Researchers at Texas A&M University are using a minireplicon, reverse genetics system to characterize the lethal Rose rosette emaravirus. Recently, they identified three changes to the reference genome sequence that negatively impacted viral replication.
Inducing cellular senescence can provide a pathway for treating cancer. But does it cause other complications?
In 1921, at age 39, Franklin D. Roosevelt, the man who would later be elected the 32nd president of the United States, was diagnosed with polio (poliomyelitis). His symptoms included fever, gastrointestinal issues, numbness, and leg and facial paralysis. The disease left him paralyzed from the waist down, relying on a wheelchair and leg braces […]
In oncology, tissue biopsies are commonly fixed in formalin and embedded in paraffin (FFPE). These FFPE samples can be used with immunohistochemical or molecular analysis for identifying biomarkers that guide the diagnosis and therapeutic management of patients. This fixation technique allows long-term storage of samples but impacts the integrity of nucleic acids. This makes extracting […]
Monkeypox has been making the news lately, and it has a lot of people wondering what it is, how it spreads and if they should be concerned. Understandably, we are all a little jumpy when we start hearing about a new viral outbreak, but monkeypox isn’t new. While the virus gained its unfortunate name from […]
Tracking the spread of COVID-19 has been a tremendous challenge throughout the pandemic, but doing so is a key step toward containing the virus. Many communities have relied on patient testing and contact tracing, with limited success. In search of better methods, some countries have made inroads in a different form of disease surveillance: wastewater-based […]
Nucleic acid extraction is a time-consuming, resource-intensive process, but it doesn’t have to be. Automated systems are becoming more and more accessible and often can be operated with simple “plug and play” kits, freeing valuable resources With these systems increasingly within reach, perhaps you’re thinking about introducing automated nucleic acid extraction into your lab. As […]
Welcome back to Part 2 of our March Women in Science series! In Part 1 of this series, Breaking the Bias: Addressing the STEM Gender Gap, we took a closer look at gender stereotypes and male-dominated culture and their roles as key factors in perpetuating the gender gap in STEM. In this installment, we will […]
Automating a workflow can be a tedious and challenging process that requires lots of time and resources. A helping hand can make all the difference, as it did for Stephanie Dormand, Molecular Supervisor at UniPath Women’s Health, a diagnostics lab located in Denver, Colorado. The women’s health molecular testing service at UniPath primarily relied on […]
Before the respiratory virus SARS-CoV-2 ever emerged, Tom Friedrich was already studying how viruses evolve to cause pandemics. His PhD training focused on how HIV adapts to escape detection by the immune system. Since opening his lab at the University of Wisconsin—Madison in 2008, he’s studied how viruses like influenza and Zika overcome evolutionary barriers […]
