There are a lot of viruses out there – most of which we would all like to steer clear of! However, a subset of viruses are commonly used in the lab as tools and we all might benefit from getting to know them a little better. Here we will discuss the four most commonly used lab ...
The stress of finding a ‘good’ antibody is something we’ve all experienced. Finding an antibody that works for your application, specifically detects your protein, is species compatible, and doesn’t come with a high background can be a huge challenge. Epitope tags eliminate the ...
The biomedical field is often concerned with understanding the cause of diseases and how to treat those diseases. The “cause of disease” often requires understanding the disease genetics and the “treatment” usually requires drugs. While we often think of these two fields as ...
Around 20% of human genes have no known function or a poorly defined function (Wood, et al). In the microbial world, approximately 50% of predicted genes have unidentified roles as well (Vanni, et al). Is it true that this many genes are truly dispensable or are the current ...
Ever wondered where human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells originated from? Or why they are such a commonly used cell culture model? In this blog we will spill the beans on all things HEK, from the first experiments isolating the cell line all the way to modern applications.
Viruses are the SUVs of molecular biology – they can deliver materials to specific destinations, haul a variety of cargo, and even handle a variety of terrains. They are, in fact, a choice delivery vector from basic science research all the way to clinical gene therapy. But how ...
We all know that yeast is a powerful eukaryotic model organism – its genome is easy to manipulate, it’s affordable, and it grows fast to boot. The yeast strains S. cerevisiae and S. pombe have dominated the research scene. But what about the other yeasts – in the biomedical ...
Transcription factors (TFs) act as the gate keepers for gene expression, turning transcription on and off by binding proximal to their target genes. Since gene expression patterns determine everything from stem cell differentiation fate to tumor suppression (and most everything ...
