Happy Medical Laboratory Professional Week 🎆

Author

Professor LabTuna
April 21, 2025

Hi there!

Let’s celebrate Medical Laboratory Professional Week 🎉

Here’s your dose of science, stories, and smart lab tips — all in one place.

In this issue:

Quote of the Day

❝

Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing.

Wernher von Braun

Lab Story of the Week

The Exploding Sample Cup

Late one night in a busy hospital lab, two technicians received a rather ripe specimen: a stool sample that had been sitting out far too long. Unbeknownst to them, the contents of the sealed cup were fermenting like a science-fair volcano, building up ungodly amounts of pressure.

While one tech (let’s call him the unlucky one) decided to open the container – without the safety hood, no less – his coworker watched from a safe distance. The lid came off and KA-BLOOEY! – the sample exploded in front of him. To put it delicately, the lab suddenly got a new “paint” job in shades of brown.

The poor guy stood frozen in shock, dripping and dread-struck, looking as if he’d lost a fight with a chocolate fountain. In that instant, his pristine lab coat was transformed into a modern art masterpiece (one you definitely wouldn’t hang in a gallery). He didn’t find it funny – not at first, anyway – but his fellow tech was doubling over with laughter so hard she nearly fell off her stool (no pun intended). Once the initial horror subsided, even the victim cracked a weary smile. After all, sometimes in lab life you either laugh or cry – and laughing makes for a better story later.

Cleanup was equal parts hazmat and slapstick: a hastily donned face shield, a roll of biohazard bags, and a whole lot of disinfectant. By morning, the lab was spotless again, but the legend of the “exploding poop-cano” (as it was later dubbed) lived on. Professor Tuna couldn’t help but wisecrack: “Now that’s what I call a crappy night shift.” Groans aside, everyone learned a valuable lesson: always treat suspicious samples like ticking time bombs, and for goodness’ sake, open them under the fume hood. Your clothes (and your colleagues) will thank you.

☕ Share Your Funniest Lab Story & Win Starbucks!

Got a story like this? Share it with us!

Every week, we feature one submission — and the storyteller gets a Starbucks gift card.

Events Calendar

We’ve compiled all major science & lab-related events in a public Google Calendar.

✅ Add it to your calendar: [iPhone] | [Android] | [Mac] | [Windows]

✅ Know a great event? Send it to us and help grow the community calendar.

Please, share interesting events to make this Community-based Calendar better.

Top 10 TED Talks.

The following TED Talks offer valuable insights, innovative techniques, and inspiration that directly relate to the daily challenges and opportunities faced by those working in laboratories across the United States. We're sure you’ll love number 9.

  1. Max Jaderberg: "How AI Is Saving Billions of Years of Human Research Time".

    Jaderberg demonstrates how AI models like AlphaFold 3 simulate real-world lab work at unprecedented speed, opening new frontiers in protein folding and drug discovery—a must-watch for anyone interested in laboratory automation and computational biology. Watch

  2. Tammy Ma: "Giant Lasers Might Spark Our Fusion Energy Future" Physicist.

    Tammy Ma explains her team's achievement of fusion ignition using the world’s largest laser, a milestone with implications for energy research and large-scale scientific collaboration. Watch

  3. Sonia Vallabh: "My Quest to Cure Prion Disease — Before It's Too Late". Biomedical researcher Sonia Vallabh shares her personal journey as both a scientist and a potential patient, offering insights into rare disease research, diagnostics, and the human side of laboratory science. Watch

  4. Simone Stolzoff: "How to reclaim your life from work".

    Stolzoff discusses redefining work-life balance, a crucial topic for laboratory professionals facing high stress and demanding schedules, with practical advice on identity and well-being beyond the lab. Watch

  5. Chris Bahl: "A New Type of Medicine, Custom-Made with Tiny Proteins".

    Protein engineer Chris Bahl describes how synthetic biology, robotics, and AI are enabling the design of novel miniproteins for therapeutics, offering inspiration for labs in biotech and drug development. Watch

  6. Geoff von Maltzahn: "What if Generative AI can generate biology?".

    This video is a must-watch for laboratory professionals because it not only introduces cutting-edge tools and concepts that are rapidly becoming essential in the lab, but also inspires a forward-thinking mindset that is crucial for anyone aiming to stay at the leading edge of biomedical research and innovation. Watch

