Bioscience Mastery Archives

Learn to Draw a Molecule in PyMOL™ in 8 Easy Steps

Published September 16, 2021

An image of a kid holding colorful pencils to depict using molecular visualization tools.

Discover how to easily draw proteins and nucleic acids using molecular visualization tools with our step-by-step tutorial.

Keeping Track of Your Literature

Published September 13, 2021

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We show you how to get organized and develop a system to stay on top of your literature reviews.

Safety Comes First: Common Laboratory Signs

Published August 16, 2021

An image of a person's arms in a hazmat suit holding a biohazard warning sign to represent common lab safety signs

Baffled by all the safety signs in your lab? Here we give you an overview of the most common lab safety signs and tips on best practices for keeping safe.

Understanding gum diseases by integrating multiplexed-technologies in the microbiome and immunological analysis

Published July 28, 2021

Image of multiple lines converging to represent integrating multiplexed-technologies to better understand disease pathogenesis

Understanding gum diseases by integrating multiplexed-technologies in the microbiome and immunological analysis Available On Demand Speakers Dr. Renato Corrêa Viana Casarin Unicamp Dr. Casarin has a MSc and Ph.D. in Periodontics from the Piracicaba Dental School, State University of Campinas – UNICAMP. He is currently an associate professor in Periodontics at the Piracicaba Dental School.…

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Part II: How to Gracefully Exit a Graduate School Program

Published July 26, 2021

Image of an airport terminal sign signalling the way to departure gates to represent advice on how to quit graduate school

Deciding to quit graduate school is a tough decision. But people have gone before you (and survived): get their advice on how to exit gracefully here.

Does Humility Harm Your Career?

Published July 17, 2021

Jumpstarting Your Career as a Happy ScientistDoes Humility Harm Your Career? Date: 1 September 2021Time: 11:00 EDT | 16:00 BST | 17:00 CEST Whether you’re new to the lab or a seasoned principal investigator, isn’t it time you started being happy in your chosen career as a scientist? Wondering if this is practical or even…

The Difference Between Efficiency and Optimization

Published July 16, 2021

Jumpstarting Your Career as a Happy ScientistThe Difference Between Efficiency and Optimization Date: 1 September 2021Time: 11:00 EDT | 16:00 BST | 17:00 CEST Whether you’re new to the lab or a seasoned principal investigator, isn’t it time you started being happy in your chosen career as a scientist? Wondering if this is practical or…

What Constitutes a Happy Scientist?

Published July 15, 2021

Jumpstarting Your Career as a Happy ScientistWhat Constitutes a Happy Scientist? Date: 26 August 2021Time: 11:00 EDT | 16:00 BST | 17:00 CEST Whether you’re new to the lab or a seasoned principal investigator, isn’t it time you started being happy in your chosen career as a scientist? Wondering if this is practical or even…

Reproducibility: Mastering the Art of Pipetting

Published June 18, 2021

Image of two scientists pipetting to represent the importance of a good pipetting technique

Reproducibility: Mastering the Art of Pipetting Available On Demand Speakers Dr. Barbara Siefker Product Marketing Manager Eppendorf Barbara obtained her Ph.D. in Developmental Biology in 2004 at the University of Cologne, where she researched the asexual reproduction of jellyfish using molecular biology techniques. After her Ph.D., she gained different sales experiences at PerkinElmer and Microsynth…

Get a Grip: Dealing with Sweaty Glove Hands

Published May 20, 2021

A gymnast's hands covered in chalk holding a gymnastics bar to represent tips to prevent sweaty glove hands during lab work

Using gloves in the lab is necessary for safety but can result in the dreaded “sweaty glove hands”. Read our top tips on how to banish those sweaty palms for good (or for at least as long as it takes to do your experiment)!

How To Calculate The Number Of Molecules In Any Piece of DNA

Published May 10, 2021

Cartoon of hands and DNA strand to represent calculating molecules in DNA

Messing up the initial calculations in your experiment is setting yourself up for failure. Here is a quick refresh on calculating the number of molecules in any DNA sample.

17 Ways to Stop Pipetting Errors From Ruining Your Experiments

Published March 23, 2021

A picture of part of a computer keyboard with a large red 'error' key to represent accurate pipetting

Pipetting errors getting you down? Learn how to avoid and correct errors that hurt your pipetting accuracy in this easy-to-follow article.

