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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.
Making good quality electrocompetent E. coli is very easy. One morning’s work (with a bit of work ahead of time) is all it takes.
HEK293 cells are one of the most commonly used cell lines. But what are they? Why should you use them? And what does the ‘293’ mean?
Discover how the luciferase reporter assay works and how to get starting using it in your research.
Want to use Gateway cloning or having trouble using this technology? Find out how it works and get helpful tips to increase your success.
Need to brush up on your alternative splicing knowledge? We’re here to help with our guide to this splicing mechanism.
Discover how to easily draw proteins and nucleic acids using molecular visualization tools with our step-by-step tutorial.
We show you how to get organized and develop a system to stay on top of your literature reviews.
Discover the critical considerations when choosing a fluorescent protein, the key features of those most commonly used, and why newer might be better.
Want to know not only if your proteins bind but quantify the interaction? We walk you through how to perform a quantitative yeast two-hybrid assay.
Do you know your transfections from your transductions? We explain the differences between three of the most commonly used ways of introducing foreign DNA.
Excess detergent in your membrane proteins samples can cause you serious headaches. We’ve got you covered with 6 ways you can remove excess detergent from membrane proteins.
Discover what you need for successful DNA precipitation and how to choose between ethanol and isopropanol solvents.
Baffled by all the safety signs in your lab? Here we give you an overview of the most common lab safety signs and tips on best practices for keeping safe.
Knowing how SDS-PAGE works means that you can troubleshoot any issues in your experiment and tweak the setup to get publication-worthy figures. Find out how it works here.
How you fix your tissue or cells can affect your results, for better or for worse. Discover the key points to think about before undertaking your histology fixation.
Discover the history of histology, from the first mention of a cell in 1665 to the identification and development of various stains.
Discover seven common histology mistakes and how you can avoid making them when performing your experiments.
How do you know when your bacterial culture is “done” growing? Read on to learn how to monitor bacterial growth using OD600 measurements, and how to figure out when you should harvest your culture.
Looking to engineer a crystal? Here are some key parameters to optimize to give you the maximum chance of success at crystallizing protein DNA–complexes.
Deciding to quit graduate school is a tough decision. But people have gone before you (and survived): get their advice on how to exit gracefully here.
Immunohistochemistry isn’t just a useful clinical tool, it also has great applications as a basic research tool. We’ll walk you through the immunohistochemistry basics to get you off to a flying start.
Do you know what that NA number is on your objective? We walk you through what the numerical aperture is and why it’s important.
There are a large number of microscope objective abbreviations relating to optical aberrations; here we’ll shed some light on some of the most common ones to get you up to speed in no time!
Are you finding the variety of available yeast media overwhelming? Read our guide to understand what’s in each and which is right for your fungus.
Do hemocytometers look scary and complicated with their multiple tiny squares, boxes, and grids? Take a look at our article and see how easy it actually is to use a hemocytometer.
Live imaging of phagocytosis helps capture the details of this dynamic process. Discover tips and tricks to visualizing this important cellular process.
Mass spectrometry can feel intimidating. Read this easy-to-follow guide to demystify mass spectrometry and learn how it can help your research.
Cryopreservation is crucial to the long-term maintenance of cells, so it’s important that you’re clued up on your freeze–thaw cycles. Check out our top tips for freezing and thawing cells.
Learn how the Point Spread Function affects what you see through your microscope and discover what you can do to improve your images.
Alkaline lysis for plasmid isolation? That’s like the ABCs in a molecular biology lab. Read this detailed article to understand the process behind this common technique.
If you need a multi-gene knockout or large-scale genomic modification, or want reduced off-target effects, then multiplex CRISPR is for you!
Discover what unnatural amino acids are, their applications, and how they can be used in your research in our beginner’s guide.
CRISPR interference allows for the regulation of gene expression in vivo. Here’s a short guide to how it works.
Using gloves in the lab is necessary for safety but can result in the dreaded “sweaty glove hands”. Read our top tips on how to banish those sweaty palms for good (or for at least as long as it takes to do your experiment)!
Live-cell imaging can bring a lot of clarity to cellular processes, but keeping your cells happy can be tricky. Read on to learn about 4 key parameters for achieving optimal conditions for live-cell imaging.
Read on to learn more about live cell imaging, including how high rate microscopy can help you capture rapid cellular processes.
If you need to copy, sequence, or quantify DNA, you need to know about PCR. Read our guide to the PCR process, and discover tips to help you avoid the most common PCR pitfalls.
Need a laugh? Check out our favorite Drosophila gene names.
Messing up the initial calculations in your experiment is setting yourself up for failure. Here is a quick refresh on calculating the number of molecules in any DNA sample.
qPCR primer design is a bit of science, a bit of magic, and a little bit of luck. Here’s the science to help you design the best primers for your experiments.
The eBook with top tips from our Researcher community.
