Skip to main content

Notebook

Cal Takes The Field For ALSPrized Pizza The Digital MerckThe Whole Kit And Kaboodle Immortal GenesIndia Joins MacArthur Leaders Extraordinary ExpeditionsTourette Training Grants On September 6, Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr. broke the consecutive-games-played record of 2,130 set by Lou Gehrig, the New York Yankees first-baseman who died in 1941 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) -- now known as Lou Gehrig's disease. To honor Gehrig, 260 one-time, $5,000 seats were sold along

| 7 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
7:00

What is the best method for isolating DNA in a clinical lab? A recent survey of 75 laboratories conducted by BioInformatics Inc. -- a Bethesda, Md.-based business research firm serving the biotech industry -- found that less than half of the respondents used prepackaged kits. For the study, three major segments of the overall clinical market were surveyed: clinical hospitals, university medical centers, and large reference labs performing molecular testing. BioInformatics found that only 48 percent of those questioned purchased commercial isolation kits. The use of kits was most prevalent in hospitals (57 percent) and universities (56 percent), which valued convenience and ease of use, according to the research firm. Those respondents that did not use kits reported that they were skeptical that commercial methods can achieve the same level of performance as noncommercial methods, which cost less. The study also found that few labs are using a combination of ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!
Already a member?
Add The Scientist as a preferred source on Google

Add The Scientist as a preferred Google source to see more of our trusted coverage.

Published In

Related articles background image
August 2026 Digest cover
August 2026

Epic Fail: Sea-Monkeys Sabotage Fieldwork

When Barry Hicks set out to photograph thrombolites, thousands of unexpected visitors photobombed his underwater images.

View this Issue
Improving rAAV Production for Viral Vector Manufacturing

Improving rAAV Production for Viral Vector Manufacturing

cytiva logo
Advancing Respiratory Immunity Through Tissue-Resident Memory T Cell Research

Advancing Respiratory Immunity Through Tissue-Resident Memory T Cell Research

Miltenyi
Scientist holding a clear 384-well PCR microplate in a laboratory

What Dictates PCR Success Before Amplification Begins?

Integra Logo
Overcoming Immunotherapy Resistance in Liver Cancer

Overcoming Immunotherapy Resistance in Liver Cancer

Axion Biosystems

Products

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Launches European Newsletter Campaign with Exclusive Welcome Gifts

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Launches SuperNuclease ® Pro with Free Trial Program

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Launches Precisely Characterized Full-Length p-Tau217 Protein to Advance Next-Generation Alzheimer’s Biomarker Assay Development

A photo of a scientist placing the Resipher device on a 96-well plate.

Resipher: Continuous Live-Cell Mitochondrial Respiration Monitoring in 96-Well Plates

Lucid Scientific logo