#Lab Tech

[ahhvernin]

Folks. Folks. Folks.

Please understand that microbial tests and their confirmation tests don't take 1 hour. Its is not 1 hour photo development.

You're literally waiting for microscopic things which cannot be seen with the naked eye to grow to a size where we can see them and count them. Then you sometimes have to take the blob and put it on another thing for it to grow so if it is the thing it will grow again or do a funky thing like make stuff that make it glow, and if it doesn't, it doesn't grow, it doesn't glow. It can take 18 hours....or even 24 hours or 48 hours or even more. Then there's analysis, review and reporting that all takes time.

Also labs don't just have 1 sample. Labs have multiple samples and sometimes from multiple customers. Processing and prep all takes time. And I have no idea how many timers they have going, but at least in my lab, a small lab, we got 3 timers with 4 channels each and they are often all running. That's 12 things running with a countdown.

I literally cannot give you a result in 1 hour for a test that takes 22 hours. Chill.

[atomicmothz]

im finally a LAB TECH!!!

[lili-loves-whump]

Do your worst <3

hell. yeah.

lili-lives-whump presents:

Dumb and Dumber

Villain ran a hand over their face, pressing their palms into their eyes. It felt cool against their inflamed face.

They swept their hair out of their eyes with a huff. Next to them, Scientist pushed their glasses further up their nose.

“You Need a break,” they squawked, eyes narrowing. “When was the last time you slept?”

Villain shrugged.

“You could carry groceries with those eyebags.”

“I get it, Scientist,” Villain snapped, turning around again. They went to point at the whiteboard when a wave of nausea suddenly rushed over them.

“Villain?” Medic said softly, standing up slowly.

“I’m fine,” they muttered, breathing deeply. Their stomach coiled into a tight knot and they blinked slowly. The light hurt their eyes.

“What were you saying?”

“The resistance,” Medic said, “Lab Tech needs more electrical power, and I was thinking we could take some from the recreational budget, so we need you to sign this-“

“And, Hero hasn’t responded to their emails so you should probably send someone down there.”

“Don’t forget the ragtag rebels need to be fed and checked for that plague going around-“

“Supervillain isn’t on vacation, so you have to check on their empire and parrot.”

Right hand looked up from the notes they were studying. They opened their mouth to say something, then closed it as they saw the look of horror overcome Villain.

“Hey,” they said softly, “what’s wrong?”

The lights above them began to flicker suddenly, and Medic groaned. “Lab Tech! Villain, they’re taking power from the meeting rooms. Sign this already, and you can work on diverting the power.”

Right Hands brow creased with worry. “Villain?”

As the lights flickered back on, Villain felt stiff, and their eyelids were droopy as they reached for the pen Medic was holding out. Their cheeks were hot with embarrassment and fever.

Their hands shook, and without warning, Villain collapsed at the table.

As their senses faded, Villain heard Medic say: “damn Villain, you’re really getting dumb and dumber.”

@whumpprentice

[schleiereulen]

day 12: lab tech skeleton

[weiwr]

My ultimate dream 😍 outdoor laboratory. Lab in the countryside - fresh air and fresher bacteria.

for New Scientist

[atomfluff]

everyone in my class working in hospitals all stressed and everyone hates eachother while im doing my silly western blots listening to lady gaga with my lab partner

[bionicsscientific1]

🧤 Glove Boxes in Pharma Labs – More Than Just a Safety Box! 💊

Ever wondered why pharmaceutical labs rely so much on glove boxes? 🤔 These airtight chambers aren’t just about keeping things sterile—they’re the unsung heroes of contamination-free drug production!

From handling potent chemicals to ensuring product purity, glove boxes help pharma pros get the job done safely and efficiently. Wanna know how? We’ve got all the details!👇

📖 Read the blog: https://bit.ly/4hFVnpP 📄 Prefer a PDF? Grab it here: https://bit.ly/4j4JA5v

💬 Ever worked with a glove box? What was your experience like? Drop your thoughts below! 👇

[sophiegoose]

Need to find (and if there isn't one to find, make) an article/thread/forum/what have you about the way that superstition thrives in highly specialized technical workplaces/jobs/fields

Like I see posts comparing large reactors and IT infrastructure and telescopes and the like to shrines and cathedrals and chatting about how sufficiently advanced technology is similar to magic et cetera etc cetera but I want people to discuss what that's like on a personal level

