Shoba Anantha at Bitesize Bio writes that, during a recent visit to another lab, she was surprised to see that researchers had modified a Bed Bath and Beyond staple — a salad spinner — for use as a benchtop plate centrifuge. "We tried to built one in my lab and we loved it so much that we now have one sitting near almost every PCR plate instrument, and have even gifted a couple to others," the Anantha writes.