BioTechniques Volume 68, Issue 1 is now online
The first issue of BioTechniques’ 68th issue is now online, and brings with it a plethora of content including a cautionary tale for plasmid users, and some new open-source software.
The issue begins with two Forewords – a letter from the Editor looking at what we have planned for 2020, and a look back at our Editor’s highlights from 2019 – a must-read for anyone who didn’t keep up with the journal throughout last year!
Next up, we provide a roundup of the latest bench-side and translational research advances that are pushing forward the field of precision medicine. This Tech News piece summarizes the webinar series we collated last year, and all the webinars are (or soon will be) available to watch on demand at no charge online.
This issue then goes on to present the following new techniques, software and methodologies:
Sequencing
- A program to identify conserved protein sequence motifs
- A modification to tumor sample preparation that improves DNA yield
- A new method to calculate mean telomere length from South blot images using basic software
PCR/cloning
- A new, open-source platform built to accelerated turnaround time for diagnostic qPCR assays
- A comparison of cross-contamination in plasmids from commercial suppliers, providing a cautionary tale for anyone sing these sources
Purification
Cell biology
- A way to count cells non-invasively during cell manufacturing, using optical density
- Erythrosin B as a cost-effective dye for assaying bacterial cell viability
