Jim Metherall, associate professor of genetics at the University of Utah, got his first robot in the mid-1990s while buried by a project on cholesterol homeostasis. "We were trying to clone a gene by complementing a mutation in mammalian cells, and we couldn't do it with an entire cDNA library, because the signal-to-noise was too low," Metherall explains. So he broke the library into small pools, isolated DNA, and then tested each pool for activity.
For Advertisers
Robotics for the Small Scale
Five questions to see if you're ready to automate.
(continued >>)
To continue reading this full article, you must be a subscriber to The Scientist.
You are only a few minutes away from unlimited access.
If you already have an online subscription, please Log-In Now.
New to The Scientist? Register to get access to a selection of our content, interactive features and useful tools free without a subscription.
New to The Scientist? Register to get access to a selection of our content, interactive features and useful tools free without a subscription.
Subscribe to The Scientist to get unlimited access to our premium content
Get unlimited access to this article and over 20 years of The Scientist archives. You won’t miss a word – all for as little as $4.95. Subscribe now.The Scientist offers site licenses to institutions and organizations. Recommend us to your librarian and get online access through your place or work or study.