A Walk Around the Promega Campus: Honoring Some of the Greats of Science

Posted on by Nicole Sandler
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci

The Promega campus in Madison, Wisconsin has been fortunate to welcome several new buildings in recent years. While some of the older buildings are fondly known by their acronyms – BTC for BioPharmaceutical Technology Center and RDC for Research & Development Center – other names are more descriptive. Notice a particular theme to these buildings’ names: Faraday, Franklin, da Vinci, Feynman, Kepler? Legendary scientists all, with visionary minds, they serve to inspire and remind us of the possibilities that Promega employees can achieve.

Given the impressive pool of Nobel Prize recipients, inventors and innovators to consider as namesakes of Promega buildings, why were these particular individuals chosen? And, who exactly were they? Continue reading “A Walk Around the Promega Campus: Honoring Some of the Greats of Science”

Summer 2016: Exciting Science Programs for Kids at the BTC Institute!

Posted on by Karin Borgh

First, a quick update: Hard to believe, but we’re in our 21st academic year at the BioPharmaceutical Technology Center Institute (BTC Institute).  February finds us immersed in our usual second semester offerings.  Our Biotechnology Field Trips program is on the way to record attendance, but it’s not too late for you to schedule a visit for this spring, or for a group this summer: btci blog photo 2http://www.btci.org/k12/bft/bft.html.

We’re also pleased to report that work site mentors have been found for almost all of the juniors and seniors enrolled in the State of Wisconsin Youth Apprenticeship Program in Biotechnology – Dane County (http://www.btci.org/k12/yap/yap.html).

Now, let’s turn our attention to Summer 2016.  We’re excited to once again offer great opportunities for upper elementary, middle and high school students to engage in activities that will allow them to explore their interests in the life sciences – and to learn a lot along the way. And, it’s not too soon to think about summer! Here’s a rundown of what’s in store: Continue reading “Summer 2016: Exciting Science Programs for Kids at the BTC Institute!”

Tradeshow Tchotchkes: Trash or Treasure?

Posted on by Sara H

Our group recently shuffled seating arrangements and I, like most of my coworkers, emptied drawers, cabinets and desktops into boxes and bags. I consider myself a fairly digital person, so there weren’t a lot of papers and physical files to keep track of, and moving my computer just involves remembering which cords go where, but what really disturbed me was the number of trinkets I had accumulated from tradeshows, conferences, trainings and other assorted events. So I was faced once again with the decision that every move begets: keep or toss?

26061840-blog-image-SaraH-WEB

It wasn’t the first time I faced such a dilemma; I suffer from an inability to say “no” to free stuff. I mean seriously, it’s free! Who couldn’t use another grocery bag? T-Shirt? Flash drive? Key chain? Magnet? Stuffed animal? Pen? Eraser? Ok… so some items are less essential than others (I can’t remember the last time I needed to erase something), but for some reason I always want them, whatever the item may be. As a kid, my dad often brought home these “tradeshow treasures”. Now that I have my own kids though, passing the giveaways along to them, seems like teaching them to collect “junk” and explaining what DNA is to a 5-year-old is a feat beyond my patience quota.

At first I thought the knickknacks were a great way to add personality to my desk space, but I had to face it, the generic souvenirs didn’t exactly represent me. So, I kept a few things that were actually useful and gave my coworkers the option of salvaging the rest. Dust covered stuffed animals migrated to someone else’s desk. Several pathetically weak magnets fell into the trash. And as I recycled countless pages from partially used notepads, I bowed my head in a moment of silence for the trees whose sacrifice was in vain. The truly useful and less prevalent items made it into the keep pile: a mini flashlight, invaluable for seeing what is going on with the cords under my desk; a magnetic clip, strong enough to hold a calendar; and a doodad that works as a coat hanger.

I know we’ve all seen some unique items given away at conferences and tradeshows (and I’d love to see pictures of your craziest!), but which ones have stood the test of time for you? Which ones have you actually found value in?

Zika Virus: Another RNA Virus Emerges

Posted on by Isobel Maciver
no mosquito

Zika virus has been in the news recently due to growing concerns about its global spread. If you have never heard of Zika virus before, you are not alone. Although first discovered in the 1940s, Zika has not been the subject of much study as infection is considered rare and the symptoms mild. However, all this has changed in recent months due to the rapid spread of the virus in Latin America, where it has been associated with an increased incidence of microcephaly, a severe birth defect where babies are born with underdeveloped brains. Although the connection of Zika with microcephaly is not yet proven, the circumstantial evidence is strong, leading the World Health Organization to declare the spread of Zika virus an international public health emergency earlier this week.

Continue reading “Zika Virus: Another RNA Virus Emerges”

Friday Cartoon Fun: Entertaining Yourself Between Incubations

Posted on by Sara Klink

Occasionally, time in the lab passes slowly. There is a two-hour incubation and nothing can be done until the timer goes off. Our science cartoonist Ed Himelblau has illustrated what some creative lab members may have done to fill this time, but is not advised to do:

Copyright Ed Himelblau

To see additional lab shenanigans, peruse the collection of humorous cartoons in our Cartoon Lab.

