toejam on Apr 30 2009, 02:59 PM said:

Finding that ive overcome my 'sequencers block'

toejam on Apr 30 2009, 03:59 PM said:

....and let them slip under my lab mates bench (enjoy them jumping)


But also: a nice smile and "good morning" of somebody in the elevator.....

Seeing DNA from a midiprep percipitate out upon addition of isopropanol.

Nice big pellets.

Also, hearing any vague reference to an aspect of your research on t.v.

I havent tried this one so what happens when you put dry ice in an eppendorf tube?.

And out of curiosity how would you do this?

Do I just add some of the ice pellets to an eppendorf? Should i stand back pretty quickly after doing it?

(Of course i just want to find out what not to do, you know.... in case it happened to me by accident !!!,

I wouldnt dream of putting dry ice in an eppendorf )

Cotchy

cotchy on May 1 2009, 12:02 AM said:

The lid pops off and an audible sound is heard.

cotchy on May 1 2009, 12:02 AM said:

1. To an empty eppendorf tube place one pellet of dry ice into the tube
2. Close the cap of the eppendorf tube.
3. Quickly place sealed tube in a warm place
4. Retreat to a safe distance.
5. Wait
Note: Beware of patrolling safety officer. Safety first. Wear safety glasses.

cotchy on May 1 2009, 12:02 AM said:

Yes. You have a few minutes. Mostly it depends on the room temperature. Do note that your hands are warm. Use a rack to more the tube. Warm hands will sublime the carbon dioxide pellet.

cotchy on May 1 2009, 12:02 AM said:

Most certainly. This is purely a hypothetical discussion, in the even that you should find dry ice in a sealed eppendorf. The more extreme version of this endeavour is to place liquid nitrogen into a closed eppendorf tube. The bang is louder, more dramatic and more dangerous. Real injury is possible.

perneseblue on May 1 2009, 10:05 AM said:

please do not try this at home, or should i say at the lab, unless you're qualified to...

toejam on May 1 2009, 12:23 PM said:

In my institute, once some PhD students throw a heap of dry ice (what's inside a parcel from any company sending biological material in dry ice) in a large puddle on the institutes parking area...nice effect the vapour and big dirty bubbles. But finally someone called the fire brigade...not so nice.

seeing bacterial colony on agar plate makes me happy.

it's a sign of life. life is good and life goes on

Pouring liquid nitrogen on the floor and watch the small droplets bounce of the wall as they hit it!