Oh no not again!! Another blip from the lab?

I decided it was time for another blip from the lab, as I noticed that yesterday's blip raised some paranoia amongst some (yes I'm talking about you! ;-)), and interest amongst others. At least, that was what I thought :)

So to show you that I'm not working in a Frankenstein-ish laboratory, and that I'm not doing anything dangerous, I will try to include more pictures from the lab in my blip journal :) you're welcome ;)

Today I was isolating RNA. Because we all have enzymes on our skin that break down RNA it is very important to work very clean, so that's why I'm wearing the blue gloves. And because I was using chloroform hahaha

One of the skills of a laboratory technician is opening and closing bottles and tubes with one hand. Doesn't sound very hard, I know, but it becomes more complicated if the bottle/tube and the lid need to stay sterile ;)

At my first job they noticed I couldn't do it, so they gave me a tube and told me to practise at home. At that time I travelled 4 hours a day by train, so there I was, in the train, opening and closing the tube. Don't know what the other passengers were thinking.... One day, to freak them out, a colleague put a Biohazard label on it ;) poor passengers :)

So I learned how to do it, as shown in today's blip :) I am still learning to open a tube that is in my left hand with the pinky from my right hand. Try it if you like, it is impossible! Either my pinky is too small or I am not strong enough... but luckily there is also a pretty easy technique that I learned from a colleague and it looks like this.

Hope you enjoyed today's lesson, class dismissed!