vitro but are toxic once in vivo. That's why animals are used as the alternative would be to put the drug directly into people. The legal animals (cats, dogs, pigs, etc) that are used for testing are not people's pets or even strays. They are bred for the purpose of testing. And, honestly, if it comes down to me or a dog to test a new drug with no in vivo testing, I'm not putting my life on the line. I am an animal owner and am compassionate towards animals but I also realize the other side of it.

There are chemicals to increase and decrease pool pH but nothing to decrease Cl levels. Generally, the Cl levels will go down after a little time (a day or two depending on how high a dose is). It's generally the pH that affects swimmers with itchy, dry skin and eyes, not the chlorine. We're pool owners and mainly worry about the chlorine so that nothing starts growing in the pool that shouldn't.

True, cellulosic plastics ar used currently from toys to food pacaking. For food packaging, there are warnings about not using it in the microwave since the melting temp is much lower than petroleum based. Regrind is difficult to work with in molding a new product. It is currently used in some applications but I don't think I would want IV tubing made from regrind as it is more brittle and less reliable. Heck, I take canvas bags when I shop and hope that I am helping. However, I think that some plastics are necessary in certain instances to prevent contamination. That being said, so many people don't recycle as much as they could be. I may be biased in this since my husband has worked in medical plastics for 20 years

Then how could one explain the "recycling" of fashions? There are many trendy clothes available today that are very much like 1980's styles and many of the women (girls) wearing these fashions did not wear them the first time around and many women who wore them originally, as young girls, are not wearing them now, even the attractive, single women. How does that fit if fashion (and mate attracting) is an ever evolving process? Would these fashions (tactics) be considered passe or "new" trends that a part of the single population doesn't keep up with? Just interested.

The comment on the "smart kids" not being bullied, in my opinion, is wrong. I was one of the smarter kids in my classes but was bullied. For me, the reason being I was always the "new" kid in the class. Literally, for 5 school years, I was in 5 different schools. I think part of it is to re-establish the social hierarchy of the students and the reaction of the target will determine the extent and length of the bullying. The reasons for bullying is actually quite complex and may include developing social interaction skills, learning how to lead or follow, developing the ability to influence, learning how to assert oneself and making a stand, etc. Bullying will probably always happen, it will just be the degree that needs to be monitored.

We only use di-water that is brought in from a supplier since we have no plumbing in the lab. Our buffers are already hydrated so it's not an issue anyway. The only thing I use the di-water for is to keep the incubator hydrated.

Your major can have nothing to do with your career. I know many science majors that go into sales and marketing, not necessarily a "scientific" product either. Personally, I would go with something that you find interesting and can understand but still offers a challenge. Besides, not all bio careers are in academics. I was in academics for only 5 years in a 13 year (so far) career. You would be surprised how many companies will higher biologists, as well as the government. Some positions include writing documents, clincal trial organization, etc in addition to the benchwork positions. Biotechnology and pharmaceuticals are areas that many science majors become employed for various types of duties.

Water source is still the same. That's why I'm so frustrated with this; nothing's changed in the procedure but the growth rate (or lack of it).

There will always be spelling and grammar mistakes. It's just how prevalent they are. I have issues getting through something that has gross issues that confuses the content. Small typos are easily tolerated. However, many mistakes can be caught with a quick proofing before the "send" button is pushed.

We use dipsosable plastic, cell culture treated. Dishes from the same bags have been used with other cell lines with no problems. I made the complete media from freshly purchased components. Complete media was sterile filtered. Again, components are used in media for other cell lines that have had not problems.

Do you have the RAW numbers instead of the percentages? I don't like percentages because 9 of 10 is 90% as well as 900 of 1000 but the RAW numbers will give a better indication in the numbers of people who commit suicide in any form. If the 34% for jumping off high places is 34 in 100, and handguns is 9 of 10 then jumping has more suicides the handguns, in this simplified example.

It would be great to have an alternative. I do think the $40K price will have to go down for me to buy though. We had the hybrid option of our vehicle for that price and it was out of our range, esp now that hubby was laid off from work (happening to many now).

