Patent ID: 6990501

Claim:
A method for organizing information in a database in order to record information from an RNA transcript profiling laboratory procedure, comprising: defining a set of container types, wherein container types in said set of container types each have one or more positions capable of having content and wherein said set of container types comprises members selected from a group consisting of an eppendorf tube, a 96 well plate, a transcript profiling array, a freezer, a data recording media screen, and a bitmap image of a data recording media screen; defining a set of operation types, wherein said set of operation types comprises members selected from a group consisting of printing arrays, reading out a data recording media screen, creation of a plate for PCR, and a robot run that transfers content from one container to another; defining a set of measurement types, wherein said set of measurement types comprises members selected from a group consisting of OD 600 of a bacterial plate, OD 260 of a DNA solution, intercalating agent quantitation of PCR product, agarose gel quantitation of PCR product, mRNA quantitation, and readout signal for each position in an array; defining a set of process types, wherein said set of process types comprises members selected from a group consisting of incubating, PCR cycling, denaturing arrays, prepare probe from RNA, hybridize probe with array, incubate data recording media screens, and readout data recording screen; performing one or more operations of said set of operation types, wherein performing any one of said operations creates one or more new containers with a unique identifier, and wherein said one or more new containers with a unique identifier is one of said container types in said set of container types; performing one or more processes of said set of process types on said one or more new containers, wherein performing any one of said processes changes a state in said more new containers; and performing one or more measurements of said set of measurement types, wherein performing any one of said measurements results in associating data with content in said one or more new containers.