Question: How much time does it take to get an experiment right and how many times on average do experiments fail.

Katie Fala answered on 19 Nov 2019:

How long is a piece of string! It depends on the experiment, sometimes there are very defined protocols, for example commercial kits for DNA extraction/amplification come with clear instructions so it is just a case of following them faithfully. It is more variable when designing new protocols or trying to incorporate different existing ones, it is quite normal for it to not work on the first go. Usually patience and troubleshooting (so figuring out all the variables that could influence, and changing them one at a time) helps, or talking to other people who may have worked on similiar experiments/equipment for advice.