  7. Ethan Kross: "Shift: How to Harness Your Inner Voice".
    Psychologist Ethan Kross presents science-based strategies for managing emotions and self-talk, providing laboratory workers with tools to boost motivation, focus, and resilience in high-pressure settings. Watch

  8. Anima Anandkumar: "AI that Connects the Digital and Physical Worlds". Anima Anandkumar, a leading AI professor at Caltech, presents how her team developed neural operators—AI systems trained not just on digital data, but on the fine details of real-world physics. She demonstrates how these AI models are already revolutionizing scientific research, from improving weather forecasting to designing advanced medical devices. Watch

  9. TED-Ed: "What Happens if an Engineered Virus Escapes the Lab?".

    This animated talk examines the risks, ethics, and safety protocols of virology research, directly addressing the responsibilities and challenges faced by laboratory workers handling dangerous pathogens. Watch

  10. Stefan Harrer: "AI Agents: The Scientist's New Superpower".

    Stefan Harrer, Director of AI for Science at CSIRO, explores how generative AI agents are transforming the laboratory landscape. He explains that AI is no longer just a tool, but a collaborative partner that can help scientists design experiments, analyze biological data, and even generate new research ideas. Harrer gives concrete examples of how AI agents are accelerating drug discovery and protein engineering, reducing analysis time from months to days. Watch

Notion for Laboratory Work

Notion is an all-in-one workspace tool that combines note-taking, database management, and collaboration features. For scientists, it’s a game-changer for digitizing experiment results, tracking protocols, and managing lab projects. Its customizable databases, templates, and integrations make it ideal for advanced users who want to streamline lab workflows.

Digitizing and Storing Experiment Results in Notion. Step-by-Step Guide.

1. Set Up a Lab Workspace

  • Create a new Notion page called “Lab Dashboard.”

  • Add sections for Experiments, Protocols, Inventory, and Literature Notes using Notion’s heading blocks.

  • Use Notion’s /template feature to create reusable experiment templates.

Pro Tip for Advanced Users: Embed a master database on the dashboard for quick access to all experiments. Use Notion’s “Synced Blocks” to replicate key data across multiple pages.

2. Build an Experiment Database

  • Create a new database (/table or /board) named “Experiments.”

  • Add properties:

    • Experiment Name (Title)

    • Date (Date)

    • Status (Select: Planned, In Progress, Completed, Failed)

    • Hypothesis (Text)

    • Results (Text or Files & Media for graphs/images)

    • Tags (Multi-select for categories like “Biochemistry,” “Genomics”)

    • Assigned To (Person for team members)

    • Linked Protocol (Relation to a Protocols database)

  • Use filters and views (e.g., Kanban board for status, Calendar for timelines) to visualize progress.

Advanced Trick: Use Notion’s “Formula” property to auto-calculate experiment durations or flag overdue tasks (e.g., dateBetween(prop("End Date"), prop("Start Date"), "days")).

3. Digitize Results

  • For each experiment, create a new database entry.

  • Upload raw data (e.g., Excel files, images, or PDFs) directly to the “Results” property.

  • Use Notion’s inline comments to annotate observations or discuss results with colleagues.

  • Embed Google Sheets or data visualizations using Notion’s embed block (/embed) for interactive analysis.

Pro Tip: Use Notion’s “Gallery View” to display experiment entries with thumbnail images of graphs or microscope slides for quick reference.

4. Store and Archive

  • Create a “Completed Experiments” view in the database with a filter for “Status = Completed.”

  • Use Notion’s “Group By” feature to organize experiments by year, project, or researcher.

  • Export databases as CSV or PDF for external sharing or compliance with lab regulations.

Advanced Workflow: Set up a Zapier automation to back up Notion databases to Google Drive or Dropbox weekly, ensuring data security.

5. Collaborate and Share

  • Share the database with lab members using Notion’s “Share” feature, setting permissions (e.g., Edit, Comment, or View-only).

  • Use @mentions to notify colleagues about updates or flagged results.

  • Create a public-facing Notion page for sharing protocols with external collaborators (e.g., via a shareable link).

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Have a wonderful week.