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Plasmid pumpkins, team costumes, and spooky science stories. Yes, please!

At Addgene, we love finding ways to incorporate science themes into our fun activities and Halloween is no exception. For the past 10+ years, Addgenies have formed teams, chosen a theme for the costume, and did their best to claim the costume contest trophy. We’ve had teams dressed up as plasmids, Blugene, and the Addgene ping pong table.

From Addgene Book Club to our on-site book swap/library, reading is part of the culture here at Addgene. Since it’s National Book Month, we’ve asked some Addgenies to share their favorite books - both scientific and not - to inspire you to read a little more this October.

Picture this: you’re a busy scientist anxiously awaiting the arrival of the newest plasmid you requested from Addgene...the plasmid that will help you run that last additional experiment requested by Reviewer #3. But why isn’t the plasmid here yet? A quick look at your order status on addgene.org identifies the hold-up. Your Material Transfer Agreement is stuck in “pending.” Fear not, there are many ways we’re trying to make MTA turnaround faster with technology transfer offices (TTOs). The latest of these efforts is the Golden Stopwatch Award to celebrate exemplary TTOs.

With a collection of over 70,000 plasmids, kits, and viral service items we employ dozens of pieces of energy-intensive lab equipment on a daily basis. By the beginning of September all will be powered by 100% renewable electricity!

This is the last post in a blog series on sustainable practices in the lab, where I’ll list some easy but effective habits you can incorporate to reduce your lab consumption and increase your lab sustainability. For my other posts on lab sustainability, check out my Recycling and Innovations posts.

Making small changes in your daily habits can feel ineffective or unimportant. With so many big contributors to the sustainability problem, how can one little change make a difference? Individual changes to our behavior can lead to cultural shifts that can have bigger impacts. For example, if you joined an office where everyone used a mug or reusable water bottle, you’d probably bring in a mug or reusable water bottle instead of buying yourself a big stack of plastic cups. By initiating little changes in ourselves, we can both influence others to change their behavior and we become more aware of our own consumption.