Search Results for: DNA purification

What Shelter Dogs Can Tell Us About Emerging Zoonotic Diseases

Posted on by Michele Arduengo, PhD

Why it matters: As human populations expand and environments shift, the human–animal interface grows—and with it, the risk of pathogens jumping species.
Key finding: In an urban shelter cohort, Onchocerca lupi was detected in ~2% of dogs using a sensitive qPCR assay (1.9%), slightly higher than conventional PCR (1.6%).
Takeaway: Monitoring shelter populations can surface low visibility threats and inform veterinary and public health response.

20 Years of Organ Transplant Testing with Maxwell® Instrumentation

Posted on by Jordan Villanueva

For twenty years, the transplant lab at Dialysis Clinic, Inc. (DCi) in Nashville, TN has depended on Maxwell instruments for their automated nucleic acid purification. In fact, the lab was the first to purchase the instrument when it debuted in 2005. Today, they’ve scaled up to three of the latest Maxwell® Instruments. “They’re great little […]

5 Questions to Ask When Your RT-qPCR Isn’t Working

Posted on by Shannon Sindermann

RT-qPCR (reverse transcription quantitative PCR) is a powerful technique for quantifying RNA expression—but it doesn’t always cooperate. Even when you’ve followed the protocol carefully, unexpected results can appear: flat curves, unexpected Cq values, or inconsistent replicates. When that happens, you’re left wondering… what went wrong? In this blog, we’ll walk through five key questions to […]

What’s Hiding in Your Mussels? 

Posted on by Shannon Sindermann

Fresh mussels might be a delicacy in many parts of the world, but a new study from Italy suggests they could also be carriers of something much less appetizing: infectious viruses and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Published in Food and Environmental Virology, Venuti et al. (2025) investigated 60 mussel batches originating from the Campania (Southern […]

Growing Our Understanding of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa: Why Comprehensive Population Data Matters

Posted on by Kelly Grooms

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 […]

Base Editing Brilliance: David Liu’s Breakthrough Prize and Its Impact

Posted on by Kari Kenefick

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 […]

One Health and H5N1: Promega’s Commitment to Holistic Solutions

Posted on by Promega

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 […]

Overcoming qPCR Inhibitors: Strategies for Reliable Quantification 

Posted on by Promega

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 […]

Strengthening Water Safety Measures with Advanced Detection

Posted on by Anna Bennett

Detecting Legionella in water systems is a critical step in preventing outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease. However, not all detection methods are created equal. One of the biggest challenges in water testing is differentiating between viable and non-viable cells. This distinction is essential for making informed decisions about water system safety and compliance, especially in high-stakes […]

Understanding Stress Resilience in Tomatoes: Insights Into the Role of PP2C Genes

Posted on by Kelly Grooms

As climate change accelerates, ensuring crop resilience is more important than ever. A new study explores the critical role of protein phosphatase 2C (PP2C) genes in helping tomatoes withstand drought, salinity and extreme temperatures. Beyond stress resistance, these genes may also influence fruit development and yield—key insights for future crop development.