18+ Ways to Improve your PubMed Searches

Published March 18, 2021

A picture of a man holding binoculars with a surprised expression to represent learning how to improve your PubMed searches

Are you getting the most out of your PubMed searches or are you wasting lots of time slogging through pages of results? We’ve compiled some top tips to help you refine your searches.

Does Your h-index Measure Up?

Published March 16, 2021

A scrabble-type tile showing a letter h next to a hand showing a sign language letter h to represent an author's h-index

How do you measure how good you are as a scientist? One way is the h-index. Discover what this is, and learn about the pros and cons of using it to assess your scientific career.

6 Laboratory Sterilization Methods

Published March 9, 2021

Yellow 'Cleaning in Progress' floor sign to represent effective laboratory sterilization methods

Effective laboratory sterilization methods are essential for working with isolated cell lines. Read our guide to the top 6 sterilization techniques to banish those bugs.

How to Become a Bioinformatician

Published March 4, 2021

A picture of a scientist's hands holding a tablet with scientific notations surrounded by a microscope and scientific equipment to represent someone with a career in bioinformatics

Interested in a career in bioinformatics? We’ve got the lowdown on the ways bioinformatics skills can be used, and the training you’ll need to pursue this career path.

10 Tips on Writing a Research Poster

Published February 18, 2021

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A scientific research poster can be a great tool for drawing people into a conversation at a conference. We’ve pulled together our 10 top tips to help you prep perfect posters.

8 Steps to More Successful Experiments

Published February 11, 2021

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Performing successful experiments is a crucial skill for scientists. We’ve rounded up our top tips to help you achieve perfect procedures!

How to Write a Killer Research Interest Statement

Published February 4, 2021

A confident female candidate discusses her resume and research interest statement at a job interview.

A strong research interest statement can be the difference between being considered for a position and your application ending up in the bin. Check out these tips on how to make your statement stand out from the crowd.

10 Tips For Organizing Your Lab Book

Published February 2, 2021

A photo of a young girl wearing lab coat and safety glasses surrounded by chemistry apparatus and writing in a book to represent organizing your lab book

It’s easy to let organizing your lab book slide down your list of priorities. Read our guide to easy ways to keep your lab book up to date and organized.

Alternative Careers For Scientists

Published January 28, 2021

Want to leave the lab but not sure what alternative career options are available? Our guide can help you decide what to do after hanging up your lab coat.

Step-by-Step Planning Before You Write

Published January 26, 2021

A board full of blank multicoloured sticky notes to represent planning your scientific paper

The prospect of writing an entire paper can be daunting. Our guide to planning a paper will help you break the project down into manageable steps.

5 Types of Difficult Lab Supervisor and How to Handle Them

Published January 21, 2021

Two people shaking hands over a table, with a third person involved in the meeting, possibly having had a resolution meeting as a strategy for dealing with a difficult lab supervisor.

The lab is a melting-pot full of workers from different cultures and backgrounds, so some conflicts of personality are inevitable. However, when the lab head is the person that you are struggling to get along with, it can make your life a lot harder. Check out some different personality types and get advice on how to work with them effectively.

10 Tips for Mastering Your Qualifying Exam

Published January 19, 2021

A young boy with hands on head surrounded by books and in front of a blackboard covered in scientific notations to represent preparing for the Qualifying Exam

The Qualifying Exam is a major hurdle for any PhD student, and the thought of taking one can be mildly terrifying. Read our top tips to help you prepare for your exam; you might even find that you enjoy the experience!

What Comes Next After Completing Your Undergraduate Degree?

Published January 14, 2021

Picture of four empty wooden signs pointing in different directions to represent different life sciences career paths

If you’re coming to the end of your undergraduate life sciences degree, you might be wondering what to do next. Fortunately, there are many life sciences career paths that you could take. We explore some of the options here.

How to Write a Thoughtful Discussion for Your Scientific Paper

Published January 12, 2021

Image of typewriter and blank piece of paper to represent writing a scientific discussion

Having trouble writing the discussion section for your scientific paper? Help is at hand. Read our do’s and don’ts to help you have your paper polished up in no time.

