How many times have you encountered a technical problem in your work that you needed to solve? Maybe it was an issue of workflow efficiency—too many samples, but too little time for hands-on work. Or maybe there wasn’t a technology available for what you needed to accomplish, and you didn’t have time to develop something […]
A widely used molecular biology technique, in vitro transcription uses bacteriophage DNA-dependent RNA polymerases to synthesize template-directed RNA molecules. Enzymes like bacteriophage SP6, T3 and T7 RNA polymerases are used to produce synthetic RNA transcripts, which can be used as hybridization probes, as templates for in vitro translation applications, or in structural studies (X-ray crystallography […]
One of the most critical parts of a Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) workflow is library preparation and nearly all NGS library preparation methods use some type of size-selective purification. This process involves removing unwanted fragment sizes that will interfere with downstream library preparation steps, sequencing or analysis. Different applications may involve removing undesired enzymes and […]
Aberrant methylation events have significant impacts in terms of incidence of cancer and development disregulation. Researchers studying DNA methylation are often working with DNA from “difficult” tissues such as formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded tissues, which characteristically yield DNA that is more fragmented than that purified from fresh tissue. Traditional methods for bisulfite conversion involve a long […]
Working with RNA can be a tricky thing…it falls apart easily, and RNases (enzymes that degrade RNA) are ubiquitous. Successfully isolating RNA and maintaining its integrity is critical, especially when sensitive downstream applications are used (e.g., RNA-Seq). Good techniques for RNA handling are simple to employ but crucial for success. All RNA purification and handling […]
“The Andromeda Strain”, a novel written by Michael Crichton, remains one of my favorite science fiction novels for two reasons (spoiler alert for the plot): The US government deliberately sent objects into space to scoop up extraterrestrial microorganisms and examine their potential to be used as a weapon (with the expected consequences of contaminated space […]
In the genomics era, the promise of precision medicine and tailored diagnostics is only as good as the datasets, which makes it imperative that those sets reflect the diversity of the human population. Populations from the African continent, the most genomically diverse region in the world, are underrepresented in current genomic data sets. Nowhere is […]
On April 5, 2025, Dr. David R. Liu stood in the spotlight at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, to receive the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences—one of the most prestigious honors in science.Dubbed the “Oscars of Science,” the Breakthrough Prizes were launched in 2012 by tech philanthropists including Sergey Brin, Mark Zuckerberg and […]
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 […]
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 […]
