I can still use my iPhone’s touch screen while wearing nitrile gloves! Take that, mittens. And since I’m in the lab significantly more than I’m outside, this is a significant discovery. It’s incredibly important to be able to change songs without drastically lowering my pipetting efficiency.
What? Going outside except to get to and from lab? Crazy talk.
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Ursula
February 9, 2011 at 9:29 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
but do you *want* to touch your iphone with nitril gloves?
Three Ninjas
February 9, 2011 at 9:40 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Maybe you could get these? http://www.thinkgeek.com/elect…
JT the Girl
February 9, 2011 at 9:43 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
I bought conductive thread and sewed it onto a couple pairs of gloves. It’s not especially pretty, but it works just the same. :)
the_Siliconopolitan
February 9, 2011 at 9:50 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
So what is your Iphone *ptuii* covered in now? Can you ever use it again without wearing gloves?
Jen
February 9, 2011 at 10:15 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
I don’t work with anything dangerous in the lab. The gloves are more to make sure I’m not sloughing off my DNA into my samples.
SpitefulFox
February 9, 2011 at 10:18 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
I hear that in Korea, people use Slim Jims for as makeshift styluses because the meat has the same effect as touching the screen with bare skin.
neapel
February 9, 2011 at 10:29 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
I thought the iPhone had voice control? (Saw a guy on a train once telling his phone to turn the music up. But he was a bit weird, so…)
Margaret
February 9, 2011 at 10:35 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
What? Going outside except to get to and from lab? Crazy talk. All I could think of was this: http://www.phdcomics.com/comic…
Sam Barnett-Cormack
February 9, 2011 at 10:58 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
The fact my android phone’s touchscreen works though vinyl gloves means I can check my email in the morning while I’m putting on my creams and ointments. Very handy.
Alan Eckert
February 9, 2011 at 11:36 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Doesn’t the DNA left on your phone transfer to your gloves? Unless you happen to never use the phone like a phone held up to your ear…
Jen
February 10, 2011 at 2:01 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
It’s hard to explain if you don’t do this kind of research, but the type of experiments I’m doing don’t have that high of a risk of contamination. If it was really an issue, I’d be stuck in a DNA-free fume hood somewhere. Instead I’m just at a random bench that’s constantly used for various experiments, and frequently touched and rested on by hands/arms etc.tl;dr it’s not a big deal :P
MrThumbtack
February 10, 2011 at 8:20 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Hey yeah, I was excited to learn that very thing. In my case it was with an ipod nano, and I was wearing the nitril gloves to apply fiberglass to a mother-mold, but you know po-tay-to po-tah-to. Based on this information alone, I have to assume that getting a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture is exactly the same as getting a Masters Degree in Biology, except that Biology grad students can afford iphones. :D
Biodork
February 10, 2011 at 4:02 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
I found that out in my lab, too! Sooo exciting. I use my iPod Touch for the calculator app and for playing tunes. It seems like most seasoned lab users are pretty savvy about when it’s okay to touch clean things with gloves on and when it’s not. Examples: 1) You’ve just donned gloves but haven’t entered the lab – totally cool. 2) You’ve just finished cleaning up a broken tube of blood or you just cracked open a vial of beta-mercaptoethanol – not cool.