A word about molecular biology.
ANYONE who can cook can be successful in a molecular biology lab. If you can mix
one cup of water with one cup of pancake mix to make pancake batter you can do
molecular biology!!!!
The only difference between molecular biology and cooking is that with the former you
are working with VERY small volumes. Do not feel that because the volumes are small
that they are too insignificant to achieve the desired effect. 1 ul of a DNA solution can
contain thousands of molecules—this is enough to perform many analytic tests. If you
try to overcompensate by adding more you risk destroying all of your hard work.
For example: Pipette 1 ul of water onto your desktop. What is the diameter of that drop
of water? Now, pipette 5 ul or 10 ul of water onto your desktop. What is the diameter of
that drop of water?
For molecular biologists the difference between 1 ul of water and 5 ul of water is
equivalent to adding 5 cups of water to 1 cup of pancake mix as opposed to following the
instructions and simply adding 1 cup of water to 1 cup of pancake mix!!!!