Like how at my work you can't let the machines and bioanalyzers know you're taking a vacation or a day off because they'll misbehave

Or how you can't recap certain controls for the coag before the control samples clear or else it won't work

Or how certain machines prefer certain techs to work on them (for example I was recently out sick and was told by my boss that our main hematology bioanalyzer "missed me" and was fussy and kept making weird noises when someone else ran it for that day)

Like I think it's a really interesting topic and whether you interpret it as superstition or cognitive bias or humans anthropomorphizing machines who, at a certain level of complexity, can be misconstrued as acting with intent, I just think it's neat

Plus stories from research fields and medical and IT jobs are some of the wildest tales out there, and I love to hear them

Need a sci-fi series where the premise is that machines attained sentience long ago and are just quietly messing with us like this for a good laugh

[curiousquill1]

5 Key Advantages of Using the VJ Instruments Spheronizer in the Laboratory

The efficiency of a laboratory is not only about the right procedures but also about the right instruments. The VJ Instruments Spheronizer is one giant leap forward for particle processing technology designed to help revolutionize your viewpoint on pelletization and spheronization processes in your laboratories. Understanding just how this technology is possible by way of the innovative instrument will really make a difference in your operations, whether you happen to be in pharmaceutical development, chemical processing, or materials science.

What is a Spheronizer, and Why Should You Care?

A Spheronizer, also known as a marumerizer, is one of the laboratory instruments designed to transform cylindrical pellets into highly uniform spherical particles. A typical example is the VJ Instruments model, that represents more accurate precision engineering with advanced control systems compared to a basic concept.

The device core is essentially a rotating friction plate with an unusual geometric pattern, which, combined with centrifugal force, transforms all kinds of irregular particles into perfect spheres.

So, why in the world should the shape of these particles matter? Well, it is all connected with how spherical particles may interact in applications from controlled drug release in pharmaceuticals to predictable flow properties in industrial processes. Let's see the five key benefits of why the addition of VJ Instruments' Spheronizer in a modern laboratory can be invaluable.

1. Unprecedented Speed and Efficiency of Processing

The VJ Instruments' Spheronizer optimizes and controls speed for the most efficient possible processing time, significantly reducing processing time. What traditionally took several hours is now achievable in minutes. The high-capacity processing chamber of the instrument means larger batch sizes are more easily processed and still yield excellent particle uniformity, eliminating the need for multiple runs.

Combined with laboratory data, processing times are minimized to up to 65% of conventional processes, allowing researchers and technicians to spend more time on other critical tasks. Quick-release mechanisms for plate change and intuitive control interface minimize setup and changeover times.

2. High Precision and Reproducibility

One of the most striking advantages of the VJ Spheronizer is that every particle size produced is uniform and spherical in shape. Its precision-engineered friction plate and variable speed control ensure that every batch comes out exactly as per specifications. Digital control allows fine-tuning of operational parameters such as:

Rotational speed (100-3000 RPM)

Processing time

Plate temperature

Chamber pressure

Control at this level results in sphericity values that are always more than 0.95, making them highly compatible with the stringent requirements for quality in pharmaceutical and medical use.

3. Enhanced Documentation and Quality Control

It is prudent to document results and ensure the quality of processing in modern lab work. The VJ Spheronizer is equipped with inbuilt monitoring systems to track and record all parameters pertaining to processing. This includes:

Real-time monitoring of the process

Automatic data logging

Batch-to-batch consistency checking

Automation that meets GMP requirements

The system automatically creates detailed reports, saving time and ensuring regulatory compliance while maintaining proper documentation of audit trails.

4. Multiple Applications

The versatility in application sets the VJ Spheronizer apart from one-application-only equipment. Its modular design is pre-assembled and ready for different patterns of plates and processing parameters, making it suitable for:

Pellet coating for Pharmaceuticals

Controlled-release formulations

Production of catalyst particles

Processing food ingredients

Spheronization of ceramic material

This flexibility lets laboratories collate several steps of processing in one instrument, saving both space and resources.

