We first discussed the impact of social media on the sciences in April, 2011. Then, 100 percent of lab managers admitted to never having used flickr and over 80 percent hadn’t opened a Facebook account. Revisiting the topic in September 2012, we said that getting a grip on social media remained a challenge. “Untamed and unpredictable, it rolls like a cyber tsunami, sweeping and reordering the communication landscape.” This month we return to the topic again and, wow, what a difference 15 months can make.

Asynt in conjunction with the Department of Chemistry, University of St Andrews (UK) and Advanced Chemical Safety Inc. (USA) have produced an 8-page illustrated document to provide laboratory staff with an In Best Practice Guide to safe use of heating block systems.

Despite working in more routine and less autonomous jobs, having fewer close friends at work, and feeling less supported by their coworkers, blacks report significantly more positive emotions in the workplace than whites, according to a new study in the December issue of Social Psychology Quarterly.

Managing lab purchases and juggling finances are among the top priorities for lab managers, and as the world of research reagents continues to expand, they are faced with the growing challenge of cost-efficiently acquiring high-quality reagents for the lab.

The design, layout, and placement of laboratories have significant impact on lab processes, behaviors, and communications

Logically, one would think that once SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis is learned, people and teams would rise to new heights of productivity and team synergy. However, since that is the rare case and not the norm, perhaps changing the focus and methodology of SWOT is in order. “Analysis paralysis” occurs when a team becomes so lost in the process of examining and evaluating the elements of SWOT that they are unable to make a decision or change a process using the new information.

One great thing about science today is that it’s more social than ever. We’re no longer exclusively on the bench, isolated with our work.

Philip Schwartz, PhD, supervisor and senior scientist and director of the National Human Neural Stem Cell Resource at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County Research Institute, talks to Contributing Editor Tanuja Koppal, PhD, about the subtle particulars and expertise needed to design and maintain a laboratory dedicated to culturing stem cells.

Can you identify the hazards that are present? Are they chemical, physical, biological, mechanical, electrical, radiation, noise, stress, or high/low pressure? Those are life’s nine hazards and you should look for them before beginning an experiment.

Biological safety cabinets (BSCs) are crucial for the safety of staff and the protection of products, so it’s important to know when they should be upgraded.

Scientists have been combining new and old approaches to refine sequencing, but challenges remain