Isolating pure DNA is key to many downstream applications for molecular biologists.  Isolating large quantities of pure DNA used to be a laborious task.  But thanks to commercially available kits, older methods have been streamlined to allow efficient recovery of pure DNA. In this article, I will talk about a method called DNA gel extraction, [...]

Last week I used a bit of math to show you how spectrophotometry works to measure nucleic acid concentration and purity. This week I am going to talk about how fluorescence is used two different ways to analyze nucleic acids. Spectrofluorometry Nucleic acids can bind fluorescent dyes such as Hoechst or PicoGreen™ (specific for dsDNA). [...]

So you’ve isolated your DNA or RNA from your favorite sample. And now, if you are anything like me, the first thing you’ll do is scramble to check the quality and concentration of your extract. You have a few different options at your disposal to perform this crucial analysis, which will let you know whether [...]

Ribonucleases (RNases). We’ve been giving them a hard time here lately. We’ve been talking about how they are the bane of the lives of of researchers who work with RNA. And we’ve told you how to find their weaknesses and shown you a myriad of weapons that you can use to kick their RNase butts. [...]

If you want a more efficient, cheaper way to transform bacteria, if using a small DIY cannon to create a shockwave that forces bacteria to take up DNA from its surroundings sounds like your type of fun (if not, why not?!), you are definitely going to like this article. In a study published in 2011, Dipshikha [...]

A couple of weeks ago, Nick talked about the baddie superhero-like powers of RNases: omnipotent, destructive and seemingly indestructible. However, like all supervillans, they have weaknesses that we can use to defeat them. And today I’d like to talk in more detail about those weapons you have at your disposal to help you kick RNase [...]

Labs across the world spend a great deal of money on commercially manufactured Taq polymerase for PCR every year. But you don’t have to: Many labs choose to save money by making their own Taq (and Pfu for that matter) for routine applications. This post is not intended to provide a step-by-step protocol for making [...]

The value of PCR to forensics has been known for a long time; but now, getting purified DNA and RNA samples from soil and fecal samples is becoming more important and commonplace as tests for environmental impacts, disease spread, and even biomarkers for colon cancer become more prevalent. And if you thought getting nucleic acids [...]

Whereas DNA can survive for millennia, RNA is short-lived, which is a bummer if you are trying to isolate it. The reason – as we discussed recently – is that RNA is prone to degradation by enzymes called RNases. Therefore, isolation of total RNA from cells and tissues requires a method that will efficiently isolate [...]

RNases are like the baddie super-heroes amongst laboratory enzymes. They are omnipotent, destructive and seemingly indestructible. This is because they were created by evil overlords, for the sole purpose making life difficult for the brave scientists who battle every day to produce high quality, intact RNA preps. Ok, I’m joking about the overlords part.  But [...]