Do not disturb

As a graduate student in evolutionary genetics at the University of Edinburgh, I experienced a fundamental shift in the way science is done. In my first year, we had a radio softly humming along in the corner of lab, tuned to talk radio when I could help it, and top 40 music when I couldn't. Either way, however, my lab mates and I were always conversing—sometimes about what was on the radio, sometimes about life in general, but quite often about our ongoing experiments.

All that changed with the arrival of iPods, or portable MP3 players, in my second year at the bench. Without the need to pussyfoot around the radio dial, we were all free to plug in our ear buds and recoil into our own aural oases. I loved it, and often listened to science-related podcasts. But part of me suspects I may have been a better scientist if my ears were open to the regular banter of other researchers. Would I have come up with more new ideas or worked through tough experiments faster with a bit more interlab interaction?

Some say yes. "iPods have made labs a little more insular, which I'm not at all convinced is a good thing," says cell biologist Richard Grant, who, in March, quit the lab after 15 years to become the business development manager for Faculty of 1000 in London (although not because of any Apple product).

"Once you have an iPod in your ears, no one talks to you," agrees Marissa Sobolewski-Terry, a graduate student studying the effects of hormone levels on chimpanzee aggression at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. "If you have headphones on, you're not to be disturbed." You might get more work done, but you don't learn as much from your peers, she says.

However, Carl Cohen, president of Science Management Associates, a Massachusetts-based consultancy group for science-based organizations, and the coauthor of Lab Dynamics: Management Skills for Scientists, says that iPods might actually help foster creative—rather than frivolous—scientific discourse. "Because people can gather themselves quietly in the confines of their iPods, when the time comes for discussion they may be even more eager to share," he says—and preventing scientists from spouting off about whatever crosses their mind might not be a bad thing.

Cohen isn't the only person to praise the iPod's insurgency into the lab. Portable music devices provide personal hideaways from the hectic lab environment, says Kathy Barker, a former microbiologist and the author of two practical laboratory guidebooks. Even before the advent of iPods, "I remember when people would put on headphones with no music when they wanted to not talk to a particular person or needed to focus," she says.

Renee Edlund, a neuroscience grad student at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, describes her iPod as "basically my sanity in the lab." She plugs in for around five hours each day, mostly listening to podcasts of talk radio shows. "Without it, I don't know if I'd still be in science, to be honest," she says. "I just put in my little ear buds and I'm out of [the politics of the lab]. I can just focus on preparing my acrylamide gel."

But too much focus can be fatal. When you can't easily chat with labmates, even the small things become awkward chores, says Cynthia Downs, a graduate student at the University of Nevada, Reno, who studies mouse metabolism. For example, when she's tending to her mice in the animal facilities, "it's horrible," she says, "because I can't even ask the animal carer [listening to the iPod] for paper towels."

iPods can also drive up costs. Besides the fact that each lab member is now dishing out hundreds of dollars on electronics, segregating the lab's soundtrack can cause consumable costs to rise. Grant says that he goes through latex gloves much quicker when he's wearing headphones. "I won't put a glove hand to my ear and go back to doing a PCR."

Still, anyone who aims to curb iPod use in the lab has a hard road ahead, says Sobolewski-Terry. "I think a lot of people would be pissed off if someone said 'no iPods in the lab,'" she says.

After a life time as lab scientist and shorter period as documentary film maker--from my 3 year observation of the laboratory displayed in my latest film "Naturally obsessed: the making of a scientist" I would definitely agree with the bloger's first impression - radio music invites collaborative chatter and fun among colleagues while ear plugs cuts that out to the loss of a spirited and fun-loving lab ambiance. Science is tough enough without that spirit and it's a shame to lose it.

Sometimes the conversations in the lab can distract me too much while I am trying to work so having my MP3 player helps, though I have not really been using it this past year or so. My other labmates often have their music devices on but they remove one or both sides when I approach them with a question or something. When others have approached me when I had my player on (or when I would have the headphones on without it playing) I take it off so I can hear them too. I think people need to balance their use of such devices and make sure that they are not interfering with anyone's research or causing respect issues.

Labs have a subculture with subtle features-- as do conversations and social graces. The most supportive parameter for me is that sensitivity prevails to keep distractions low key and helpfulness upbeat. Professional details and dynamics depend on how sensitive the participants are to the nuances and their alertness to active thinking. Benefit or detriment using the technology remains with the social sensitivity of the humans. Individuals should portray social sophistication, not control by the technology. The same principle holds for TV, radio, etc. and they can be turned off, kept in the background, or taken seriously. Double ear plugs require compensation with visual alertness. Social grace is not determined by the technology.

The problem with earbuds & iPods is that they occlude _both_ ears, which interferes with laboratory communications. I've searched diligently, but been unable to find a comfortable earphone that can convert stereo (2 channel) output for single-ear (1 channel) listening. Am I the only person who thinks we should be able to hear both our personally-selected music and our lab-mates?

The thing about listening to an iPod while doing experiments that I love is the fact I don't have to be concerned about what music I'm listening to at work that may be considered questionable either because of its lyrics or the style. Another plus is when you work with that one person that seems to ALWAYS to interrupt you with the random story about what happened last time she went to the grocery store when you're in the middle of an important time course with expensive proteins that you're trying to repeat as few times as possible to save time and money. Fortunately this person has learned that the headphones mean "I need to focus, please leave me alone". So in many ways it forces that person to respect what you're doing. Also I try to ask the person if I can just talk to them after I'm done with my experiment in case it is important. At the same time I asked my undergrad not to wear headphones in lab until we were both comfortable with her skill level with specific techniques because of the lack of communication. So from that perspective I have no problem in limits on iPOD use as long as an experienced research can use it on those fragile experiments where interruption can kill the experiment.

As with any technology, it is not essentially good nor bad but using it makes it so.
While conversation in the lab can be about science, it's just as likely to be nattering about the game last night, usually just when you are trying to concentrate. Moreover, they are plenty of situations in the lab where conversation is impossible (I used to spend hours working in biocontainment hoods) and where the iPod is a godsend.
The upshot is plug in when you need to and chat when you can. Properly balanced, a personal soundtrack makes the work more pleasant and the worker more productive.

Since I work in an instutional setting, albeit not in a lab, I can testify to this matter. I think Ipods are a distraction and do not lead to enhanced communication. In general the younger generation seems to be so distracted with the Ipods, Twittering, etc. I'm in fear that we will become a nation of IPOD Zombies.