I need to pick some brains: We have been using OVCAR-3 cells in our lab for years. All of a sudden, they are dying after a few days in culture. This happens a few days after trypsininzation and reseeding. The culture conditions are the same, the media are all the same (fresh). The other cell lines are doing fine. We have received new aliquots from ATCC and it happens. This also happens to cells that we thaw from cryopreservation. It's very frustrating because this has been going on for some time and has caused havoc. Any ideas?!

Tell someone who hunts for food that guns have no purpose other than entertainment or bodily injury. Some areas will allow hunters two tags during deer season instead of one. One is for the the hunter and the other is for the same hunter to kill a deer for a needy family that has no money to buy meet. And yes, you do have to take a class in order to get a hunting license in Illinois, unless the law has changed in the last few years..

I concur!

First of all, handguns are also used for sport. In fact, many hunters use them for short range target practice so that when they hunt, they are better equipt to kill an animal and not just wound it so that it runs off and dies days later, in pain. And, yes, there are rules about who can and can not own firearms. Those that have a psycological problem can not get a firearm until 5 years after treatment, etc. Handguns are not made to kill people, but that's what people use them for. Should we also ban cars and trains, as they are killing many people too? It's not that gun control needs to be tougher, it's that the penalty for illegally using a firearm needs to be stricter. At gun shows and sales, one is not allowed to touch a firearm unless a gun owner's card is shown. Those who LEGALLY own guns are very aware of the reprecussions. Those who are criminally in possession of a firearm are not and those are the ones that need to know that there are rules for a reason.

Do you know what the gun control laws are and know that they vary from state to state as well as city to city? Eg. in Illinois, you can not legally carry a loaded weapon but in Arizona you can legally carry a concealed weapon. Some cities in Illinois do not allow firearms in the home while others do. It's interesting that the city of Chicago (unless it's changed recently) does not allow for firearm ownership but there have been many shootings this year. How would gun control prevent these shootings if those who have the guns aren't supposed to legally have them and obtain them without a Firearm Owners ID? They are already operating outside the law so, chances are, more laws will not impact them. As far as suicide, yes, my life gets yucky some days but I don't want to kill myself. We have 4 handguns in our house. So, according to your assumption of the stats, I should have been dead already by gun-assisted suicide. Banning handguns will not eliminate suicide what it will more likely do is cause more people to have unsuccessful suicide attempts, from the stats you give, until they find another more successful way.

One of the nightly news shows did a story on this a while back; I didn't watch it but saw the preview. I just hope that people don't see this as a first alternative before trying less invasive actions (diet, exercise) that don't have the surgery complications. Many family memebers have type 2 diabetes that is controllable through diet and exercise; some have improved and some are refusing to change their behaviour before trying more complicated treatments that require less dedication.

I've owned a horse for the last 10 years. She's an awesome Quarter Horse that lets me rant about failed experiements without any judgement.

I'm not a milk drinker but do have it occassionally with sweets or if I want a little more in my stomach than water. I do not worry about the amount our 4yo daughter consumes either and she has at least 3 glasses per day of plain ol' skim milk. The Scientist did an article in Feb2007 (sorry, I can't access the on-line version) about milk and some of the info on the "good and the bad" stories out there. It gives perspectives from many different sides. Bottom line was to watch the amount of milk consumed per day and that some of the nutritional value we get from milk is difficult to replace with other foods. The consensus was that this is a very dynamic area of research since it is evolving and there are trends but nothing definitive.

Sorry this may be a little late for your report but are you sure that "blob" is bacteria and not a fungal contamination of the agar plate itself. It sometimes happens, esp if the plates haven't been stored/handled properly. Don't forget to discuss any "negative" data if it exists.

Hi! I'm cellbioS; I have a MS in Cell and Molecular Bio and work full time as a Research Scientist for a small biopharm company outside Chicago. I am also working on my PhD in Cell and Mo Bio part-time.