Articles by Lissa Harris

Geneticists subject to late-night bouts of inspiration generally have to write down their good ideas.

they have been a boon to scientists.

Microarrays present researchers with something of a catch-22: In order to find something, you have to know what you're looking for.

Most commercially available reagents for RNAi are synthetic oligos, which can yield good results with immortalized cell lines but are less effective in hard-to-transfect primary cells.

The late 1980s were heady days for molecular biologists.

recently released the GenomeLab GeXP Genetic Analysis System.

The power and promise of microarrays are vast.

With the April 2005 release of its Little Dipper Microarray Processing System, Sunnyvale, Calif.-based SciGene has now completed its benchtop system for automated microarray processing from hybridization through slide drying, bringing a higher degree of standardization and simplicity to what can be a complicated process.

Kinases, the enzymes that catalyze phosphorylation events, have been implicated in hundreds of different diseases, including cancer, inflammatory diseases, and neurological disorders.

THE CULTURE WITHIN:Photo courtesy of Drs. C.C. Uphoff and H.G. Drexler, DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganism and Cell Cultures, Braunschweig, GermanyHeLa cell line infected with Mycoplasma hyorhinis. Scanning electron micrograph of critical point-dried cell culture grown on cover slips. Note the loop- and rod-like mycoplasmas attached to the host cell membrane. Smaller web-like structures on the cell surface represent microvilli of the cell. Original magnification 3,000×.Mycoplasmas have

offers a new tool for researchers who want the flexibility of ELISA, without the increased error rate involved with running a separate test for each sample.

has built an entire company around its Dynabeads, which are tiny paramagnetic particles that bind target cells, proteins, or nucleic acids, and can be removed in seconds with a magnet once their work is done.

Scientists are not known for staying put. With as much as 20% of the life sciences workforce switching labs each year, product manufacturers' mailing lists are as labile as proteins at room temperature.Enter i-kode http://www.i-kode.com, a new service from Nottingham, UK-based Ikon Informatix. I-kode helps scientists keep their contact information and research interests up-to-date, select vendors from which they want mailings, and gain control over their junk mail."It really puts them in control

Courtesy of ExiqonWith the launch of its new ProbeLibrary kits, Danish biotech firm Exiqon http://www.exiqon.com seeks to simplify real-time PCR. Typically 30 to 35 bases long, PCR probes must be ordered individually from their manufacturers. Exiqon's kits, however, based on locked nucleic acid (LNA) technology, give researchers a ready-to-use library that they can keep in their freezers. (LNAs are bicyclic DNA analogs that exhibit high thermal stability and affinity towards complementary sequen

Courtesy of LeicaLeica Microsystems http://www.leica-microsystems.com, Bannockburn, Ill., has released the DM6000 B, the latest in its new DM line of digital research microscopes. The system includes a host of automated features: an automatic recall function for all settings, fully automated interference contrast, a five-step fluorescence intensity manager, and single-key switching between contrasting techniques, all designed to reduce the tedium of research microscopy, says product manager Jill