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Lab Oscars 2012: Science Comedy of the Year Nominees

02/27/2012
Andrew S. Wiecek

While last night’s Academy Awards ceremony recognized the best of Hollywood, we’d like to present our nominees for best science comedy shorts of the year, featuring the NIH’s brightest and rising stars. 

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At the 84th Academy Awards ceremony last night, the movie industry presented Oscars to actors, actresses, directors, and producers behind some of the year’s best films.

While last night’s Academy Awards ceremony recognized the best of Hollywood, we’d like to present our nominees for best science comedy shorts of the year, featuring the NIH’s brightest and rising stars. Source: Oscars.org





While Hollywood is busy celebrating itself, we’ve decided that it’s high time to recognize the hardworking young men and women in biomedical research who have spent hours while waiting for their DNA to be amplified to produce short films about their passion. So, we’re proposing a new Oscar category, that of “Best Science Comedy Short of the Year.”

Here’s our list of nominees for that category, submitted for your consideration. After viewing, vote for your favorite before Thursday, March 1, 2012 at 10 am EST, when voting will be closed. We’ll announce the winner in our weekly newsletter that same day. 

Our inaugural list of nominees includes four short films that derive their humor from different aspects of lab culture: “The Science Network” pokes fun at science communication; “Undergrad Mayhem” focuses on lab safety; “Lab Sounds” mocks the 24/7 lifestyle of a researcher; and “ How to Run a Gel” parodies the serious business of budget cuts in science research.

And the nominees are...  

Science Comedy of the Year Nominees

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How to Run a DNA Gel (Without Any Hands) 

N. Krefman et al. 2011. Vol I: How to Run a DNA Gel (Molecular and Cell Biology Training Video Series). YouTube.

From the University of California, Berkeley Department of Molecular Cell and Biology, Nathaniel Krefman and colleagues show you how to run a gel... without using your hands.

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Lab Sounds

T. Levin et al. 2011. Lab Sounds (An Original Infomercial). YouTube.

In another submission from the University of California, Berkeley, Terra Levin and colleagues produce a commercial for “Lab Sounds,” a CD of laboratory sounds designed to help researchers relax while away from the lab.

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The Science Network

P. Bennett et al. 2011. The Science Network: A “Social Network” Parody. YouTube.

Polly Bennett, Katya-yani Vyas, and Ben Good from Imperial College London produced this parody of the “Social Network” as part of their MSc in Science Communication program.

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Undergrad Mayhem

MCB Follies. 2011. Undergrad Mayhem. YouTube.

And our final nominee also comes from the University of California, Berkeley. In this short is one of a series of four that parody the Allstate “Mayhem” commercials for a fictitious lab insurance company “All Lab.”

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Now it's time for you to vote for who you think should win the Science Parody of the Year for 2012. Voting closes on Thursday, March 1, 2012, at 10:00 am EST. 



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