General DNA Processes The general public wasn’t too familiar with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and antigen tests before the COVID-19 pandemic. The intricacies of both types of testing may still be a mystery to some folks—for many, the type of test that mattered was the one required by their employer or school. For example, in [...]
DNA testing is widely used today in DNA testing laboratories for several applications. Persons can purchase a take-home DNA test to learn more about their heritage and ancestry. Government officials can apprehend criminals based on matches between DNA found at crime scenes and stored in DNA databases. Patients can undergo genetic testing to see if [...]
The pH meter for your lab is one of your most important pieces of equipment. What does a pH meter measure? The function of a pH meter is to measure the alkalinity and acidity of laboratory samples. Like with any equipment, not all pH meters are created equally, and some are better suited for different [...]
What is synthetic biology? According to the National Human Genome Research Institute, synthetic biology is “a field of science that involves redesigning organisms for useful purposes by engineering them to have new abilities.” Often called syn-bio, the field is helpful in several applications, such as manufacturing, agriculture, and medicine. Syn-bio allows this redesigning of organisms [...]
What is a microbial colony picker used for? This machine is used in the culturing of microbial samples in instances where researchers wish to select a certain colony and then duplicate it. There are many applications in which colony picking is used, including DNA sequencing, synthetic biology (syn-bio), anaerobic species selection for microbiome studies, clinical [...]
Many people are now familiar with the term “PCR” or PCR test results, as a PCR test is the most common way to detect the presence of COVID-19. However, most people make a choice between PCR or an antigen test, and that’s the extent of their knowledge. Polymerase chain reaction, also known as PCR, is [...]
PCR tests have long been used to see genetic changes and diagnose infectious diseases. The test takes many copies of a DNA sample, allowing researchers to obtain a small sequence of DNA that can be amplified to study the DNA in greater detail. While this type of test became widely known during the COVID-19 pandemic [...]
When bacteria are cultured on solid media, it grows in formations called colonies. A bacterial colony is a cluster of cells derived from the same mother cell. They are fascinating microcosms that can reveal a wealth of information about the microorganisms that inhabit them. Microbiologists often use bacterial colonies to study bacterial populations' growth and [...]
What is a Transformation in Biology? Synthetic biology’s future depends highly on the applications being used for research and discovery. Complete workflow solutions aid in cell line production, which is an integral piece of one type of synthetic biology—cellular agriculture. If you’re wondering, “how did they create synthetic meat?,” the answer is synthetic biology. Synthetic [...]
The process of transformation has been instrumental in the field of molecular biology, allowing scientists to better understand genes and their functions. Read on to explore what a transformation is in biology, the history of transformation biology, and which new technologies rely on this biological process. What is a Transformation in Biology? A transformation is [...]
