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# The pipette problem: why lab results do not travel
- URL: https://cobalt.samadesign.dev/the-pipette-problem/
- Published: 2026-09-26T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-26T16:00:00.000Z
- Description: Two labs follow the same protocol and get different results. The culprit is often the smallest tool on the bench.
- Author: Ines Varga
- Tags: Science, #Import 2026-10-07 01:53

Every biology lab has a drawer full of pipettes, and every researcher holds them a little differently. A tiny difference in angle or speed changes the volume by a few percent.

Multiply that by hundreds of steps, and two careful labs can disagree about the same experiment. A growing movement wants protocols that record not just what was done, but how.

![A gloved hand placing a petri dish under a microscope](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1581091007718-0c50d599bfd0?auto=format&fit=crop&w=2000&q=80)

Recording the gesture, not only the recipe. Photo by ThisisEngineering / [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/?utm%5Fsource=demo&utm%5Fmedium=referral)

Robots help, but the real change is cultural: treating the way an experiment is done as part of its result.