This winter, norovirus outbreaks surged across the U.S., with cases nearly doubling from last year, according to the CDC. Schools, cruise ships, nursing homes and healthcare facilities saw widespread illness, underscoring the urgent need for a norovirus vaccine.
Each year, norovirus causes 685 million infections worldwide and is the leading cause of foodborne illness in the U.S., responsible for 21 million cases annually. Despite its massive impact, there is still no approved vaccine—but recent advancements suggest that this could change.
One Health and H5N1: Promega’s Commitment to Holistic Solutions
The global outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1) underscores the critical importance of proactive and integrated health strategies. With its zoonotic potential, the H5N1 virus affects diverse animal populations and poses significant risks to human health, ecosystems, and economies worldwide. At Promega, we are dedicated to equipping researchers and public health professionals with the tools they need to navigate and address these complex challenges.
Understanding H5N1 and Its Impact
A Global Challenge
The H5N1 outbreak has led to the depopulation of over 300 million birds across 108 countries, spanning five continents. The virus has infected over 500 bird species and at least 70 mammalian species, including endangered California condors and polar bears (1). The virus has had significant economic repercussions, particularly in the poultry industry, with 168 million birds culled in the United States to date (2). Recent human infections, primarily among farm workers, highlight the need for continued vigilance and robust surveillance systems.
Advancing Neurodegenerative Disease Modeling: A Novel iPSC-Based Luminescence System for Parkinson’s Disease Research
Advancing our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases requires model systems that faithfully recapitulate the biology of human neurons. A recent study by Gandy et al. in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences introduces an innovative luminescence-based platform to explore the role of Parkinson’s disease (PD)-associated genes in living cells. By leveraging human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and CRISPR-mediated endogenous tagging, researchers at the Early Drug Discovery Unit at The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital) at McGill University and Health Canada have created a powerful system for investigating protein expression and function in a physiologically relevant setting.
Continue reading “Advancing Neurodegenerative Disease Modeling: A Novel iPSC-Based Luminescence System for Parkinson’s Disease Research”Bringing Science to Life: How Art and Sustainability Shape Our New Trade Show Booth Design
Step inside a Promega booth and leave the ordinary behind. Here, science sparks creativity, sustainability is woven into every detail, and discovery isn’t just something you see—it’s something you feel.
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An Unexpected Role for RNA Methylation in Mitosis Leads to New Understanding of Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Traditionally, RNA methylation has been studied in the context of gene expression regulation, RNA stability and translation efficiency, with its primary role thought to be in modulating cellular homeostasis and protein synthesis. However, a 2025 study by Dharmadkikari and colleagues uncovers an unexpected and critical function for RNA methylation in mitotic spindle integrity.
The study identifies a critical role for SPOUT1/CENP-32-dependent methylation in mitotic spindle formation and accurate chromosome segregation. Originally identified in a large-scale analysis of proteins associated with mitotic chromosomes, SPOUT1/CENP-32 encodes a putative RNA methyltransferase. The protein localizes to mitotic spindles, and when it is absent centrosome detachment from the spindle poles, delayed anaphase, and chromosome segregation errors are observed. Further, CRISPR experiments in human cells show that the protein is essential for cell viability.
Continue reading “An Unexpected Role for RNA Methylation in Mitosis Leads to New Understanding of Neurodevelopmental Disorders”Microfluidic Organoids Could Revolutionize Breast Cancer Treatment
Breast cancer is the most common tumor among women worldwide and has a profound impact on individuals and society. Aside from being a leading cause of cancer-related death, patients often undergo invasive treatments such as surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, which may result in long-term side effects and reduced quality of life. Additionally, the healthcare burden of breast cancer is immense. This makes effective, timely, and personalized treatments a critical need.
A recent study published in Scientific Reports presents a microfluidic-based method for growing breast cancer organoids that significantly reduces the culture time while maintaining essential structural and drug response characteristics. This method could be the key to developing personalized breast cancer treatments in the future.
Continue reading “Microfluidic Organoids Could Revolutionize Breast Cancer Treatment”Can Fungi Help Clean Up Environmental Contaminants?
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widespread environmental pollutants found in industrial waste, fossil fuel combustion and creosote-treated wood, to name a few. Due to these industrial activities, there are multiple pathways for human exposure. These compounds pose significant health risks due to their carcinogenic, teratogenic and mutagenic properties yet removing them from contaminated sites remains a challenge. Traditional remediation techniques, such as dredging and chemical treatment, are costly and can further disrupt ecosystems (1).
Mycoremediation—using fungi to break down pollutants into intermediates with lower environmental burden—offers a sustainable, low-cost alternative for PAH degradation. While past research focused on basidiomycete fungi like white rot fungi, these have been unreliable in large-scale field applications. This study investigates an alternative approach: leveraging naturally occurring ascomycete fungi from creosote-contaminated sediments to enhance PAH degradation (1).
Continue reading “Can Fungi Help Clean Up Environmental Contaminants? “No More Dead Ends: Improving Legionella Testing with Viability qPCR
Legionella is the causative agent of Legionnaires’ disease, a severe form of pneumonia with a mortality rate of around 10%. Contaminated water systems, including cooling towers and hot water systems, serve as primary reservoirs for this opportunistic pathogen. Traditional plate culture methods remain the regulatory standard for monitoring Legionella, but these methods are slow—often requiring 7–10 days for results—and suffer from overgrowth by non-Legionella bacteria. Additionally, traditional methods fail to detect viable but non-culturable (VBNC) bacteria—cells that remain infectious but do not grow on standard culture media.
Molecular methods like PCR-based detection provide faster and more sensitive Legionella identification. However, a key limitation persists: PCR detects DNA from both live and dead bacteria, leading to false positives and unnecessary or even wasteful remediation efforts. To address this challenge, Promega has developed a viability qPCR method that retains the speed of molecular testing while distinguishing viable bacteria from non-viable remnants. In this third blog in our Legionella blog series, we cover how molecular detection methods can be refined to provide actionable results for Legionella monitoring.
Continue reading “No More Dead Ends: Improving Legionella Testing with Viability qPCR”Overcoming qPCR Inhibitors: Strategies for Reliable Quantification
Today’s blog is written by guest blogger, Gabriela Saldanha, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Promega.
Quantitative PCR (qPCR) is an indispensable tool for nucleic acid analysis, widely used in research, clinical diagnostics and applied sciences. Its sensitivity and specificity make it a powerful method for detecting and quantifying DNA and RNA targets. However, qPCR reactions are highly susceptible to inhibitors—substances that interfere with enzyme activity, primer binding, or fluorescent signal detection. These inhibitors can originate from biological samples, environmental contaminants, or laboratory reagents, potentially leading to inaccurate quantification, poor amplification efficiency, or complete reaction failure.
IC50, EC50 and Kd: What is the Difference and Why Do They matter?
Three of the most common metrics in drug discover are Kd, IC50 and EC50. At first glance it can seem that they measure the same thing, but they don’t. Kd measures how tightly a molecule or compound binds to its target. IC50 measures inhibition of a function and conversely, EC50 measures activation or induction of a response. Confusing these values can lead to misinterpretation of assay results and costly rework. Let’s take a closer look at each one.
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