A Deep Dive Into Induction with IPTG
IPTG induction is a longstanding technique in molecular biology. In this article, you’ll take a deep dive into this important application. You will learn what IPTG is, what induction is, who the main characters are, IPTG’s role in induction and the steps that take...
Top 10 GelRed Questions and Answers
Ethidium bromide (EtBr) has been the go-to product for nucleic acid staining; however, you’re probably well aware of the risks involved in using this chemical. One of the more popular, safe alternatives is GelRedTM, which GoldBio carries. If you have been doing any...
18 Questions About Getting Published During Grad School
Whether you’re already in graduate school or you’re an undergrad who will be joining a Ph.D. program soon, you probably have questions about publishing papers. One common saying in grad school is “publish or perish” but is that true? What all do you need to know to...
Team Building and Motivational Strategies for Your Lab
Life science labs come in many varieties. Some are small with just a couple people and some are very large. According to Nature, the ideal number of members in a lab is 10 to 15. While this number of people has been determined to be great for productivity, it can...
10 Tips for Acing Your Post-Doctoral Interviews
Any type of interview can be nerve-wracking and post-doctoral interviews are no exception. While they typically include the traditional interview where you allow the interviewer(s) to get to know you and answer the questions that they have, it may be conducted in a...
A Crash Course on Luciferase Assays
All right, so you’re starting a new project that requires you to use the luciferase assay, and this is your first time. You might have a lot of questions. You might also have a lot of assumptions or misconceptions. So what do you need to know in order to get started?...
The Postdoc’s Guide to Tenure-Track Positions
With tenure track positions being few and far between and thousands of applicants to each position that opens, successfully getting a permanent position as a professor requires more than just becoming the best scientist you can. Follow this guide to increase your...
What is a BSE/TSE Certificate and Why Should You Care?
TSE Certificates (Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy) come packaged with products that could potentially have TSE risk, such as BSA (Bovine Serum Albumin), but some people don’t know what the certificate means or why it is so important. If you’re shopping for...
A World in Which Papercuts Can Kill
The overuse of antibiotics has been debated in the biochemical and medical fields for decades, concern peaking in the last ten years as previously effective antibiotics prove increasingly obsolete against bacterial evolution. Opportunistic microbes can retaliate...
Better than Baking Soda: Defining the Essentials of Desiccation
Every lab has unique procedures when caring for their biochemical materials, but most teams operate on similar fundamentals. These practical methods are shared among colleagues to minimize waste and maximize chemical potential, but we usually don't discuss why our...
Ancient Family Reunion: PCR Reunites Humans to Ancestors
America’s inhabitation by humans is a discussion among archaeologists with new, compelling and contradictory data discovered each year. New methods of research and sources of information sometimes present more questions than answers, but a study has risen to clear...
Sharing with your pets: zoonotic disease and anti-microbial medicines
We normally wouldn’t consider our own pets as risks to our health. When parasites become involved, however, we must take some precautions around the animals we’ve adopted into our families.A few years ago, the Powassan virus raised species-transferable disease...
The Microbiome of the Litter Box, Cats and Human Health
Our increasing awareness of the human microbiome has promoted research on bacteria, fungi, pathogens and other microbes which coexist around and within our bodies. These unseen organisms influence our physiology and behavior. As methods and trajectories of such...
“Pipette, cry, repeat” – Advice on material/technical errors in Polymerase Chain Reaction
When you’ve conducted the same reaction a dozen times and the problem is still elusive, it’s easy to get frustrated. Simple mistakes can turn a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) reaction into a “pipette, cry, repeat” (“PCR”) situation, but simple mistakes have simple...
10 Incredibly Useful Protocol Resources for Life Scientists
When doing research, using existing protocols and modifying them to suit your experiment can save you a lot of time if you know where to search. Here are 10 great protocol databases to check out. When doing life science research, the best way to save time and increase...
Buffers Through Time: How Buffers Progress Alongside Research
Buffers are a class of solution-stabilizing molecules which existed long before contemporary lab technology. Natural buffer substances like bicarbonate and carbonic acid are manufactured by organisms and molecular interactions, functioning to maintain pH equilibrium....
Unconventional Uses of Microbes: How Bacteria Becomes Art
You don’t usually hear the word “beautiful” when discussing bacteria, but a trend among microbiologists has turned microbes into aesthetic wonders. A number of projects have repurposed bacteria for art. In one competition, the Agar Art Contest, scientists become...
A Detailed Guide to your Postdoc Application-Plus Printable Companion Checklist
Applying for postdoc positions is an important process along your journey to academia. While there are many similarities to applying for jobs in general, there are a few very important differences. To provide you with a detailed guide on how to go about finding the...
15 Ways to Prepare for a Successful Life Science Thesis Defense
After finally writing and editing your thesis, it’s time to defend. Here we discuss what steps you can take to prepare for your defense and provide some tips on how to successfully defend in front of the thesis committee. For many graduate students, the thesis defense...
Types of ELISA: Processes and Considerations
When it comes to immunological analysis, you can’t forget enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, commonly referred to as ELISAs. This process was developed to determine the presence of antibodies in a biological sample. Samples processed may be protein mixtures from a...
GoldBio’s Floating Tube Rack Contest
They come in every GoldBio order. They show up in masses at every vendor show. And they build up into a great green pile in your lab, usually near the water baths. Green, GoldBio floating tube racks – they’re everywhere!Despite their abundance, researchers have...
Fireflies: From Ancient Legend to Modern Discoveries
Insects have an established history within folklore and mythology. Butterflies, bees, scarabs and other bugs have become symbolic markers of rebirth, purity, life and death. The firefly, with its enchanting light is no exception. In ancient Amazonian mythology,...
DNase: The History Behind The Name
What is it about a name that gives us that sense of solidity, structure and instant recognition that, as humans, we seem driven to possess? From the dawn of mankind, we have endeavored in the naming of the world around us. And for the last few centuries, modern...
Featuring the Coolest Floating Tube Rack Creations
The GoldBio Floating Tube Rack is one of our more clever giveaways because of the unique purpose it serves. And, with it also being one of our most popular giveaways at shows, many labs tend to accumulate these foamy green squares – enough to come up with wild ways to...