Join Us
Sign up for our feature-packed newsletter today to ensure you get the latest expert help and advice to level up your lab work.
Search below to delve into the Bitesize Bio archive. Here, you’ll find over two decades of the best articles, live events, podcasts, and resources, created by real experts and passionate mentors, to help you improve as a bioscientist. Whether you’re looking to learn something new or dig deep into a topic, you’ll find trustworthy, human-crafted content that’s ready to inspire and guide you.
…impossible without good aseptic technique. The main principle of good microbiological practice is a zero tolerance approach: it’s good to be a little paranoid about maintaining sterile conditions. If in…
…indeed! Good aseptic technique is often accompanied by some healthy paranoia (DON’T TOUCH MY BUGS WITH YOUR BUGGY HANDS!) but there are times when you need to quench your burning desire…
…being free from biological contaminants. Aseptic technique will ensure that only the things you want to grow in your culture will. If you are mindful of sources of contamination and…
…To combat this problem, sterility and aseptic technique are some of your most critical allies. Sterilize Your Bacterial Culture Tools Before Use! You can easily sterilize utensils, liquids and agar…
…a difficult technique. Flash forward to a few weeks later and I was confidently undertaking bone marrow isolation. Learning a new technique is always daunting, but with practice and a…
…tell you this is the only way. Therefore, there is some wiggle room in keeping your cell lines and techniques aseptic. Leave the Cap Lids Face Up or Down? Depending…
…while you authenticate them. It’s a good idea to give your aseptic technique the occasional tune-up as well. A good aseptic technique will ensure you don’t contaminate your other cultures…
…of them and watches their aseptic technique. If you do decide to buy them though, shop around as some are available through third party sites like Amazon and eBay and…
…called donor dequenching, this technique measures increased donor emission when the acceptor is photobleached. Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy FRET (FLIM FRET) – This technique detects fluorescence lifetime changes of donor….
SAGE, or serial analysis of gene expression, is a technique that enables you to digitally analyze the entire gene expression profile of a cell(s). Before this technique, scientists were limited…
…of a result (from laboratory technique and environment to instruments), the field of “measurement systems analysis” can become a critical means of trusting one’s data. The purpose of this article…
…a sequence treated with bisulfite, every cytosine we find is from a methylated spot. Whole Genome Bisulfite Sequencing Whole Genome Bisulfite Sequencing (WGBS) is a great technique that shows the…
The first thing you learn about culturing cells is proper aseptic technique and avoiding contamination. After that you’ll learn all the ins and outs of culturing your project’s specific cell…
…Air is HEPA-filtered as it is drawn into the cabinet and is also filtered upon exhaust. Because filtered air is circulated throughout the cabinet, aseptic procedures can be performed preventing…
…aseptic techniques (washing your hands, wearing gowns and gloves, and using disposable pipettes, for example), you can help save off these common lab bugs. How do you prevent cell culture…
…vigorous mixing used for liquid cultures promotes phage reinfection, so it is better to use plates (freshly made under aseptic conditions) to isolate uninfected bacteria from your culture. Repeatedly streak…
…clean If you’re good about cleaning the incubator regularly, then the risk of contamination is significantly lowered. But good aseptic technique is also required to bring it down as much…
…field involving cell work, courses in cell culture and aseptic technique are a must. The earlier you take them the better. It just becomes second nature. Also, communication is essential…
…and sometimes time can be as valuable as money! Keep your solutions clean – this is especially important in areas such as cell culture. Use aseptic technique and autoclave where…
…the Mr. Sheen out! However, in the absence of antimicrobial agents, nothing beats good ol’ fashioned aseptic technique. Ensure you work cleanly, effectively and safely within the tissue culture hood….
…tissue culture hood and set them up logically so you aren’t passing over the ‘clean’ area with dirty equipment. 4. Ensure you use aseptic technique throughout to minimize potential contamination…
…is assuming you have good aseptic technique. The CloneJET PCR Cloning Kit and the Zero Blunt® Cloning Kit both utilize this technique. 2) Host cells contain the gene for the…
…everything that goes into the cell culture hood must be sterilized, and once in the hood, you must use good sterile/aseptic technique to prevent cross-contamination. In short, spray everything with…
…bacteria/mediator in the appropriate volume of media for each condition, following bacteriological sterile technique. Set up your paraphernalia in the dedicated infection tissue culture cabinet. The same standards of sterility…
…when you order! 6. Antibiotics Many labs include antibiotics in their cell cultures to prevent unwanted bacterial or fungal growth, even when practicing aseptic technique. The most popular choice of…
…keep in mind that while aseptic technique and daily wipe downs diminish the majority of contaminant growth, they are not the final line of defense. This article describes the extra…
…any successful cell culture is consistency and an excellent aseptic technique to avoid infection. However, even if you are an absolute cell culture wizard, you can’t always avoid a mycoplasma infection. Mycoplasma can…
…answer is no. Unless you are deriving mESCs from embryos, there is no need for antibiotics, which should never be used as a substitute for good aseptic technique. Do I…
…start. If the anaerobic tent is used as a sterile environment, make sure that it stays that way—prepare your materials appropriately and practice aseptic technique as necessary. 2. Do not…
…Bear These 3 Points in Mind Aseptic technique should be used when isolating and pipetting RNA solutions—clean the bench with an RNase inactivating solution (bleach or hydrogen peroxide also work…
Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) is a molecular technique developed by MRC-Holland back in 2002. In a nutshell, MLPA is a sensitive technique that allows quantification of nucleic acid sequences,…
…earth still does that?” “Maybe for a very, very specific use,” conjectured one of the scientists. When I asked the scientist who taught me the technique a very long time…
Sample analysis is at the heart of biological research, driving discoveries in genetics, proteomics, and drug development. Yet, there’s one technique that is often overlooked, despite already being in many…
…a complex RNA sample using a radio-labelled DNA probe. Alwine couldn’t resist the temptation to call his technique the northern blot in an allusion to Southern’s technique, raising a chuckles…
…The growing number of live-cell imaging techniques means you can obtain greater amounts of information without stressing out your cells (or yourself). In order to make the choice of which technique is…
…the best one for your analyte. What Is Mass Spectrometry? A Brief Recap You might be wondering—a technique that measures mass! Isn’t that the job of a chemical balance? Yep….
Virtually every research scientist has a use for sterile technique in the lab, whether you study infectious microorganisms, do tissue culture, or use E. coli for cloning. Good sterile technique…
…of Köhler illumination and how to set up the microscope to achieve optimal imaging results. What is Köhler illumination? Before discussing this technique, let us go back to the late…
What Does Acid-Fast Stain? Acid-fast stain (AF) is an important special staining technique used in the histology lab. This is a differential stain used to identify acid-fast bacterial organisms, such…
…shift in mobility. This is a useful technique when you have no idea what kind of modification to expect, as many modifications may cause a shift (such as ubiquitin ladders…
The eBook with top tips from our Researcher community.