Features
The Automated DNA Sequencer
Alison McCook(amccook@the-scientist.com) | Aug 28, 2005 | 8 min read
As a graduate student at Stanford University in the early 1990s, Jonathan Eisen convinced a friend with access to one of the first automated DNA sequencers to run 10,000 base pairs for him.
Blast
Anne Harding(aharding@the-scientist.com) | Aug 28, 2005 | 8 min read
You've just cloned and sequenced a gene, but you don't know what it does.
The DNA Microarray
Lissa Harris(lharris@the-scientist.com) | Aug 28, 2005 | 8 min read
The late 1980s were heady days for molecular biologists.
The Yeast Two-hybrid Assay
Mark Greener(mgreener@the-scientist.com) | Aug 28, 2005 | 8 min read
No protein is an island.
Maldi
Aileen Constans(aconstans@the-scientist.com) | Aug 28, 2005 | 9 min read
that's the basic concept behind MALDI, an ionization technique developed in the late 1980s to enable mass spectrometric analysis of large biomolecules.
Microfluidics
Megan Stephan(mstephan@the-scientist.com) | Aug 28, 2005 | 8 min read
Jerry Radich is looking for a needle in a haystack, and he's counting on a microfluidics device to help him find it.
The Optical Trap
Don Monroe | Aug 28, 2005 | 8 min read
When Art Ashkin, Steve Chu, and their colleagues at Bell Labs in Holmdel, NJ, first invented optical tweezers, they spent their days pushing around tiny, glass spheres.
About Us
Meet This Issue's Contributors
Meet This Issue's Contributors
spent almost 20 years developing technology at Bell Labs.
Editorial
Seven Cheers for Technology
Seven Cheers for Technology
In 1986, the year in which the automated DNA sequencer was invented, GenBank held a scant 9.6 million bases.
Letter
An "intelligent design thesis?"
An "intelligent design thesis?"
A recent article on the situation about a PhD candidate at The Ohio State University, who is also a high school biology teacher, says the dissertation "pits evolutionary science against intelligent design" and involves high school students exposure to "whether evolution should be taught alongside intelligent design."1 I am on the dissertation committee and can say that the dissertation never mentioned intelligent design. Instead, it evaluated high school students' reactions to a state approved c
Misrepresenting intelligent design
Misrepresenting intelligent design
," based on a book I co-authored, Randall Kremer, the museum's director of public affairs commented, "The scientific content for the most part is accurate.
Scientific knowledge as a public good
Scientific knowledge as a public good
I greatly appreciate Dana Dalrymple's comments regarding the value of scientific knowledge as a public good.1 I want to point out another value of scientific research – that is, its role in education. Having students participate in research is not a new concept; indeed, this has long been the basis of graduate education and, at many institutions, research projects have served as capstone experiences for undergraduate science students. What is exciting is the way research is now being incor
Central dogma: The clinical view
Central dogma: The clinical view
makes it clear that any form of current classical one-by-one gene status assessment will not be adequately informative to assess an actual patient's genetic risks.
Opinion
Why Do We Invoke Darwin?
Why Do We Invoke Darwin?
Darwin's theory of evolution offers a sweeping explanation of the history of life, from the earliest microscopic organisms billions of years ago to all the plants and animals around us today.
Notebook
Venter buys history
Venter buys history
J. Craig Venter's part in the race to sequence the human genome secured him a place in the history books.
Bacteria hitch an ambulance ride
Bacteria hitch an ambulance ride
The average British ambulance is hardly what you'd call spacious, with an interior volume measuring about 12 cubic meters.
Hi. You've got anthrax
Hi. You've got anthrax
Michelle Ledgister was hopping mad over losing a property tax exemption on a home she owns and rents out near Boca Raton, Fla.
How It Works
How It Works | Automated DNA Sequencer
How It Works | Automated DNA Sequencer
Sequencers have come a long way since 1986.
How It Works | BLAST
How It Works | BLAST
It's common knowledge that BLAST's Web interface puts the power of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) on users' desktops.
How It Works | Microarray Scanner
How It Works | Microarray Scanner
Microarrays are nothing without their scanners, the instruments that extract the array's data in computer-readable form.
How It Works | Yeast Two-Hybrid Assay
How It Works | Yeast Two-Hybrid Assay
The ultimate realization of the yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) assay is the interactome.
How It Works | MALDI-TOF/TOF
How It Works | MALDI-TOF/TOF
It's been 20 years since Hillenkamp and Karas developed MALDI.
How It Works | Lab-on-a-Chip
How It Works | Lab-on-a-Chip
With their tiny reaction volumes and parallel architecture, lab-on-a-chip systems promise to lower the cost and raise the quality of life science research.
How It Works | Optical Trap
How It Works | Optical Trap
Unlike the other technologies highlighted in this issue, optical trapping systems are not typically purchased off-the-shelf.
Reverse Transcript
Rebel with a Lab
Rebel with a Lab
Bruce Lahn has always been something of a rebel.