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Why Cryo-EM is Gaining Popularity in Structural Biology

Cryo-electron microscopy, also known as Cryo-EM, is a technique for visualizing macromolecular structures which has been developed over the last two decades. It is a form of transmission electron microscopy which permits samples to be studied at cryogenic temperatures.

11 Aug 2017

Environmental Metabolomics

Environmental metabolomics helps to study the impact on organisms when exposed to environmental stress such as pollution, changes in climate, infection, or a combination of these stressors. Environmental metabolomics, which encompasses plants and animals, both terrestrial and aquatic, and humans, assists us in monitoring the environment and assessing the risks involved in the ecology.

10 Aug 2017

Targeted Metabolomics

Metabolome can be described as the terminal output of the genome that comprises the overall complement of metabolites (molecules with low molecular weight) in an organism or cell. The technique of measuring molecules is divided into two groups: targeted metabolomics and untargeted metabolomics.

8 Aug 2017

High-throughput DNA Sequencing Techniques

Full genomes of several organisms have been sequenced in the past fifteen years, including the human genome in 2004. These studies were completed using Sanger DNA sequencing, which has a limited throughput and high cost meaning the human genome took fifteen years to sequence and cost nearly three billion dollars

7 Aug 2017

Sample Preparation for Fluorescence Microscopy

Fluorescence Microscopy allows specimens to be studied with high sensitivity and specificity through the use of light. It works on the principle that energy emitted by certain types of materials can be detected as light, if irradiated with the light of a specific wavelength

2 Aug 2017

History of the Electron Microscope

The history of the electron microscope dates back to early twentieth century when the first electromagnetic lens was developed. This opened the door of possibility to use the principles of the lens to invent a microscope that could examine the structure of samples with greater detail.

27 Jul 2017

Advances in Metabolomics Research

Research in metabolomics is paving the way for advances in many fields such as plant engineering, crop protection, development of new pesticides, aquaculture—the environment as a whole. At present, metabolomics aid decision making in the discovery of biomarkers

25 Jul 2017

Pharmaceutical Applications of Supercritical Fluid Chromatography

Although supercritical fluids were used as eluents for chromatographic separations in 1962, the term supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) was first used only five years later. Since then, the technique has come a long way, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry

24 Jul 2017

What is Scanning Probe Microscopy?

Scanning probe microscopy is used to create images of nanoscale surfaces and structures or manipulate atoms to move them in specific patterns. It involves a physical probe that scans over the surface of a specimen gathering data that is used to generate the image or manipulate the atoms.

19 Jul 2017

Advances in Proteomics

Proteomics is the large-scale study of proteins expressed by an organism or biological system. It is used to test how proteins are expressed and modified, as well as their function in a particular biological pathway.

18 Jul 2017

RNA Sequencing

If DNA is the fundamental code of the genome, RNA is the message. Genes are made active through the process of transcribing the code into RNA, and then translating RNA into DNA. This is known as the central dogma of molecular biology.

10 Jul 2017

Non-Targeted Metabolomics

The non-targeted metabolomics approach aims to study both known and unknown metabolites. To comprehend the huge chunks of data this may yield, one must couple it with advanced chemometric methods such as multivariate analysis, so that these can be grouped into smaller manageable chunks. The latter may then be studied further either with computer simulation or by experimental investigation, using analytical methods of measurement. This approach can help us discover new target analytes, limited only by the sensitivity and specificity of the techniques used.

6 Jul 2017

Applications of Electron Microscopy

Electron microscopy has a diverse range of applications in practice. The ability to view the microscopic structure of a specimen at a higher resolution than what is possible with optical microscopy gives it a distinct role in scientific research and industry applications. Several of these applications are covered in more detail below.

5 Jul 2017

Digital Pathology Challenges

The market for digital pathology technology is growing. Previously, slides were reviewed by trained pathologists and a photograph could be used to document their findings. Whilst well trained pathologists have provided slide reviews with accuracy, this method is still subjective and labor intensive.

3 Jul 2017

Advances in Digital Pathology

The ability to digitize images formed from glass slides has been a huge development in pathology. Large numbers of tissue samples on slides can be scanned and archived digitally. Digital images can now be sent instantly to remote locations making primary diagnoses and consultations for second opinions easier to obtain. Moreover, digital pathology has aided research and education as example tissue slide images can be archived and used repeatedly. It should be noted that digital pathology is not yet widespread but advances in digital pathology may soon change that.

29 Jun 2017

Analyzing Metabolomics Data

The availability of data is the foremost step in analysis. There are several metabolomic databases available, each of them serving a different purpose. Their goal is to put the metabolites in some order so that it becomes easy for researchers to spot and analyze the data.

27 Jun 2017

What is Photosynthesis?

Photosynthesis is a chemical process by which plants, some bacteria, and algae convert energy derived from sunlight to chemical energy. This is an important process for biological life on earth because it allows energy from sunlight to be harnessed and transferred into a form that can be utilized by organisms to fuel their activity.

27 Jun 2017

What is Infrared Microscopy?

Infrared (IR) microscopy, also known as infrared microspectroscopy, is a type of light microscopy that uses a source that transmits infrared wavelengths of light to view an image of the sample. Unlike other optical microscopes with absorbent glass optics, an infrared microscope has reflective optics to allow the microscope to cover the entire spectral range of infrared light.

21 Jun 2017

Fast Protein Liquid Chromatography

Fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) is, as the term implies, an effective (fast) liquid chromatography technique for the separation of protein molecules. The term also implies that the mobile phase is a liquid; the stationary phase is often a resin.

16 Jun 2017

Research into the Microbiome

Microscopic research into the human body has shown that each of us has trillions of microbes living within and on the outside of our bodies. The roughly four million genes represented by this community of human-associated microbes is collectively referred to as the microbiome.

15 Jun 2017