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Blog Details for "The Molecular Biology Blog"
The Molecular Biology Blog The Molecular Biology Blog Tech tips, technology updates, news and comment from the molecular biology field 
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Sequence and Ligation Independent Cloning
2008-05-14 14:31:00 Regular readers will know about the advantages of T4 DNA polymerase-mediated ligation independent cloning. The fact that it is faster, more efficient and allows easier parallel cloning than conventional cloning has made it my method of choice in the lab. But the technique does have it’s downsides - not least the requirement that existing vector multiple ... More About: Sequence , Independent , Cloning , Molecular Biology
Post-Modernism versus Science
2008-05-13 12:44:00 A few months ago I mentioned about how people shouldn’t take science, on faith, but instead on data. Put another way, this is about post-modernism, or anti-modernism, where facts and their interpretations are all relative, at least to some degree. I came across an outstanding essay on the subject by Daniel Dennett over on Butterflies ... More About: Science , Post , Versus , Post Modernism
How Cancer Begins
2008-05-12 12:39:00 Every major field has its leading thinkers, and the biology of cancer is no different. What makes their impact heard better is when one of those leaders writes a book about it. Given my interest in molecular biology of cancer, I naturally have my favorite such book on the topic - Robert Weinberg’s ... More About: Books , Cancer
Around the Blogs
2008-05-09 11:55:00 This week’s around the blogs focuses on lab life and impacts of science on society. That’s a big area to cover, but there are still only a handful of really noteworthy discussions in the last couple of weeks on the topic. Check ‘em out. Relationships in Lab Groups - How do the dynamics of ... More About: Blogs
Don?t Overdo The Multi-tasking
2008-05-07 07:56:00 Multi-tasking used to be my favourite way to get ahead. During my PhD I saw others around me working extremely long hours in the lab and not really having much of a personal life and quite early on I made the decision that this was not for me. Although I enjoy my work, having a good life ... More About: Science , Multi
Would you Sterilise Growth Media With A Microwave?
2008-05-06 08:00:00 We have had a rush on time and money saving techniques on Bitesize Bio in the last few weeks. Ways to re-cycle electroporation cuvettes, reduce gel buffer costs, do fast restriction digests and re-cycle midiprep columns have all been suggested. In this article I’ll add the possibility of using a microwave to sterilize or decontaminate growth ... More About: Media , Growth , Microwave
Defining Life Itself
2008-05-05 17:29:00 What is this thing called ‘Life ?’ One popular game in the relevant area of philosophy is to provide robust counter examples, which reveal failures in operational definitions of life. Failed attempts include physiological, metabolic, biochemical, genetic and thermodynamic definitions of life, all of which face problems. For example, a metabolic definition finds it hard to ... More About: Books
Around the Blogs
2008-05-02 09:24:00 As per tradition, it’s time for the weekly roundup of informative blog posts outside of your regular Bite of Bio. This week, it’s striking that the posts to choose from have an extra supply of posts on the science, and light on the personal or social commentary that bloggers enjoy so much. So ... More About: Blogs
Enduring Grant Writing Edits
2008-05-01 10:35:00 Staying in science - getting funding and getting peer reviewed - is tough. That’s one of my main gripes with creationist simpletons who imply that scientists are uncritical of their peers, and that criticism is directed solely at those who refuse to take their claims at face value. They have no clue whatsoever what they’re talking ... More About: Books , Writing , Grant
Re-cycling Electroporation Cuvettes
2008-04-30 10:24:00 If you have ever worked out the price of an electroporation cuvette you will realise that, at several dollars each, they are worth recycling. Accounts on how amenable electroporation cuvettes are to recycling vary, but I find that as long as you treat them well it is possible to use single cuvette many times. It’s the metal ... More About: Cycling
Biotechniques is 25
2008-04-29 10:24:00 Today’s issue of the Biotechniques journal is well worth a read. The journal celebrates 25 years of existence with a series of retrospective articles covering developments in various fields over the same period. Among the picks are: Twenty-five years of quantitative PCR for gene expression analysis Bacterial genetics: past achievements, present state of the field, and future ... More About: News , History
Pimp Your Plasmid Growth Medium
2008-04-28 12:47:00 I often wonder why it is that molecular biology researchers stubbornly refuse to change 40 year old methods that, while they work, are not as good as newer, faster and cheaper methods out there. I suppose rational scientists have often irrational superstitions. One example of an old method that could be improved is the ... More About: Pimp , Growth , Medium
Around the Blogs
2008-04-25 11:06:00 Let’s see what’s been going on around the blogs, shall we? Personal Development From one whose dream of tenure track just came true: In Which the Werewolf is Admitted to Paradise - An amusing tale of motivating students to ask questions during a teaching evaluation. The end result - paradise - the coveted tenure track job. And from ... More About: Blogs
Structured Digital Abstracts - Easier Literature Searching But Not Democrat
2008-04-24 07:24:00 FEBS Letters is this month carrying out an interesting experiment that could make literature searching easier for both human and computers. The experiment centres on Structured Digital Abstracts (SDA). SDA are extensions of the normal journal article abstracts that describe the relationship between two biological entities, mentioning the method used to study the relationship. Each sentence ... More About: Literature , Democrat , Searching
What is your Life Changing Book?
2008-04-23 13:28:00 Leading scientists in a variety of fields gave their recommendations on life changing books at New Scientist yesterday. This makes pretty interesting reading - and certainly throws up some ideas for adding to your bookshelf. Among the 17 recommended books were volumes as diverse as Animal Rights by Peter Singer, which turned Primatology expert ... More About: Life , Books , Book , Changing
How to shut off background lac promoter expression in LB
2008-04-22 07:24:00 Here’s a tip that you may find useful if you are expressing proteins in E.coli using a lac promoter-based expression system, e.g. pET, in LB medium (L-broth). Lac expression systems are typically induced in the lab using IPTG (isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalacto- pyranoside), which is a non- hydrolysable analogue of lactose, the natural inducer of the lac operon. Tight control ... More About: Services , Kits , Background , Shut , Reagents
Perfectionism: Are you on the downward spiral?
