At the Bench: A Laboratory Navigator, Updated Edition

At the Bench is the unique and hugely successful handbook for living and working in the laboratory, an essential aid to understanding basic lab techniques and how research groups work at a human level. In this newly revised edition, chapters have been rewritten to accommodate the impact of computer technology and the Internet, not only on the acquisition and analysis of data, but also on its organization and presentation. Alternatives to the use of radiation have been expanded, and figures and illustrations have been redrawn to reflect changes in laboratory equipment and procedures.

Wise, light-hearted, but thoroughly practical, Dr. Barker offers advice, moral support, social etiquette, and professional reassurance along with assume-nothing, step-by-step instructions for those basic but vital laboratory procedures that experienced investigators know—but may not realize novices don't.

If you are a graduate student, a physician with research intentions, or a laboratory technician, this book is indispensable. If you have to manage or mentor such people, giving a copy to each of them will greatly improve your life, and theirs.

SECTION 1. Getting Oriented
Chapter 1: General Lab Organization and Procedures
Chapter 2: Laboratory Setup and Equipment
Chapter 3: Getting Started and Staying Organized
SECTION 2. Plotting a Course
Chapter 4: How to Set Up an Experiment
Chapter 5: Laboratory Notebooks
Chapter 6: Presenting Yourself and Your Data
SECTION 3. Navigating
Chapter 7: Making Reagents and Buffers
Chapter 8: Storage and Disposal
Chapter 9: Working without Contamination
Chapter 10: Eukaryotic Cell Culture
Chapter 11: Bacteria
Chapter 12: DNA, RNA, and Protein
Chapter 13: Radioactivity
Chapter 14: Centrifugation
Chapter 15: Electrophoresis
Chapter 16: Microscopy