diff --git a/llm_team_ui.py b/llm_team_ui.py
index 3424a27..316ce10 100644
--- a/llm_team_ui.py
+++ b/llm_team_ui.py
@@ -4229,8 +4229,10 @@ LAB_HTML = r"""
   .btn-r:hover{background:rgba(224,82,82,0.06)}
   .btn-o{border-color:rgba(245,158,11,0.3);color:var(--orange)}
   .btn-o:hover{background:rgba(245,158,11,0.06)}
-  .exp-item{background:rgba(0,0,0,0.25);border:2px solid var(--border);border-radius:2px;padding:14px;margin-bottom:8px;cursor:pointer;transition:border-color .15s}
+  .exp-item{background:rgba(0,0,0,0.25);border:2px solid var(--border);border-radius:2px;padding:14px;margin-bottom:8px;cursor:pointer;transition:all .15s}
   .exp-item:hover{border-color:var(--accent)}
+  .exp-item.selected{border-color:var(--accent);background:var(--glow);box-shadow:0 0 12px rgba(226,181,90,0.08)}
+  .live-status{font-family:'JetBrains Mono',monospace;font-size:10px;color:var(--text2);margin-top:6px;min-height:14px;font-style:italic}
   .exp-item .name{font-weight:600;font-size:14px}
   .exp-item .meta{font-size:10px;color:var(--text2);display:flex;gap:12px;margin-top:4px;font-family:'JetBrains Mono',monospace}
   .status-pill{display:inline-block;padding:2px 8px;border-radius:2px;font-size:9px;font-weight:700;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:0.5px;font-family:'JetBrains Mono',monospace;border:1px solid}
@@ -4349,12 +4351,13 @@ LAB_HTML = r"""
           <button class="btn btn-r" onclick="resetExp()">Reset</button>
         </div>
       </h3>
-      <div style="display:flex;gap:16px;margin-bottom:14px;font-size:13px">
+      <div style="display:flex;gap:16px;margin-bottom:8px;font-size:13px">
         <div>Status: <span class="status-pill" id="mon-status">idle</span></div>
         <div>Trials: <strong id="mon-trials">0</strong></div>
         <div>Best: <strong id="mon-best" style="color:var(--green)">0.0</strong>/10</div>
         <div>Improvements: <strong id="mon-impr">0</strong></div>
       </div>
+      <div class="live-status" id="live-status"></div>
     </div>
     <div class="card">
       <h3>Score Progression</h3>
@@ -4408,7 +4411,8 @@ function renderExpList() {
   if (!experiments.length) { el.innerHTML = '<div class="empty">No experiments yet. Create one to get started.</div>'; return; }
   el.innerHTML = experiments.map(e => {
     const rate = e.total_trials > 0 ? ((e.improvements / e.total_trials) * 100).toFixed(0) : 0;
-    return `<div class="exp-item" onclick="selectExp(${e.id})">
+    const sel = activeExp && activeExp.id === e.id ? ' selected' : '';
+    return `<div class="exp-item${sel}" onclick="selectExp(${e.id})">
       <div class="name">${e.name} <span class="status-pill ${e.status}">${e.status}</span></div>
       <div class="meta"><span>Trials: ${e.total_trials}</span><span>Best: ${(e.best_score||0).toFixed(1)}/10</span><span>Improvements: ${e.improvements} (${rate}%)</span><span>${e.metric}</span></div>
     </div>`;
@@ -4421,7 +4425,16 @@ async function selectExp(id) {
   trialData = activeExp.trials || [];
   updateMonitor();
   updateConfigEditor();
-  toast('Loaded: ' + activeExp.name);
+  renderExpList();
+  // Auto-navigate to the relevant tab
+  if (activeExp.status === 'running') {
+    labTab('monitor');
+    startStream();
+  } else if (activeExp.status === 'idle' && activeExp.total_trials === 0) {
+    labTab('config');
+  } else {
+    labTab('monitor');
+  }
 }
 
 function updateMonitor() {
@@ -4507,12 +4520,21 @@ function startStream() {
       activeExp.best_score = d.best;
       if (d.improved) activeExp.improvements = (activeExp.improvements||0) + 1;
       updateMonitor();
+      renderExpList();
+    } else if (d.type === 'status') {
+      var liveEl = document.getElementById('live-status');
+      if (liveEl) liveEl.textContent = d.message || '';
     } else if (d.type === 'done') {
       activeExp.status = 'paused';
       updateMonitor();
+      renderExpList();
+      var liveEl = document.getElementById('live-status');
+      if (liveEl) liveEl.textContent = 'Completed';
       es.close();
     } else if (d.type === 'error') {
       toast(d.message, false);
+      var liveEl = document.getElementById('live-status');
+      if (liveEl) liveEl.textContent = 'Error: ' + (d.message||'').substring(0,100);
     }
   };
   es.onerror = function() { es.close(); };
@@ -7800,9 +7822,10 @@ def _ratchet_loop(exp_id):
         # Pick meta-model (largest in pool)
         meta_model = models_pool[-1] if models_pool else "qwen2.5:latest"
         judge_model = models_pool[0] if models_pool else "llama3.2:latest"
-        max_trials = 50  # safety cap — prevents runaway experiments
+        max_new_trials = 50  # safety cap — max trials per start
+        trials_this_run = 0
 
-        while trial_num < max_trials:
+        while trials_this_run < max_new_trials:
             # Check if still running
             with get_db() as conn:
                 with conn.cursor() as cur:
@@ -7812,8 +7835,9 @@ def _ratchet_loop(exp_id):
                         break
 
             trial_num += 1
+            trials_this_run += 1
             trial_start = time.time()
-            _lab_emit(exp_id, {"type": "status", "trial": trial_num, "message": "Proposing change..."})
+            _lab_emit(exp_id, {"type": "status", "trial": trial_num, "message": f"Proposing change... (trial {trials_this_run}/{max_new_trials})"})
 
             # Step 1: Meta-model proposes a change
             history_hint = ""
@@ -9721,6 +9745,14 @@ _sentinel_thread.start()
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
+    # Cleanup stale lab experiments on startup
+    try:
+        with get_db() as conn:
+            with conn.cursor() as cur:
+                cur.execute("UPDATE lab_experiments SET status = 'paused' WHERE status = 'running'")
+            conn.commit()
+    except Exception:
+        pass
     print("\n  LLM Team UI running at http://localhost:5000\n")
     print(f"  AI Sentinel active: {SENTINEL_MODEL} scanning every {SENTINEL_INTERVAL}s\n")
     app.run(host="127.0.0.1", port=5000, debug=False, threaded=True)