Monoclonal antibody drugs are popular therapeutics for a plethora of disease conditions, from cancer to autoimmune disorders. Antibodies administered as drugs are still immunogenic, meaning that they elicit an immune response from the body. Several factors contribute to the ...
Annotation of genes in immune cells typically involves the creation of germline knockout mice, which is time-consuming, as it only changes one gene at a time. CRISPR-based systems enable gene knockout in immune cells in a high-throughput manner, but these systems have not been ...
Adeno-associated viruses (AAV) are an important biological tool that allow scientists to express a gene of interest in a cell or animal model. AAV plasmids contain several important elements, but among the most important are the inverted terminal repeats (ITRs). ITRs are the ...
In April 2022, physicians in Scotland began noticing unusual cases of acute hepatitis in the pediatric population. Once ~400 cases had amassed in places around the world, hypotheses began to develop that this illness was caused by either SARS-CoV-2, Adenovirus type 41 (AdV-41), ...
I spent about seven years working in research labs, and then pivoted to writing full-time in mid-2020. As I left the ivory tower and walked down into its foothills, I began to have conversations with many people who eagerly follow progress in synthetic biology, and want to be ...
Flow cytometry is one of the most powerful tools available to immunologists, allowing for the rapid analysis of cell populations within a heterogenous tissue type, such as PBMCs or tumors, and moreso than other methods, the identification and isolation of rare cell types. In ...
The Retroviridae (commonly called retrovirus) family — of which HIV is a member — may seem like an unlikely candidate to use as a viral vector, but retroviruses have been developed into some of the most widely used tools in molecular biology. “Retroviruses” is an umbrella term ...
Erik Snapp just released version 3.4 of his eBook, How to Get a Faculty Position. This edition has substantial expansions on the chalk talks and Zoom interviews sections, along with new thoughts on research statements. Snapp, who is always looking for ways to improve his eBook, ...