© 2005 • 465 pp., illus., appendices, index
Concealed wire binding • $61.00 • ISBN  978-087969708-2

Also available as an Amazon Kindle book HERE.

At the Bench is the unique and hugely successful handbook for living and working in the laboratory, an essential aid to understanding basic lab techniques and how research groups work at a human level. In this newly revised edition, chapters have been rewritten to accommodate the impact of computer technology and the Internet, not only on the acquisition and analysis of data, but also on its organization and presentation. Alternatives to the use of radiation have been expanded, and figures and illustrations have been redrawn to reflect changes in laboratory equipment and procedures.

  “Any typical laboratory possesses a vast amount of various basic science books and technical manuals used in day–to–day work. However, in most cases, these volumes provide only narrow technical or basic scientific expertise, leaving out numerous issues directly related to the skills of equipment use, experiment performance, laboratory politics, and communication of the scientific data, as well as many other aspects of laboratory work. As a consequence, in most laboratories, those skills are passed on as “oral folklore” from senior staff to newcomers. At the Bench represents a fine example of a laboratory manual that fills this gap. The book provides, in a simple and unambiguous language, guidance for many issues usually left out in ‘regular’ laboratory manuals....

Barker has wisely identified many aspects of laboratory work not usually covered by ‘conventional’ manuals, making her book one of the rarest sources for vital information required for any successful scientist.  Overall, the volume is superbly written, and reading is made pleasurable by multiple hilarious remarks from the author.  It is highly recommended for anyone working in research—from undergraduate students to primary investigators, either in academy or industry. In my opinion, this is a ‘must have’ volume for any laboratory.”
      —The Quarterly Review of Biology

  In an article on Science’s career development website, Laura Bonetta describes how the books An Illustrated Chinese-English Guide for Biomedical Scientists, At the Bench, and At the Helm have helped foreign scientists adapt to working in the United States.
Article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.315.5812.695
      —Science

SECTION 1. Getting Oriented

Chapter 1: General Lab Organization and Procedures

Chapter 2: Laboratory Setup and Equipment

Chapter 3: Getting Started and Staying Organized

SECTION 2. Plotting a Course

Chapter 4: How to Set Up an Experiment

Chapter 5: Laboratory Notebooks

Chapter 6: Presenting Yourself and Your Data

SECTION 3. Navigating

Chapter 7: Making Reagents and Buffers

Chapter 8: Storage and Disposal

Chapter 9: Working without Contamination

Chapter 10: Eukaryotic Cell Culture

Chapter 11: Bacteria

Chapter 12: DNA, RNA, and Protein

Chapter 13: Radioactivity

Chapter 14: Centrifugation

Chapter 15: Electrophoresis

Chapter 16: Microscopy