10 commandments of working with human iPS cultures

Dr. Rekha Samuel recently sent us some thoughts born of her experience in working with human iPSCs. We thought you might enjoy reading them, so here they are!
Deborah Sweet, Cell Stem Cell August 2011
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10 commandments of working with human iPS cultures (or, what they dont tell you about working with human iPSCs)

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1. Your life will revolve around your cells. Deal with it.

2. If you have an OCD, this is the perfect job for you. Go for it.

3. Thinking of adding extra FGF over a long weekend? You have a 1 in a million chance of cell survival every single time you do this. It’s not mathematics. It’s karma.

4. Differentiation protocol from Journal x not working? Read the invisible small print that mentions actual number of attempts/ 10cm2 plates needed. Forewarned is forearmed.

5. Avoid using the “f” word (fabulous) to describe your colonies. Tomorrow is another day.

6. A little differentiation in the plate is a good thing. Fabulous cultures may have an abnormal karyotype.

7. The person you trust to feed your cells is the one you would trust with your life. Trust me.

8. Feed your cells before drinks on a Friday night. Always.

9. Never ever try resurrecting the one “good colony” from a contaminated plate. Bad karma doesn’t have an expiry date.

10. Suggestions to deal with above: Meditation, deep breathing and yoga.

Disclaimer: This is not meant to be funny. It has to be taken very seriously.

This is also soooo true for embryonic stem cells. I love it:-)

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(source)

Thanks to I. for bringing this to my attention.

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