Lab Stock Photo Fun – The Scientist and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamlab

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Another series of unrealistic stockphotos depicting laboratory situations that are very different from real life.

Freestyle ELISA (123RF):Screenshot 2016-03-12 at 20.50.08

I heart this (123RF)

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Wells of a different color (Dreamstime)

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Gimme all your colors (Shutterstock)

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The wooden rack adds a nice touch

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Cell culture was never this colorful:

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Just pouring some random fluids (Getty Images)

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Stacks of colors (Getty Images)

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Happy glassware (123RF)

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With flying colors (Canstock):

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Success with colors (Canstock):

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Look mommy, what we made in daycare today! (Shutterstock)

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Lab Stock Photo Fail – Mad pipetting skills

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More examples of laboratory stock photos – that try to show the exciting world of science, but that did not get all the details straight. In this post, I will focus on pipetting techniques. Or lack thereof.

Alternative pipette-holding strategies, advanced level:

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Tipless pipetting:

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Screenshot 2016-03-15 at 19.56.19No-Touch Pipetting – Let gravity do its work:

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The MultiDripper – 12 tips simply dripping with fun:

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Duo-pipetting is twice the fun:

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Precision pipetting around an airbubble:

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The Amazing Vacuum-Finger – no pipetman required:

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March 15, 2016

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Intrapartum antibiotics and newborn gut microbiota, the seminal fluid microbiome, and xenobiotic metabolism by gut microbes.

General microbiome

Review: The interplay between the microbiome and the adaptive immune response in cancer development – Edda Russo – Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology

Pregnancy and birth

Evaluation of the effects of intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis on newborn intestinal microbiota using a sequencing approach targeted to multi hypervariable 16S rDNA regions – Irene Aloisio – Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Human respiratory microbiome

Neonatal Gastrointestinal and Respiratory Microbiome in Cystic Fibrosis: Potential Interactions and Implications for Systemic Health – Juliette C. Madan – Clinical Therapeutics

Review: Host-microbiome interactions in acute and chronic respiratory infections – Steven Taylor – Cellular Microbiology

Human reproductive tract microbiome

Discovery of a Novel Seminal Fluid Microbiome and Influence of Estrogen Receptor Alpha Genetic Status – Angela B. Javurek – Scientific Reports

Human gut microbiome

Bloom and bust: intestinal microbiota dynamics in response to hospital exposures and Clostridium difficile colonization or infection – Caroline Vincent – Microbiome

Upper Versus Lower Gastrointestinal Delivery for Transplantation of Fecal Microbiota in Recurrent or Refractory Clostridium difficile Infection: A Collaborative Analysis of Individual Patient Data From 14 Studies – Luis Furuya-Kanamori – Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology

Similar depletion of protective Faecalibacterium prausnitzii in psoriasis and Inflammatory Bowel Disease, but not in Hidradenitis Suppurativa – Hester Eppinga – Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis

Review: The role of the gastrointestinal tract and microbiota on uremic toxins and chronic kidney disease development – David Briskey – Clinical and Experimental Nephrology

Review: The microbial pharmacists within us: a metagenomic view of xenobiotic metabolism – Peter Spanogiannopoulos – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Animal microbiome

Vertebrate hosts as islands: dynamics of selection, immigration, loss, persistence and potential function of bacteria on salamander skin – Andrew H. Loudon – Frontiers in Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Altered carbon turnover processes and microbiomes in soils under long-term extremely high CO2 exposure – Felix Beulig – Nature Microbiology

Metagenomic and functional analyses of the consequences of reduction of bacterial diversity on soil functions and bioremediation in diesel-contaminated microcosms – Jaejoon Jun – Scientific Reports

Bacterial Community Succession in Pine-Wood Decomposition – Anna M. Kielak – Frontiers in Microbiology

Cave microbiome

MiSeq HV4 16S rRNA gene analysis of bacterial community composition among the cave sediments of Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot – Surajit De Mandal – Environmental Science and Pollution Research

Water microbiome

Bacterial diversity and distribution in seven different estuarine sediments of Poyang Lake, China – Ping Sheng – Environmental Earth Sciences

Built environment microbiology

Detection of Balamuthia mandrillaris DNA in the storage case of contact lenses in Germany – Carsten Balczun – Parasitology Research

Viruses and phages

Characterization of Viral Communities of Biting Midges and Identification of Novel Thogotovirus Species and Rhabdovirus Genus – Sarah Temmam – MDPI Viruses

Metagenomic analysis demonstrates the diversity of the fecal virome in asymptomatic pigs in East Africa – Joshua O. Amimo – Archives of Virology

Bacteriophages to reduce gut carriage of antibiotic resistant uropathogens with low impact on microbiota composition – Matthieu Galtier – Environmental Microbiology

Review: Mutualistic viruses and the heteronomy of life – Thomas Pradeu – Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Microbial Ecology

Engineering microbial consortia for controllable outputs – Stephen R Lindemann – ISME Journal

Review: The Anthropocene: a conspicuous stratigraphical signal of anthropogenic changes in production and consumption across the biosphere – Mark Williams – Earth’s Future