10 Great Tips To Make A Good Impression At Your Interview

Published January 7, 2021

Two smiling women shaking hands and one smiling man standing in an interview room to represent getting a job after reading how to make a great impression at your life sciences interview

Are you busy applying for your first biotech or life sciences job? Or are you thinking about a postdoc? Whatever your next steps, you’re likely to face an interview. Here we’ll guide you through some of the common questions and situations you might find yourself having to deal with in a life sciences interview.

Postdoc Interview Preparation: Sample Questions and Answers

Published January 4, 2021

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Are you trying to prepare for an interview but not sure what sort of questions you’ll get asked? Check out our top 10 Postdoc interview questions to help prepare you.

Is it Worth Doing a PhD After a Master’s?

Published December 17, 2020

Two lego scientists to represent someone doing a PhD

Thinking of starting a PhD? Wondering if it will be worth it? Read our handy tips and advice to help you decide.

Using Word to Write Your Thesis: Miscellaneous Bits and Bobs

Published December 15, 2020

A bubble with lightbulb and the text quick tips to demonstrate the quick tips for writing your thesis in Word covered in the article

Rounding off our series of tips for writing your thesis in Microsoft Word, the final post covers page numbering, shortcut tips, and cover pages.

Using Word to Write your Thesis: Creating a Master Document

Published December 10, 2020

Happy girl at laptop showing the joy of creating a thesis master document in Word

The end is in sight! You’ve drafted your individual thesis chapters and now it’s time to combine them into a single thesis master document. Follow our easy step-by-step instructions to get your thesis submission-ready.

Using Word to Write your Thesis: Making a Table of Contents, Inserting Captions, and Cross-referencing

Published December 1, 2020

Image of a man holding up a speech bubble to indicate thesis writing tips like how to insert captions and a table of contents in Word

Our latest tips for thesis writing with Word highlight three useful tools that can help you effortlessly create an easily navigatable thesis using built-in Word tools.

Using Word to Write your Thesis: Creating an Outline

Published November 26, 2020

Image of man witch post-it on forehead, indicating the pain of creating a thesis outline

Get your thesis writing off to a great start by learning how to create a thesis outline in Microsoft Word.

Next Generation Sequencing: Academia vs Industry

Published November 12, 2020

Image showing big data representing working in the NGS industry

A quick-fire interview with someone working in a private NGS hub on how they got there and what they do – for anyone considering a move from academia to the private sector.

How to Share Your Journal Articles Legally

Published October 15, 2020

Image of smartphones sharing data to depict sharing your journal articles.

Sharing research articles legally isn’t always straightforward, even when you are the author. Find out why sharing your article could put you in a sticky situation and learn how to avoid it!

PhD vs Master’s: Which to Choose?

Published September 30, 2020

A graphic depicting various aspects of science education to highlight PhD vs Master's Degrees

If choosing between a PhD or a Master’s has you frazzled, don’t panic. We weigh the pros and cons of both in terms of time, money, and career prospects.

Becoming a Patch Clamping Pipette Wizard

Published September 28, 2020

Image of a man looking at blank signs at a crossroads in confusion representing uncertainty at choices in patch clamping pipette types

Is patching clamping a problem? Struggling to get a good seal? There is no need to stress! We’ve got tips on picking and preparing the perfect pipette for your patch clamping experiment!

How to Access Journal Articles Behind Paywalls

Published September 25, 2020

An image of a computer, gavel and scales depiciting how to access journal articles legally

Researchers need to access journal articles, but paywalls can sometimes put up a fight. Discover the different legal ways you can access paywalled articles.

Top 10 Tips for Viva Success

Published September 24, 2020

Female PhD candidate giving thumbs up in front of Viva panel after viva success

Thesis defenses are supposed to be grueling, horrific affairs that you fear for weeks beforehand, right? What if there was a way to get through your thesis without tears, torture, and perhaps even enjoy it?

Antibiotic Disposal in the Lab: Simple Tips to Get it Right

Published September 18, 2020

Image of wastewater coming out of drain depicting the importance of antibiotic disposal in the lab

Have you ever given thought to how you are disposing of antibiotics in the lab and whether or not it’s correct? Discover the problems associated with improper antibiotic disposal and how to correctly dispose of different antibiotics in the lab.