5. Value for Money Due to Repeatability

Although the procurement price of a VJ Spheronizer may be high, the cost is visibly offset in the long run by:

Reduced labor costs due to automatic processing

Minimal material waste as it processes with great accuracy

Less maintenance

Long life of the equipment

Better quality of the end product with fewer rejected batches

With its rugged construction and prime materials, the instrument ensures consistent operation year after year—an investment that really pays off for a laboratory determined to achieve quality and efficiency.

The Smarter Choice for Your Lab

The Spheronizer from VJ Instruments is an entire package and definitely more than just another piece of laboratory equipment. It can be seen as a response to the myriad challenges placed on particle processing in this modern day and age and is an excellent precision speed tool for any laboratory intent on excellence in their work.

While labs seek maximum efficiency with no compromise in quality, the decision to invest in new apparatus becomes crucial. The VJ Spheronizer directly tackles these dilemmas head-on with unprecedented technological innovation combined with practical utility.

Consider how this tool may be the difference-maker for your lab operations. Based on its successful experience with various industries, applications, and environments, the VJ Spheronizer stands ready to take your particle processing to the next level.

[where-is-tosh]

Aerodynamics

[parasolladyansy]

DxP REWRITE - No One Looks Up

DUN DUN DUN.

🔼 Diamond x Pearl REWRITE 🔽

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[stone-cold-groove]

A phone that has push buttons instead of a dial for calling.

[radioactivetoad]

Maury Hall computer lab - November 2002

[a-curious-studyblr]

Science Christmas tree

[kedreeva]

#we spoke of this a LOT at work after that one tech was murdered and hidden in a wall

hi!👋 hello! kedreeva! i’m going to need to ask you to explain this!!!!

So back in 2009, a lab student named Annie Le was murdered at Yale university. Cameras saw her going on into a building, but not out again and it was like, the eve of her wedding (or close to? I don't remember) so clearly she had places to be and people waiting for her so they immediately started looking and the next day (or so? Anyway on the day of her wedding) they found her body in a recess in a wall, down in the areas where the research animals were kept. It turns out, a tech had killed her, but since there were cameras like EVERYWHERE, he just, I guess, left her there. Well, hid the body where it was. I don't remember how they caught him, but they did. It was a horrifying story. It still is.

And it was a huge news story among the folks at my workplace because, at the time, I was working at a different university, as an animal husbandry technician. As you can imagine this was a kind of intense time to be in that situation. They started offering, like, I'm not gonna say counseling but it was "if you need to talk we would prefer you talk to us about something wrong rather than kill anyone about it" and as techs (even if we were not even the same kind of tech, the killer was a lab tech and we were husbandry techs but I think a lot of people assumed it had been a husbandry tech since she was in an animal area), we were kind of getting the side eye from lab people for weeks afterwards. Like they thought we were gonna go "wow that's a fantastic idea, you're next!" or something, idk. And I mean like, people would freeze when you were alone in a hallway, or turn and walk the other way, or duck into the nearest room and watch you walk past, and they were all being super nice/civil to us when they did have to interact. It was very atypical behavior for lab people. Like not all of them, some of them had always been nice and weren't worried, but some of the people who had been unbelievable dicks previously were walking on eggshells. And the people who had friends in other universities reported this was happening at their jobs, too.

And instead of talking to The Man (because all the higher ups were garbage at the time), we just. talked among ourselves. It was a lot of "I may say I feel like strangling lab people sometimes when they do things that drive me up a wall but I don't MEAN it you know that right" and it also led to group discussions of what would be a theoretical *better* solution to hiding a body than what happened, with clear disdain for doing things like hiding bodies in walls, which is a terrible idea and one we would never do (looking at the people who think we might have decided this was a great idea actually).

Which consequently led to a lot of supervisors and/or managers that happened to overhear us bringing us donuts or arranging pizza for lunch in like, some kind of bid to help us feel appreciated, I guess, so that we wouldn't murder anyone, even though none of us were going to do that anyway. But also none of us were in a position to turn down free donuts or pizza or whatever.

And then after a few weeks, maybe a month or so, people just kind of forgot and moved on and things went back to normal like fifty people hadn't spent every lunch hour for weeks talking quietly among themselves about how human bodies would definitely fit into a carcass disposal barrel or that you'd have to crush hip bones and/or skulls before incineration. Hypothetically.

Like I said, it was a VERY weird time to be at my job, and every time I remember it happening feels like a fever dream. I can't even imagine what it was like at Yale.

[centralbunnyunit]