Book, all chapters written by Thomas CG Bosch and David J Miller. Not free of plagiarism and self-citing: The Holobiont Imperative: Perspectives from Early Emerging Animals – Springer

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

Illumina error profiles: resolving fine-scale variation in metagenomic sequencing data – Melanie Schirmer – BMC Bioinformatics

Microbes in the news

Bacterial biofilms in hospital water pipes may show pathogenic properties – Phys.org

Developed in Prince William, ISOThrive feeds human microbiome – Potomac Local

The first Truth is already not true: 3 Truths and a Lie About the Microbiome. Stick to the science if you want a healthy gut. – Megan Meyer – US News

The microbial death clock – Kai Kupferschmidt – Science
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Lab Stock Photo Caption Contest

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Continuing on the Lab Stock Photo theme, @GeorgeRocheMBA suggested that I should do a Caption Contest. And so I did last night. Stock photo available at Fotolia by AdobeFotolia by Adobe. Here are the results:

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These were all funny – hard to choose a winner. For me it’s a tie between KatMM’s “Nope still brown” and @Fjlapointe’s “Fecal Transplant”.

Captions for “Three scientists holding glassware with blue fluid”; stock photo found at CanStockPhoto, royalty free stock images.

 

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I liked @Victorleshyk’s Gargamel one!

Captions for some other photo’s

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Lab Stock Photo Fun – Three is a crowd

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More fun with Laboratory stock photos. This time, I’ve picked another unrealistic subset of images – those showing lab workers working really, really close together. Uncomfortably close. Around one piece of glass ware or equipment.

Stock photos by Fotolia, 123RF, Shutterstock, Alamy, CanStock, ColourBox.

“At least three scientists and one colored liquid”:

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Here is a special variant: “At least three scientists, each with a different color liquid”

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“At least three scientists and one computer”

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“At least three scientists and one microscope”. Bonus points if colored liquid present.

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“At least three scientists, one microscope, colored liquids, and one shiny lab bench”

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“At least three scientists and one HazMat suit”.

“Sorry, we have only one HazMat suit for the three of you. But feel free to stand really close to this Ebola culture.”

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Lab stock photo fun – The Pink Tube Collaboration

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A nice series of stock photos from Shutterstock/123RF, featuring three smart scientists spending their afternoon looking at a tube filled with pink fluid. Or, as Shutterstock called it, “Three shocked scientists looking at the obtained substance expressing intense emotions”. Here we go:

“Hello, I am a very smart scientist. Today I am pipetting this pink fluid. Not sure I have mastered pipetting, though. But I will keep on smiling.”

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“Alright. I got my pink fluid in a glass tube. Now what?”

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“I honestly have no idea what to do with this”.


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“Let’s ask my colleagues – they wear ties and safety goggles, so they should know”.

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“So guys, I have this pink tube – what do you make of it?”

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“Well, it’s a tube, and it’s pink and…” “OMG there is an airbubble – right there”

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“Oh, no, there’s another airbubble!” “This is aweful” “I’m so shocked!”

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“This will make a great stock photo for an article in the Guardian”

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“Now, let’s all switch glasses and look under the microscope. ”

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“Make the boss think we are busy.”

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“Boss’s gone. We can relax now”

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“That was fun. Shall we do it again with a red fluid?”

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March 14, 2016

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Happy Pi day! I’m currently in Europe, so today is just 14-3 here. But microbiomes are everywhere, so here we go with bacterial vaginosis in Africa, biofilms of streams and hospital shower hoses, and fungi in Chinese oil-shale mines.

Human vaginal microbiome

Can one size fit all? Approach to bacterial vaginosis in sub-Saharan Africa – Zenda Woodman – Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials

Human gut microbiome

Review: The diet-microbiota-metabolite axis regulates the host physiology – Takahiro Yamada – Journal of Biochemistry

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

No difference in the competitive ability of introduced and native Trifolium provenances when grown with soil biota from their introduced and native ranges – Natasha Shelby – AOB Plants

Water microbiome

Review: The ecology and biogeochemistry of stream biofilms – Tom J. Battin – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Built environment microbiome

Characterization of biofilms developing on hospital shower hoses and implications for nosocomial infections – Maria J. Soto-Giron – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Pollution and waste microbiology

Fungal diversity in major oil-shale mines in China – Shaoyan Jiang – Journal of Environmental Sciences

More microbiology

How pneumococci lose their capsule – Andrea Du Toit – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Microbes in the news

Airplane lavatories that clean themselves? It’s happening – Karla Cripps – CNN

Self-Cleaning Airplane Toilets Are A Crappy Idea – Martin Rivers – Forbes

Fighting back from bacterial meningitis – Paul Sisson – San Diego Union Tribune

Artists create living paintings from glow-in-the-dark bacteria – Geraldine Cremin – Mashable

Deadly disease outbreak in Wisconsin baffles public health officials – Keren Landman – STAT news

Wisconsin Bacterial Infection: A Case Of The Rare Elizabethkingia – Xbox360

Is fermented food a recipe for good gut health? – Philippa Roxby – BBC

Stanford chemists develop an ultra-sensitive test for cancers, HIV – Bjorn Carey – Stanford News

