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Bench Press

I used to wonder why scientists seemed so skinny, until I left the lab for the office--and immediately gained fifteen pounds.

As Anna Kushnir notes in a recent post on the Nature Network, bench scientists run around all day--to the ice machine, the incubator, the symposium down the hall. And, as Kushnir observes, they have freakishly strong hands.

For the men out there, all the pipette wielding could increase the strength of their handshake--apparently a measure of reproductive fitness.

So if you're spending another 12 hour day in the lab, consider it part of a weight loss, sex-appeal regimen.

Here's to a healthy, active new year at the bench and off.

Posted by Charlotte Schubert on January 3, 2008 03:42 PM |

Comments

This might be a good time for all of us to think about balanced living......it appears that lab work coupled with some lab excercise does wonders for the body.

Posted by: Vectorpedia (Rick) | February 19, 2008 08:31 AM

Ha ha, fifteen pounds? Are there some exaggeration?

Posted by: 络龙医搜 | February 15, 2008 10:24 AM

But be careful about becoming too complacent about youe lab exercise. All that stress leads to elevated cortisol levels and overeating of vending machine snacks and pizzas delivered to the lab ("because it's going to be a late night" and "journal club time" and "group meeting time") and you end up with a strong handshake and a big gut that enters rooms before the rest of you does, ready to shake hands firmly with people.

Posted by: Chris Muller | January 9, 2008 01:24 AM

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