As a freshman biology major in undergrad, I was introduced to molecular biology with the following description: Molecular biology represents the intersection of genetics, biochemistry and cell biology. Some people, it turns out, add microbiology and virology into the mix. So molecular biology is often used as a catch-all, to describe a wide breadth of interests. Read more »

Few technical breakthroughs that have changed the face of their field like the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Gene cloning, sequencing of complex genomes, DNA fingerprinting and DNA-based diagnostics are just some of the techniques that were either inefficient, crude or plain impossible before PCR. The technique has revolutionized biological research and biotechnology to such an extent that it can be considered as one of the major reasons for the boom the field has experienced over the last 20 years or so. Read more »

Gene expression is controlled at all sorts of levels in eukaryotic cells, and one of the hot areas is that of histone modifications and how they influence transcriptional accessibility on chromosomes - epigenetic regulation, as it’s called. Think of it as an analog annotation system for the cell’s genome, where each gene is wrapped up in such a way that it’s either accessible to transcriptional machinery or not. There are enzymes that add these annotations, and enzymes that remove them, which determine cell fate on one level in a sort of gene expression balancing act. Read more »

Poster presentations are a great way to show off your hard work, especially if you are just starting out in research. They are much less stressful than oral presentations, but still provide great networking opportunities and valuable practice at talking about your work. Follow these simple tips to create an attractive poster that will draw readers in and get people talking (to you!)

1. Choose your content wisely. The information you can get across on a poster is very limited. Choose a single aspect of your research that you think you can explain fully in a small amount of text and graphics and focus on that alone. Read more »

Predicting and modeling protein structure, making protein crystallography somewhat obsolete, has been an elusive science to date. Since Linus Pauling and others determined that the most favorable secondary structures are the alpha helix and beta sheet, molecular and structural biologists have sought a set of rules with which to predict a protein’s structure from its amino acid sequence.

Structure prediction is still more guesswork than anything however, even with the power of 21st century supercomputers. It is based on comparisons to previously solved structures, not on reductionist rules and laws of chemistry.

Except maybe not. Read more »

Podcasts are great. I listen to podcasts every day during my commute and find them a great way to pick up information, whether it’s to learn about a new subject, brush up on something I have studied before or keep up with the news. Here are 10 molecular and cell biology related podcasts that I hope you will find useful. Read more »

Regular readers may have noticed that the number of articles published on Bitesize Bio has been quite low. Despite this apparent lack of activity, this has been a period of big changes with next Monday seeing something of a re-launch of the site

I’ve been searching, nay hunting, for an accomplished writer to join me for about a month now, looking for someone who could offer a different perspective and style to my own to bring our readers an even greater variety of articles and insight. Enter Dan Rhoads, author of the popular Migrations blog (well worth checking out). Dan is a real mine of information, an avid reader of all things science and a really slick writer.

Between us we have been re-defining the site somewhat. From next week you can expect coverage of both molecular and cell biology topics and techniques as Dan’s more cell biology-orientated background comes to the fore. We will also have more journal club and news articles to keep you abreast of the latest developments as well as more frequent postings of the types you may have become accustomed to on Bitesize Bio.

We hope you’ll enjoy our upcoming articles, stay tuned to Bitesize Bio… and tell your friends about us. See you on Monday.

Talented, enthusiastic scientist required. Must have good organizational skills.
Do you fit the bill? With the pace of molecular biology and biochemical research quickening year on year, the importance of good organization and planning skills for researchers is becoming increasingly important. Here are 5 ways to ensure that your data is organized and easily analyzed, samples are safe and accessible and your project is carried out efficiently. Read more »

Every biologist is familiar with the profile of the rate of an enzymatic reaction versus temperature as shown in the figure. We know that enzymes from E.coli or warm-blooded animals tend to have an optimum around 37°C while those from thermal vent bacteria have much higher optimal temperatures. Surprisingly, I find that many biologists don’t have a grasp of why enzymes have these temperature profiles. Actually it’s reassuringly simple. Read more »

When heterologous gene expression goes wrong it can be a real headache. Here’s my checklist for the steps to take when you encounter problems with this dark art.

1. Check the construct by sequencing the expression cassette to make sure that everything is as you expect. A lack of expression could result from a stray stop codon. Read more »