I don’t know a lot about astronomy, but I do love to look at the stars. In grade school, we learned many constellations and the stories behind them. My dad loved looking for the planets and used to point out Mars, Jupiter and some constellations for me when I was a kid. Even though I live in an extremely light-polluted area, I still love to hunt for seasonally-visible constellations, and do my best to catch the occasional meteor shower. This year, we will get a couple of rare treats if we’re lucky. There are two comets that will be visible to the naked eye! Apparently, experts say that we are usually lucky to catch a comet with the naked eye only once every five or ten years! One is traveling close to Earth right now called C/2011 L4 a.k.a. PANSTARRS because it was discovered in June of 2011 by the Pan-STARRS telescope (source: Wikipedia). Your best chance to see it may be March 12 because it is not that bright. If you want to try to catch it, experts say you should look close to the western horizon just after sunset. You might have better luck with binoculars or a telescope, but if you’re lucky, you can catch it with your own two eyes!
If you miss out on C/2011 L4 you might get a second chance in late November when C/2012 S1 a.k.a ISON (discovered in 2012 by the International Scientific Optical Network) enters perihelion (i.e., makes its closest approach to the sun). To learn more about C/2012 S1, check out this cool Infographic at space.com.
If you want to learn more about the stars, I highly recommend visiting http://solarsystem.nasa.gov. It has lots of cool pictures, easy to understand articles and educational resources! I’ll leave you with this neat video that describes exactly where to look for these comets. It also describes the Rosetta Mission, which is attempting to orbit and land on a comet! Happy stargazing.
Yesterday I listened in on the Webinar “Getting the Most Out of Your DNA Analysis from Purification to Downstream Assays”, presented by Eric Vincent–a Product Manager in the Promega Genomics group.
This is the webinar for you if you have ever wondered about the relative advantages and disadvantages of the many methods available for DNA purification, quantitation and analysis, or if you are comparing options for low- to high-throughput DNA purification. Eric presents a clear analyses of each of the steps in a basic DNA workflow: Purification, Quantitation, Quality Determination, and Downstream Analysis, providing key considerations and detailing the potential limitations of the methods commonly used at each step.
The DNA purification method chosen has an affect on the quality and integrity of the DNA isolated, and can therefore affect performance in downstream assays. Accuracy of quantitation also affects success, and the various downstream assays themselves (such as end-point PCR, qPCR, and sequencing) each have different sensitivities to factors such as DNA yield, quality, and integrity, and the presence of inhibitors. (more…)
February is Black History Month and, although in a perfect world all history would be equally acknowledged, this is a perfect opportunity to talk about Black scientists and inventors. I told you about entrepreneurs Madame C.J. Walker and Annie Malone and their work in the hair care business a few months ago. (Note: I will link to several other websites in this post, so when you see green letters with a dotted underline, click to learn more!) (more…)
Did you know that Promega.com is a great place to visit for information about techniques, hot topics in molecular biology and other general information for laboratory scientists?
For instance, we have a multimedia library where you can view basic information on cell culture techniques, PCR, how to set up a vacuum manifold, and even an introduction to transfection.
Quantitative PCR (qPCR) and reverse transcription qPCR (RT-qPCR) are useful tools in laboratories around the world for absolute or relative quantification of DNA or RNA targets from biological samples. Once you understand the basic principles and have optimized the reaction and cycling parameters, these techniques tend to be rapid, accurate and easy-to-perform—makes me wish that qPCR and RT-qPCR were more commonplace when I worked in the lab and used radioactive Northern blots to quantitate my gene of interest. This is clearly another case of “If only I had known then what I know now”. While I’m no longer working in the lab, it’s not too late for you to benefit from a good introduction to qPCR and RT-qPCR, and on January 15, 2013, that’s exactly what one Promega Research and Development Scientist presented: A webinar entitled “Optimize Your qPCR and RT-qPCR Assays with Careful Planning and Design”. (more…)
