how many experiments have you done that has gone wrong or you havnt found nothing and was it a hard experiment to do

Question: how many experiments have you done that has gone wrong or you havnt found nothing and was it a hard experiment to do ... what experiment was it??? :):):):)

Asked by xxsozxx11 to Claire, Greg, Jane, Jo, Vicki on 24 Jun 2010 in Categories: Your Research.
- Jo Broadbent answered on 22 Jun 2010:
  
  Lots and lots and lots of experiments have gone wrong. You have to have staying power and perseverance to be a research scientist! I used to do experiments looking at where genes were switched on in fish and frog embryos that took 3 weeks to do – it was very frustrating when they didn’t work when I’d spent so long on them. I usually just had to start again, using new solutions etc. Some things never work – once, I had to change my research after 6 months trying to clone a particular gene, which was VERY frustrating. Luckily the next approach worked, much to my relief.
  Jo
- Jane Cleal answered on 22 Jun 2010:
  
  Hi,
  In my work I measure how things cross the human placenta; the placenta (or after birth) is the thing that attaches the baby to the womb and feeds it. This is a really dificult experiment and only a couple of people in the country do it. To start with 3 out of 4 experiments failed and the placenta broke or even exploded! This was a bit rubbish but I soon got better and virtually all my expeiments worked and I found out some new exciting things! so it was worth it in the end!
- Vicki Onions answered on 22 Jun 2010:
  
  Oh my gosh xxosz – i couldn’;t being to count or even estimate the number of experiments i have done that have gone wrong – loads and loads and loads. Thats one of the tough things about science – experiemtns don’t always work (but that just makes you more determined!) and also, a lot of the questions you ask in science are answered with “no” e.g. does this treatment make ovary freezing better; answer – “no” !! Its definitely not as satisfying as a resounding “yes” but its still a valid, important answer and by publishing the results it will prevent someone else going through the same thing to find the same negative answer!
- Claire O'Donnell answered on 22 Jun 2010:
  
  I’ve lost count but I guess about half of them. You get a bit fed up if it’s taken ages to get ready:(
- Greg FitzHarris answered on 24 Jun 2010:
  
  well… if an experiment is well designed (which hpefully most of our are most of the time)… then you should never find nothing. Youb deesign your experiment to answer a question. Sometimes the result is ‘boring’, and not the exciting answer you were hoping for… but at least you know the answer.
  
  but of course, things do go wrong sometimes… and you just have to start again the next day

Comments

xxsozxx11 commented on 23 Jun 2010:

ive done lots in just one week…. and they all went wrong it gets really fustrating

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Vicki commented on 24 Jun 2010:

xxsoz – oh no! Poor you! Don’t get disheartened though – what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and all that!! It will work eventually and then it will feel GREAT!

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Question: how many experiments have you done that has gone wrong or you havnt found nothing and was it a hard experiment to do ... what experiment was it??? :):):):)