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Basically, you choose a gel based on two main factors: how high you need the resolution to be and what is in your samples. To make the choice simpler, I made a handy chart describing the differences between them.
*Pulsed field electrophoresis is a technique in which the direction of current flow in the electrophoresis chamber is periodically altered. This allows fractionation of pieces of DNA ranging from 50, 000-5 millon bp.
Use this chart to help you understand the differences between the two gel types and your samples will be running like athletes in no time!
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POSTER
Top 10 Tips for Proper Pipette Care
A neglected tool can easily play havoc with your experiments and ruin results. Download our handy poster to get top tips on proper pipette care. Stick it up in the lab to help remind yourself and any fellow lab mates how to look after this vital lab tool.
Keeping your pipette clean and sparkling is critical. After all a contaminated pipette could ruin your precious samples in the lab! Download our cheat sheet to get a simple guide to cleaning your pipette. Stick it up in the lab to help remind yourself how to look after this vital lab tool.
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You can really tell when Honours Project students start working in the lab on their projects: the pH meter probe is suddenly floating in water and the weighing area is a mess, because nobody had time to explain “the weighing etiquette”. Fret no more! We will spell it out and you can print it out…
Run to red! It’s a mantra I learned when first using gel electrophoresis to separate DNA molecules. This can save you a lot of frustration and humiliation in the lab (stage right: a complaining scientist who swears the equipment is broken as a supervisor facepalms in embarrassment). But what about how does this jell-o like…
As a researcher, it’s satisfying to manage your own projects and do the bench work yourself. After all, if you don’t have experience with a technique, you’re usually expected to figure it out (with or without direct supervision). In some situations, dealing with difficult molecular techniques is simply part of the job description. The scientific…
Did you know that there are many alternatives to the animal-derived products we use in the lab? Read more for how and why you might want to make the switch.
A lot of chemical reagents are relatively non-hazardous.But there are just as many that are extremely hazardous, which means you’ll want to take precautions to reduce any risk of exposure, repeated exposure, and of course, accidental contamination of anything – or anyone – that walks out of the lab at the end of the day….
Gel and blot imaging has come a long way. Film gave you sensitivity but slowed you down with darkrooms and inconsistent results. Camera systems sped things up but still left you fighting noise and limited dynamic range. Laser imaging now gives you cleaner signals, sharper focus, and far more flexibility across sample types.
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