Project Design Safety
The C. elegans we used in our experiments were obtained from the Caenorhabditis Genetic Center (CGC, https://cgc.umn.edu/). No ethics required for the nematodes. During the experiments we need to collect adult nematodes. We didn't use chemosterilant, but daily transferred the adults to fresh plates throughout the study.
Lab Work Safety
Personal Protection
1. Always wear a lab coat when working in the laboratory. Wash hands thoroughly before and after experiments.
2. Wear appropriate gloves when handling materials that may directly or accidentally come into contact with blood, bodily fluids, other potentially infectious materials, or infected animals. Wash hands after removing gloves.
3. Wash hands after handling infectious experimental materials and animals, and before leaving the laboratory work area.
4. Wear safety glasses, face shields, or other protective equipment to prevent eye or facial injury from splashes when there's a possibility of splashing.
5. Eating, drinking, smoking, applying cosmetics, and handling contact lenses are prohibited in laboratory work areas.
6. Storing food and drinks in laboratory work areas is prohibited.
7. Used protective clothing in the laboratory must not be stored in the same locker as everyday clothing.
Public Experiment Area Protection
1. The laboratory should be kept clean and tidy. It is strictly forbidden to place items unrelated to experiments.
2. Decontaminate work surfaces after any spill of potentially hazardous materials and at the end of each workday.
3. All contaminated materials, specimens, and cultures must be decontaminated before disposal or cleaning for reuse.
4. Wear gloves when conducting experiments. Remove gloves when touching shared handles, elevators, drawers, and cabinets.
5. Clean the desk before and after experiments. Non-essential items should be locked in cabinets outside the laboratory.
6. Sit on laboratory chairs when conducting experiments. Avoid unnecessary movement or running.
7. Close doors and windows to reduce contamination caused by air flow.
8. Clearly label culture media and broths with date, group, bacterial name, and media composition on the container before inoculation.
9. Dispose of gloves, pipettes, pipette tips, centrifuge tubes, lens paper, and petri dishes that have come into contact with bacteria in biohazard bags. Separate general waste and medical waste into appropriate waste bins.