Inflammasomes: Peeking Inside the Inflammatory Process

Posted on by Kelly Grooms

Most of us have experienced an inflammatory response at some point in our lives. Fever, achy joints, swelling around a scrape or cut, all of these are forms of inflammatory response. Inflammation is the body’s response to infection or tissue damage and acts to limit harm to the rest of the body. A key player in the inflammation process is a group of protein complexes call inflammasomes. The term “inflammasome” was first used in 2002 by researchers in Switzerland (1) to refer to a caspase-activating protein complex. We now know that inflammasomes are cytosolic multiprotein platforms that assemble in response to pathogens and other signals. Inflammasome assembly results in the processing of the inactive procaspase-1 into the active cysteine-protease enzyme, caspase-1. Caspase-1, in turn, activates the proinflammatory cytokines Interleukins IL-1β and IL-18. In addition, caspase-1 is also required for pyroptosis, which is an inflammatory form of cell death that combines the characteristics of apoptosis (fragmented DNA) and necrosis (inflammation and cytokine release) and is frequently associated with microbial infections.

Inflammasome complexes are made up of scaffolding sensor proteins (NLR, AIM2, ALR), and an adaptor protein containing a caspase activation and retention domain (CARD) and inactive procaspase-1. Most inflammasomes are formed with one or two NLRs (NOD-like receptors). However, non-NLR proteins such as AIM2 (absent in melanoma 2) and pyrin can also form inflammasomes. The different sensor proteins are activated by different types of outside stimuli, and inflammasomes are loosely sorted into families based on the protein forming these sensors.26061534-Inflamasome-Assay-Blog-figure-WEB Continue reading “Inflammasomes: Peeking Inside the Inflammatory Process”

Finding Space for Passion: Interview with Promega Quality Assurance Scientist, Matt Hanson

Posted on by Michele Arduengo, PhD
QA Senior Scientist Matt Hanson
QA Senior Scientist Matt Hanson

When he was a kid, Matt Hanson would disappear into the basement for an entire day and emerge later with a completed model of the USS Constitution or a completed robot or a new rocket (he still makes model rockets). Design and how things fit together have always fascinated him, so a career in science was a natural fit as well.

Today Matt is a Quality Control Supervisor/QA Senior Scientist at Promega Corporation at the Madison, WI, USA, campus. He has been with Promega for 5 years now.

After completing his undergraduate studies in molecular biology, a masters in zoology where he focused on cell biology, and a PhD in developmental biology and immunology, Matt was fortunate to pursue a successful and rewarding career as an Associate Staff Scientist in the Department of Surgery at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His work focused on diabetes and transplantation biology.

So why did Matt join the scientific staff at Promega?

Continue reading “Finding Space for Passion: Interview with Promega Quality Assurance Scientist, Matt Hanson”

UW Master of Science in Biotechnology Program: An Excellent Fit for both Scientists and Business Professionals

Posted on by Natalie Betz

WebinarsThe University of Wisconsin’s Master of Science in Biotechnology Program (MS-Biotechnology Program) is uniquely designed for working professionals who would like to further their careers in biotechnology.  It is based on an interdisciplinary curriculum that focuses on the science, law, and business of biotechnology.

Faculty represent both the academic and corporate worlds.  This has allowed the program to remain extremely applied and to focus on the skills essential for success in global biotechnology industries.

The program has been collaborating since its inception in 2002 with the BioPharmaceutical Technology Center Institute (BTC Institute) to provide the three laboratory-based Molecular Technologies courses.

As noted on the program’s website (www.ms-biotech.wisc.edu), it offers:

  • A curriculum like no other that integrates topics in science, business, and law
  • Powerful skills that bring the “big picture” of life sciences product development into clear focus
  • Exclusive evening/weekend courses allowing you to work full-time while enrolled
  • A completed degree in less than two years

Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the program, it is ideally suited for working professionals with either science backgrounds and training, or those with business or legal experience, or both.  The strong cohort nature of the program allows students with varying backgrounds to assist each other in working on topics that are not familiar to them. Continue reading “UW Master of Science in Biotechnology Program: An Excellent Fit for both Scientists and Business Professionals”

The Black Death: World Traveler or Persistent Homebody?

Posted on by Sara Klink

Spread of the Black Death. By Timemaps (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL , via Wikimedia Commons.
In the last six years, researchers have untangled the origins of devastating human plagues, sequenced the genome of a Yersinia pestis strain responsible for the Black Death and explored how long this bacterium has been with humans. However, the information arising from this research begs more questions. How many variations of Y. pestis occurred during the 14–17th centuries, the second pandemic that began with the Black Death? Did these differences reflect the location in which the Y. pestis-positive skeletons were found? What were the geographic source or sources of these plagues? A recent PLOS ONE article examined Y. pestis found in German remains separated by 500km and 300 years to answer to some of these questions. Continue reading “The Black Death: World Traveler or Persistent Homebody?”

Dino Protein: New Methods for Old (Very) Samples

Posted on by Gary Kobs
Hadrosaurus skeleton vintage engraving.
Hadrosaurus skeleton vintage engraving.

Brachylophosaurus was a mid-sized member of the hadrosaurid family of dinosaurs living about 78 million years ago, and is known from several skeletons and bonebed material from the Judith River Formation of Montana and the Oldman Formation of Alberta. Recent fossil evidence indicates structures similar to blood vessels in location and morphology, have been recovered after demineralization of multiple dinosaur cortical bone fragments from multiple specimens, some of which are as old as 80 Ma. These structures were hypothesized to be either endogenous to the bone (i.e., of vascular origin) or the result of biofilm colonizing the empty  network after degradation of original organic components (i.e., bacterial, slime mold or fungal in origin).  Cleland et al. (1) tested the hypothesis that these structures are endogenous and thus retain proteins in common with extant archosaur blood vessels that can be detected with high-resolution mass spectrometry and confirmed by immunofluorescence.

Continue reading “Dino Protein: New Methods for Old (Very) Samples”