Articles by Wendy Gloffke

Courtesy of Applied Biosystems  THE TAQMAN PROCEDURE: Applied Biosystems' TaqMan procedure relies on the 5'-to-3' exonuclease activity of Taq polymerase. The TaqMan probe bears a fluoro-phore at the 5' end and a quencher on the 3' end, rendering the molecule non-fluorescent. During amplification, the probe binds to the template between the two PCR primers. When the polymerase encounters the probe, it starts chewing away at the end, releasing the fluorophore into solution, where it is free

Protein phosphorylation is a key regulatory signaling event that can activate or deactivate protein function and regulate critical biochemical pathways. Phosphospecific antibodies represent research windows into those pathways: They allow researchers to determine where and when a protein is phosphorylated and how these modifications affect protein function and interactions. Typically, a researcher probes a Western blot with phosphospecific antibodies to obtain a profile of protein phosphoryla

Victoria, Australia-based IATIA Ltd., in conjunction with the University of Melbourne, has commercialized a versatile and highly cost-effective way to dramatically enhance the capabilities of conventional light microscopes. Quantitative Phase Microscopy (QPm) enables a standard bright field microscope to perform tasks usually handled by several different, specialized instruments. QPm is the brainchild of University of Melbourne physics professor Keith Nugent, whose proprietary algorithm based on

BD Biosciences-Discovery Labware's BD BioCoat™ Angiogenesis System for Endothelial Cell Invasion puts an end to the repetitious plate washing, manual cell scraping, and tedious cell counting associated with traditional in vitro cell culture insert methods. Designed to be automation friendly, the patented system allows for nondestructive, real-time evaluation and quantitation of endothelial cell invasion. The BD BioCoat Angiogenesis System combines the properties of two of the Bedford, Ma

In most labs, refrigerator and freezer storage space are commodities as valuable as oceanfront real estate. Naturally, the death of one of these appliances incites nothing less than a panic, because all of those precious samples have to go someplace cold, and quickly. Now researchers can eliminate hours of worry and frustration with just a few minutes' work, using CloneSaver™ 96 cards from Clifton, N.J.-based Whatman Bioscience. Used as either a primary or backup storage system, these card