Human World

In the category of Best Lab Song, the award goes to …

Here’s some big news for the musical science nerds in us, coming to you more than six weeks late. I just stumbled across this, the Best Lab Song, and it was too good not to share!

Biotechniques is a scholarly journal that covers the latest cutting-edge laboratory techniques in the biological sciences. It publishes papers with titles like “Detection of interruptions in the GAA trinucleotide repeat expansion in the FXN gene of Friedreich ataxia” and “Rapid DNA amplification in a capillary tube by natural convection with a single isothermal heater.” Serious stuff.

They’re also pretty serious about their music.

In mid-February (i can’t believe I missed this!), they awarded the “Grammy” for “best and brightest in music that the Science Recording Academy has to offer in research rock and laboratory lyricism.

From their website:

The nominees in this category include original compositions and parodies of pop songs with at least two things in common – a passion for science and a strange sense of humor. Graduate students, postdocs, and even doctors in labs across the country with entirely too much time between their PCR runs and journal club meetings have shared with us their clever lyrics, just-in-tune singing, and best attempts at choreography. Naturally, we applaud them all for filling labs around the world with much-needed laughter.

And the nominees were …

Bad Habits
Nathaniel Krefman, University of California Department of Molecular and Cell Biology
A song for every researcher who’s ever wondered where his buffer disappeared to, or why his cells have transformed into yeast.

Bad Project
Hui Zheng Lab at Baylor College of Medicine
This Lady Gaga parody gives new lyrical meaning to every postdoc’s worst fear.

Blame It on the DNA
Mr. Cortez and Tom McFadden at Hogan High School
No need to beat yourself up over things like height, weight, eye color, or gender; just blame it on the DNA.

Evolution Made Us All
Ben Hillman
Performed to the dulcet tones of a small child, this song has something for the Darwinist and Creationist in all of us.

I’m Bringin’ Stickleback
Nathaniel Krefman, University of California Department of Molecular and Cell Biology
These researchers are bringing “stickleback” in this Justin Timberlake parody.

Aaand the winner is …..

A belated congratulations to Hui Zheng Lab at Baylor College of Medicine! EarthSky says, you and the other nominees totally rock!

Related Posts

Hmmm … I can’t find anything on the EarthSky website that’s even remotely related to this blog!

Posted 
April 7, 2011
 in 
Human World

Like what you read?
Subscribe and receive daily news delivered to your inbox.

Your email address will only be used for EarthSky content. Privacy Policy
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

More from 

Shireen Gonzaga

View All