2008-04-21 12:51:00 Do you fear failure every time you do an experiment? Do you feel constantly stressed about obtaining poor results? Do you feel personally culpable when an experiment goes wrong? If you answered “yes” to any or all of these questions, you may be suffering from perfectionism. For a scientist, this is a particularly damaging trait that needs to ... More About: Cell Biology , Self-help , Molecular Biology
Around the Blogs
2008-04-18 14:27:00 It’s Thank Gradschool It’s Friday (TGIF), which means it’s time to peruse the various other blogs out there. Personal Development Grad Student Solidarity and Speaking Up in Seminars and Journal Clubs - Should postdocs and grad students ‘go easy’ on each other in seminars and journal clubs? Heck no! Also see Honesty, diplomacy, independence, and ... More About: Blogs
Evolution: 24 Myths and Misconceptions At New Scientist
2008-04-17 14:58:00 Well, I don’t have time to write a proper article today, so for your reading pleasure I’d like to point you to a great article posted yesterday on the New Scientist website by Michael Le Page. It covers some misconceptions commonly held by the general public about evolution, and dispells some of the myths that ... More About: Evolution , Myths , Misconceptions
Climb The Career Ladder Faster With These Cover Letter Tips
2008-04-16 13:11:00 Cover letters are possibly the most important documents you will write in your career because they can open or close the door to your dream job. But, surprisingly, people often under-estimate their importance and assume that they are just the lesser companion to the CV/resume. Of course, that’s not the case. Your cover letter should “cover”, but ... More About: Science , Tips , Letter , Career , Cover
Recycle Those DNA Extraction Columns
2008-04-15 08:27:00 You know those ridiculously priced and throw-away DNA mini, midi and maxi-prep columns? Well the good news is that you can actually re-use them if you are reasonably careful at regenerating them, with this simple and cheap method described in detail by Nagadenahalli B. Siddappa in Biotechniques in 2007. Apparently these columns can be reused up ... More About: Columns , Recycle
Control Your Lab Computers From Home
2008-04-14 08:20:00 If you have computers in the lab that you would like to access from home, this might be for you. LogMeIn.com offers a free remote desktop service that allows you to take control of a remote computer. Perfect if, while relaxing after dinner, you remember that you forgot to turn off the HPLC at work (yes, ... More About: Cell Biology , Software , Computers , Home , Control
Around the Blogs
2008-04-11 12:04:00 It’s Friday again, and here are some goodies from around the blogs, focusing on personal development, the science itself, and public aspects of science (the just-post-titles edition): Personal Development Thoughts on Tenure from the Tenure-Track Publish and/or Perish: When to Submit that Manuscript? Google Docs has pivot tables! The Science Itself Why Do Genome-Wide Scans Fail Fluorescence Nanoscopy Just Keeps Getting Better The ... More About: Blogs
5 Products That Could Make Your Lab Life Easier
2008-04-10 09:35:00 Today I was browsing through the “new technologies” section on the Biocompare website. Apart from the amazing but super-expensive automation equipment that most of us unfortunately have little chance of getting our hands on (at least at the moment), five products caught my eye as being useful for improving techniques widely used by researchers. I ... More About: Life , Services , Products , Kits , Make
Faster, Cooler DNA gels
2008-04-09 09:35:00 All over the world, molecular biologists are tragically wasting hours of their life running DNA gels using tris-based conduction buffers like TBE or TAE. These buffers are known to overheat at high voltages, causing problems with gel integrity, sample denaturation and more. Because of this, molecular biologists are forced to keep the voltage of their gels ... More About: Cooler
5 More Tips for DNA Gel Extraction
2008-04-08 07:55:00 Problems with DNA gel extraction can be a real show-stopper since this is such a routinely used procedure. But, even if you are having no particular problems, it’s always nice to try and pick up some information that might improve your technique just that little bit. Probably for these very reasons, Suzanne’s article 10 Tips for ... More About: Molecular Biology
Antibiotics as a Carbon Source
2008-04-07 13:19:00 Here’s the context: “Eighty years after Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin on a moldy culture dish, the battle against killer bugs is faltering. More and more bacteria - including insidious tuberculosis strains that have cropped up2 - now shrug off almost all antibiotics. Meanwhile, few new antibiotics are reaching the clinic. Medicine is on the defensive, ... More About: News , History , Source , Carbon , Antibiotics
Around the Blogs
2008-04-04 01:18:00 How to prevent grant funding, musings on career choices and brain doping for scientists. It’s all in this weeks Around the Blogs .
More on the Promise of Biomedical Breakthroughs
2008-04-03 14:04:00 Following up on my post last week about Emerging Biomedical Technologies and their Promise , Nature had a timely editorial in last week’s issue. In Broken Promises, the article describes precisely the phenomenon that I was referring to: Intense public support for clinical research can be a mixed blessing ? and the hunt for a vaccine ... More About: News , History
Quick and Dirty Screening for Cloned Inserts
More articles from this author:2008-04-02 14:03:00 For identifying positive clones from a plasmid cloning procedure, the routine of performing a mini-prep and then checking the putative clones by restriction digestion is most commonly used. Of course, if you need to screen a large number of clones, another option is a colony PCR to identify positives, followed by restriction digests to confirm. However, ... More About: Dirty , Quick , Cloned , Screening 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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