Fear of Failure

Do you see the tiny green film at the bottom of the beaker in the picture above?  This extremely small clump of green stuff is a diatom sample weighing less than 20 milligrams that I need to carefully process and guard with my life for carbon isotope analysis. If I lose any of this sample or ruin a procedure, I will likely have to spend several weeks waiting for a new culture to grow and start over again.


Thoughts that have been running through my mind recently include:

• What if I lose any of my sample while transferring it between beakers?
• What if it spills?
• What if a piece of hair lands in it? (note: things like hair and dust can ruin stable isotope samples)
• Despite how many methods papers I read, I still feel like I have no idea what I'm doing. What if I dry the sample too long, or add too much acid or completely miss a secret step that isn't described in any journal articles?
• WHY IS THIS FILTER FALLING APART? WHY? NOOOOO!!!!! 

Failure and data loss can happen at all stages of the scientific process. Maybe a storm destroys your field equipment, maybe someone steals a field instrument to sell it for scrap metal, maybe a boater decides to move that heavy metal box they found that happens to be collecting your data, maybe your computer crashes and you lose months of data analysis... and maybe, just maybe, the worst thing that could possibly happen occurs: you give a horrible thesis or dissertation defense.

Although science (and academia in general) demands perfection, failure does occur. It's likely the reason why journal articles published in 2010 can be about studies conducted in 1998- some sample was lost along the way and work needed to be redone. As scientists, we are expected to quickly move on from mistakes, learn from them, and start over again, whether the starting over sets us back days or years.

For now, I will hold on to these backup "diatom leftovers" that probably aren't usable but give me a false sense of security.

Grad Students, Scientists and Researchers: What is the worst lab mistake or scientific failure you ever made? What was the strangest way you have lost data or ruined samples? How did you get over these mishaps?

Everglades fashion: clean clothes are out of style

Whether we are working in the field or in the lab, the things we have to wear to do our work make us stand out from the undergrad crowd at our universities. Below, I have listed the latest styles for Fall 2012 Everglades research:
 
Field
Tannin-dyed Pants 

Above is a picture of pants that I wear in the field. These pants are naturally tie-dyed with streaks of grey and orange from various organic compounds floating around in the water. The key rule in Everglades fashion is to never wear anything nice or new, so these khaki pants that I’ve had since 9th grade are perfect for the field.
Ambiguous Event T-shirts

Again, nice new clothing is never worn in the field, so research is the perfect opportunity to get use out of bizarre free T-shirts from volunteer events and raffle gift bags. If you are caught wearing Ambiguous Event T-shirts while transitioning between the field and your home, however, you will be inevitably be questioned by people who intensely read your T-shirt. “So how was volunteering at an Art Festival in Fort Pierce 8 years ago? What is Envirothon?”

Hiking Boots

I have two pairs of hiking boots. If I have to be in an enclosed space with other people, the newer hiking boots are worn. The older hiking boots, shown above, permanently live outside of my apartment due to mysterious swamp smells and are worn only for the most mucky activities.

Field Accessories: Floppy hat, 1-inch thick layer of sunscreen, machete
 

Lab
Old Oversized Stained Lab Coat 
Despite the fact that all stock images of scientists on the internet show people wearing crisp, clean lab coats, this is rarely the case. The purpose of a lab coat is to protect the rest of your body from spills and splashes of chemicals and dyes, so lab coats rarely look clean. Since labs don’t contain washing machines and no one ever takes responsibility to wash the lab coats, they are also rarely ever washed…

Closed Toed Shoes 

As a Floridian, I feel very awkward and uncomfortable wearing closed toed shoes (aka not sandals/flip flops).  Closed toed shoes, however, are usually required in labs.  Since I feel like I have giant feet when I wear regular running shoes with jeans, I invested a whole $7 in the shoes shown above, which are probably as close to sandals as possible.
 
Old Outdated Jeans

These ultra-low rise super flare circa 2003 jeans just won’t give out for lab work. They have micro holes either from lab chemicals or from my dog chewing on them, but until they rip in half, I will keep wearing them in lab.

The Communal Lab Jacket

All labs maintain a temperature of about 50 degrees, and all labs have a communal jacket that is shared among the employees. The person doing the most tedious task usually gets to wear the jacket (“Amber looks so cold weighing samples”). Like the lab coats, the communal jacket hasn’t been washed since 1998.

Reseachers: Are there any lab or field fashions that I missed that you would like to mention?  How do you feel while wearing your lab/field gear in public?  Do you have any lab fashion advice (quick-drying clothes, least awkward closed toed shoes, how to make the communal lab jacket smell better)?