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My PhD supervisor would wash his teeth over the sink where we'd rinse all the gel preparation tools. He got throat cancer in his 50s and died soon after my PhD defense.



Ethidium bromide is actually surprisingly not mutagenic

https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/myth-ethidium-brom...


This seems very surprising for a molecule that intercalates DNA!


Well there is a cell membrane to negotiate with before reaching the dna.


And a nuclear membrane in eukaryotes as well.


So, are you suggesting that the gel was the cause of the cancer for the supervisor? If so, was that sink’s drain connected to a diverter such that the waste didn’t enter the typical sewage system?


If you have to ask, I think you already know the answer


I don't want to hear any of these stories, considering I am a very clumsy person AND considering that I synthesized polycyclic aromatics. Thank god I got out after a couple of years, but sometimes I wonder what is still floating around in my DNA...




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