Since plants cannot move, they face many environmental stresses. Plants have to deal with changes in light, humidity, drought, or cold. And if that was not enough, they still have to fight against all kinds of pathogens. The stress in plants can be categorized as...

Electrophoresis is a technique where similarly charged molecules in a mixture flow in the same direction using an electric field, and the molecules are separated based on size.In this method, separation of the molecular components of the mixture is strictly based on...

When people feel sick, they usually rest to recover. If it’s very severe, a person will schedule see their doctor, and then the doctor will identify the infection and come up with a treatment plan.In the absence of knowledge about the specific pathogen causing the...

We often hear, "you are what you eat." However, we are feeding a lot more than just ourselves when we eat. Trillions of microbes live in our guts and help us digest our food. What’s more fascinating is that we influence each other.The food type we consume modifies...

We are not alone. Trillions of microbes live in our bodies and are concentrated mainly in our gut. Because of the significance of this number, the microbiome is sometimes thought of as an "extra organ" (Tommova et al. 2019).Interestingly, although humans are about...

Alexander Fleming could not have imagined that his discovery of penicillin in 1928 would create the basis for the “antibiotics revolution.”Though antibiotics saved millions of lives by killing pathogens, new research shows their antibacterial effects also impact...

Invasive plants can literally swallow your garden in a few weeks. How do they do that? That question is being explored through microbiome research. As with animals and humans, plants also interact symbiotically with microbes in their life.The reason researchers are...

Microbes are everywhere. In your body, in your bedsheets, in the air, and even in your food.For a long time, the idea of germs and bacteria was considered a bad thing – potentially harmful to plants, animals and us. However, thanks to researchers studying the concept...

Our guts cannot break down certain types of foods like fibers on its own. Bacteria residing in our colon have to ferment fibers to make these foods become digestible.Essentially, what you eat is what microbes eat. So, your gut relies on these tiny microbes to digest...

As the old saying goes, the dog is indeed “man’s best friend.”Annals of history and folklore have depicted the human-canine bond as a profound relationship cemented in the virtues of love and trust that traces back to time immemorial.From cave paintings to parchment...

Picture yourself staying a winter night in the middle of the Arctic or lying in boiling thermal water with no protection or shelter.It’s not possible – not for us anyway. However, it can be entirely possible for certain microbes to spend their lives in extreme...

PCR probes are DNA or RNA sequences labeled with a reporter molecule. The reporter is a molecule that emits fluorescence when hybridized to the target sequence.These probes are used in quantitative and real-time PCR methods such as qPCR or quantitative PCR, which...

n biotechnology and biology, a gelling agent is a reagent added to liquid media to make cell culture media solid or semi-solid. Gelling agents are important in cell and tissue culture because they provide a structured support for growth.Gelatin was the first gelling...

Researchers usually encounter two problems when working with gelling agents. They are clumping, and vitrification.Clumping is fairly understood. Clumping occurs when clumps of gelling particles are formed.Vitrification, or hyperhyricity, occurs when the culture media...

The analysis of RNA sequences has evolved from measuring single transcripts using gel electrophoresis and PCR methods to measuring millions of RNA sequences obtained using high throughput sequencing approaches.We will take a deeper dive into modern RNA analysis using...

Choosing a gelling agent depends on your needs for your in vitro culture medium. Factors to consider when deciding are transparency, level of impurities, melting and gelling temperature, gel strength, and cost. A gelling agent or solidifier is used to prepare...

ew research is using plant cell suspensions as biofactories to produce commercially important products like pharmaceutical molecules, pigments, fragrances, flavors, and others.However, optimizing a plant cell suspension protocol is not always easy, and there are three...

Just like humans, our cats and dogs also have a gut microbiome. And just like us, their microbiome affects their health. Yet our pets never wash their hands, never bathe daily, and they don’t choose their food independently. It is well recognized that a higher...

Whether you’re new to plant research, need a refresher or are coming in from another area of research, we’re providing a quick overview on plant explants and calli (callus – singular).Figure 1. Examples of plant calli and plant explants A plant explant is a fragment...

A plant cell suspension culture is a liquid culture where cells from a soft or friable callus divide and multiply. Plant cell suspension cultures are used to obtain secondary metabolites in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, or used in the food industry.Researchers use plant...

How do you know if the RNA in your sample is good enough for downstream analysis?An easy, affordable way to verify the RNA quality is through agarose gel electrophoresis. Keep in mind, gel electrophoresis can show different results that need interpretation....

Indeed, the history of the human-canine bond dates back several millennia. Over centuries, the modern dog has evolved to be “man’s best friend.”Dogs bring us joy and make us feel happy, but there is also real science to this – real biochemical events happening when we...

When performing a qPCR or RT-qPCR, a PCR probe is usually used to detect the target sequence using fluorescence.However, there are several PCR probes commercially available.This article will provide a deeper look into the different types of PCR probes and their...

Studying and experimenting on proteins have become a mainstay of modern bioscience.In this article we will take a quick glance at the fundamentals of protein biochemistry. In this article:What are proteins?A word on amino acidsPeptide bond: the road to polypeptide...