Fake drugs in Nigeria: Imprisonment of 2:1 microbiology graduate – National Mirror Online

How Does Salmonella Get on Pistachios? – Linda Larsen – Food Poisoning Bulletin

How Gut Bacteria Are Shaking Up Cancer Research – Makiko Kitamura – Bloomberg

Science, publishing, and career

About Kate Rubins, who worked in our lab: Napa astronaut prepares for space station journey: four-month mission aboard ISS- Howard Yune – Napa Valley Register

The Subtle Ways Gender Gaps Persist in Science – Paul Voosen – Chronicle

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March 13, 2016

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General microbiome

Review: Engineering Human Microbiota: Influencing Cellular and Community Dynamics for Therapeutic Applications – S. Woloszynek – International Review of Cell and Molecular Biology

Pregnancy and birth / Human vaginal microbiome

Review: The vaginal microbiota, host defense and reproductive physiology – Steven B Smith – The Journal of Physiology

Human gut microbiome

Review: Brain-Gut-Microbiota axis: Challenges for Translation in Psychiatry – John R. Kelly – Annals of Epidemiology

Editorial: The microbiome in celiac disease: Beyond diet-genetic interactions – Jose U. Scher – Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine
Animal models

Age, introduction of solid feed and weaning are more important determinants of gut bacterial succession in piglets than breed and nursing mother as revealed by a reciprocal cross-fostering model – Gaorui Bian – Environmental Microbiology

Heat-treated high-fat diet modifies gut microbiota and metabolic markers in apoe−/− mice – Nittaya Marungruang – Nutrition & Metabolism

Animal microbiome

Characterization of pollen and bacterial community composition in brood provisions of a small carpenter bee – Quinn S. McFrederick – Molecular Ecology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Cry1Ac Transgenic Sugarcane Does Not Affect the Diversity of Microbial Communities and Has No Significant Effect on Enzyme Activities in Rhizosphere Soil within One Crop Season – Dinggang Zhou – Frontiers in Plant Science

Succession of soil microbial communities and enzyme activities in artificial soils – Franziska Ditteric – Pedobiologia

Effect of copper and zinc on microbial tolerance to triclosan in two soil types – Gerty J. H. P. Gielen – Journal of Soils and Sediments

Microbial enzymes as an early warning management tool for monitoring mining site soils – Mohammad Wahsha – CATENA

Water and glacier microbiome

Bacterial communities potentially involved in iron-cycling in Baltic Sea and North Sea sediments revealed by pyrosequencing – Carolina Reyes – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

The Differing Biogeochemical and Microbial Signatures of Glaciers and Rock Glaciers – Timothy S. Fegel – Journal of Geophysical Research

Diuron tolerance and potential degradation by pelagic microbiomes in the Great Barrier Reef lagoon – Florent E. Angly – PeerJ

Infection microbiology

Whole genome sequencing identifies a novel species of the genus Capnocytophaga isolated from dog and cat bite wounds in humans – Salah Zangena – Scientific Reports

Viruses

RNA viruses as major contributors to Antarctic virioplankton – Jaclyn A Miranda – Environmental Microbiology

Review: Giant viruses of amoebas: an update – Sarah Aherfi – Frontiers in Microbiology

Microbial Ecology

Review: Dancing with the Stars: How Choreographed Bacterial Interactions Dictate Nososymbiocity and Give Rise to Keystone Pathogens, Accessory Pathogens, and Pathobionts – George Hajishengallis – Trends in Microbiology

Metagenomics and bioinformatics

LSG: An External-Memory Tool to Compute String Graphs for Next-Generation Sequencing Data Assembly – Paola Bonizzoni – Journal of Computational Biology

Microbes in the news

Cool Citizen Microbiology Project in Spain With Great Engagement – David Coil – Microbenet

Podcast: The Bacteria Behind Your Favorite Blues, Bries, and More – Science Friday

Science, publishing and career

Scientists who tweet: 3 Fred Hutch researchers talk about getting #science out into the world, 140 characters at a time – Mary Engel – Fred Hutch

This Student Adds A Woman In Science To Wikipedia Every Time She’s Harassed Online – Kelly Oakes – BuzzFeed

Bik’s Picks

Neandertals’ large lower thorax may represent adaptation to high protein diet – Miki Ben-Dor – American Journal of Physical Anthropology

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Lab stock photo fails, part 2 – amazing skills

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Laboratory stock photo websites are so funny to browse through. You give a bunch of nice looking gals and guys some white coats, gloves and safety goggles, and put them in a laboratory, and let them play with some pipettes, microscopes, petridishes and colored water. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, turns out, a lot. Here is part 2 of some laboratory photo fails that I found on the Fotolia.com websites.

“Pasteur turns around in his grave”, Fotolia.com

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The same model can also pipet without a pipetman, Fotolia.com

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This women might have a built-in vacuum line in her thumb (123RF)

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Two scientists with microscopic vision (Shutterstock)

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Eleven out of 12 ain’t bad (123rf.com)

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Pipetting straight into the rack, Shutterstock

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