American Biotechnologist http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog Advancing the productivity of American Biotechnologists Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:11:36 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 Perform a classy protein experiment with commonly used lab tools http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/thermal-shift/ http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/thermal-shift/#comments Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:11:36 +0000 avi_wener http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/?p=4144 Understanding protein folding with thermal shift assays using a common tool that is probably already in your laboratory! If the slides are difficult to see, simply click on the full screen icon on the bottom right hand corner of the slide deck to enlarge the presentation.

Understanding protein folding with thermal shift assays

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]]> http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/thermal-shift/feed/ 0 Wecome to the 2012 Google Science Fair! http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/2012-google-science-fair/ http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/2012-google-science-fair/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:12:49 +0000 avi_wener http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/?p=4137 Google is at it again. Welcome to the 2012 Google Science Fair. Entry deadline is April 1, 2012.

Check out last year’s superstar winners. They certainly impressed me!

]]> http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/2012-google-science-fair/feed/ 0 Transfering high molecular weight proteins http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/protein-transfer-bulletin/ http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/protein-transfer-bulletin/#comments Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:26:58 +0000 avi_wener http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/?p=4122 We are all intimately familiar with protein blotting techniques which have been a cornerstone of the biochemicstry/biology lab for the past 30 years.

As is well known, the efficiency of protein migration is affected by various factors including the size and charge of the protein, and protocol optimization is often needed on a protein-specific basis. In fact, it can be particularly challenging to transfer large molecular weight proteins alongside small molecular weight proteins, as transfer conditions may cause small proteins to blow through the membrane.

Currently there are three popular techniques for protein transfer: the tank transfer, the semi-dry blotting method and the fast blotting “turbo” technique (for transfer within 3-10 minutes).

In the attached paper, Transfer of high molecular weight proteins to membranes: a comparison of transfer efficiency between blotting systems, Bio-Rad Laboratories presents a comparison of the various blotting techniques across a wide range of molecular weights with a particular emphasis on large proteins (more than 200kD).

]]> http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/protein-transfer-bulletin/feed/ 0 Can a video game cure cancer? http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/cancer-video-game/ http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/cancer-video-game/#comments Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:00:14 +0000 avi_wener http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/?p=4115 The cure for cancer comes down to this: video games.

In a research lab at Wake Forest University, biophysicist and computer scientist Samuel Cho uses graphics processing units (GPUs), the technology that makes video game images so realistic, to simulate the inner workings of human cells.

“If it wasn’t for gamers who kept buying these GPUs, the prices wouldn’t have dropped, and we couldn’t have used them for science,” Cho says.

Now he can see exactly how the cells live, divide and die.

Read Can a Video Game Cure Cancer on the Wake Forest University website.

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]]> http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/cancer-video-game/feed/ 0 Where have all the young profs gone? http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/young-profs/ http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/young-profs/#comments Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:08:52 +0000 avi_wener http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/?p=4107 In a very interesting study on Principle Investigator demographics, Dr. Sally Rockey, Director of Extramural Research at the NIH, found that over the last 32 years the average age distribution of NIH principle investigators has increased significantly. Watch the video below to see a shocking visual representation of the data. As a note to our PI population, although hearing loss is common in the elderly, your inability to hear what’s being said in this video is not a sign of aging. The video does not have any sound!

See Rock Talk for the full story.

]]> http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/young-profs/feed/ 0 Midweek Inspiration for Tired Scientists http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/science-inspiration/ http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/science-inspiration/#comments Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:46:35 +0000 avi_wener http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/?p=4103 Wake up fellow biotechnologists! The week is halfway done!

]]> http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/science-inspiration/feed/ 0 Grass to gas: genome map speeds biofuel development http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/grass-gas-genome-map-speeds-biofuel-development/ http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/grass-gas-genome-map-speeds-biofuel-development/#comments Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:03:14 +0000 avi_wener http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/?p=4090 Researchers at the University of Georgia have taken a major step in the ongoing effort to find sources of cleaner, renewable energy by mapping the genomes of two originator cells of Miscanthus x giganteus, a large perennial grass with promise as a source of ethanol and bioenergy.

Changsoo Kim, a postdoctoral research associate in the UGA Plant Genome Mapping Laboratory, identified a set of approximately 600 bits of Miscanthus DNA that can serve as diagnostic tools. The next step is to determine which pieces of DNA are diagnostic of genes that can make the plant an even better biofuel crop.

Read more…

]]> http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/grass-gas-genome-map-speeds-biofuel-development/feed/ 0 More on Bio-Rad’s QX100 Droplet Digital PCR System http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/qx100/ http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/qx100/#comments Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:48:20 +0000 avi_wener http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/?p=4094 The QX100 Droplet Digital PCR system from Bio-Rad Laboratories provides an absolute measure of target DNA molecules with unrivaled precision and accuracy. The QX100 system partitions each sample into 20,000 individual nanoliter-sized droplets. PCR-positive and PCR-negative droplets from every sample are then counted to provide absolute target quantification in digital form. The QX100 system provides a revolutionary approach to target DNA quantification.

The QX100™ ddPCR™ system lets you:

  • Detect rare target sequences with unmatched sensitivity for cancer and viral research
  • Measure small differences in target copy number variations (down to 1.2x differences)
  • Determine absolute gene expression levels without a standard curve or the ΔΔCq method

Click here to download the latest product information, or here to see performance data, copy number variation data, gene expression data and rare mutation detection data.

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]]> http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/qx100/feed/ 0 Bacteria have social lives too! http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/bacteria-social-media/ http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/bacteria-social-media/#comments Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:48:42 +0000 avi_wener http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/?p=4084 Sit back and relax with some popcorn as you watch this interesting talk by Professor Bonnie Bassler of Princeton University talk about the social world of bacteria. And you thought that only human’s had Facebook!

H/T to Labguru for the find!

If you don’t have enough patience (or popcorn) to watch the 50 minute version of her talk, checkout her 20 minute 2009 TED talk on the same subject below.

]]> http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/bacteria-social-media/feed/ 0 A Simple Way to Study Cells http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/simple-study-cells/ http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/simple-study-cells/#comments Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:46:10 +0000 avi_wener http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/?p=4079 Remember MacGyver? He could do almost anything with a piece of scotch tape and a paper clip. The following story reminds me very much of McGyver and how much can be accomplished with a little imagination.

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) research engineer Javier Atencia has a reputation for creating novel microfluidic devices out of ordinary, inexpensive components. This time, he has combined a glass slide, plastic sheets and double-sided tape into a “diffusion-based gradient generator”—a tool to rapidly assess how changing concentrations of specific chemicals affect living cells.

Read more…

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