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Brief History of Microscopy

Since ancient times, it has been known that glass can bend light. Light is made up of electromagnetic waves and with properties such as wavelength and frequency, light usually behaves like a wave and can be diffracted.

27 Jun 2016

The Endoplasmic Reticulum and Golgi Body: What’s the Difference?

The Golgi body (or Golgi complex, apparatus), and Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) are both organelles found in the majority of eukaryotic cells. They are very closely associated and show both similarities and differences in structure and function.

27 Jun 2016

Life Science Applications of Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS)

Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) is a technique used in life sciences to establish the size and size distribution profiles of particles in solution.

20 Jun 2016

Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) Technique

Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) is a technique invented in 1984 by the English scientist Alec Jeffreys during research into hereditary diseases. It is used for the analysis of unique patterns in DNA fragments in order to genetically differentiate between organisms – these patterns are called Variable Number of Tandem Repeats (VNTRs).

20 Jun 2016

Electron Microscopy: An Overview

Electron microscopy is a technique that uses a beam of accelerated electrons to illuminate and produce images of specimens. Using electron microscopy, much greater magnification levels and resolution can be achieved than with a light microscope because the wavelength of electrons is so much shorter than that of photons.

14 Jun 2016

Applications in Light Microscopy

Light microscopy has a number of applications in different sectors including in gemmology, metallurgy and chemistry. In terms of biology, it is one of the least invasive techniques for looking at living cells.

14 Jun 2016

Analytical Chemistry

A comprehensive chemical analysis is essential for complete understanding of the chemistry of a substance. A branch of chemistry dealing with the chemical composition of samples and their qualitative and quantitative measurement is known as analytical chemistry.

13 Jun 2016

Spectroscopy Applications

Spectroscopy represents a scientific measurement technique for the studying of matter through its interaction with different components of the electromagnetic spectrum. It can measure light by breaking it down into its component colors with the help of a prism in order to study the resulting spectrum.

13 Jun 2016

Mass Spectrometry Applications

Mass spectrometry represents a powerful technique with a myriad of different applications in biology, chemistry, and physics, but also in clinical medicine and even space exploration.

13 Jun 2016

Primary and Secondary Antibodies: What's the Difference?

An antibody (or immunoglobulin) is a glycoprotein produced by the immune system in response to a ‘foreign’ substance i.e. antigens present on microorganisms.

9 Jun 2016

What is Mass Spectrometry?

Mass spectrometry is an analytical method used to identify different compounds based on the atomic sample constitution of the molecules and their charge state, which enables “blind” analysis of an unknown sample without any prior knowledge of its composition.

7 Jun 2016

Structure and Function of the Cell Nucleus

The cell nucleus is an important organelle found in eukaryotic cells. Its roles include regulating all activity such as cellular metabolism and growth in addition to storing and maintaining the cell’s DNA for transcription and replication.

2 Jun 2016

What are Mitochondria?

Mitochondria are organelles found in the cytoplasm of most cells. They are essential to healthy living as they play an important role in the way cells function in the body. Mitochondria generate energy for cells to carry out activities. This energy is in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). They also take part in cell signalling and help cells sense and adapt to their environment.

2 Jun 2016

What Are Organelles?

Organelles are small, specialized structures in cells which operate like organs by carrying out specific tasks.

2 Jun 2016

Mitosis vs Meiosis

Mitosis and meiosis are both processes by which cells reproduce, but there are distinct differences between the two. While new cells are generated during mitosis, meiosis is a special type of cell division that produces sex cells for reproduction. The two processes were discovered by different scientists. Meiosis was discovered by German biologist Oscar Hertwig while German physician Walther Flemming is credited with the discovery of mitosis.

1 Jun 2016

Meiosis Process

Multicellular eukaryotes and single-celled sex cells reproduce by a process called meiosis. In this process, the number of chromosomes in a mother cell is halved to produce gametes, cells that fuse with other cells. This happens in plants, animals, and fungi. German biologist, Oscar Hertwig first discovered meiosis in sea urchin eggs in 1876.

1 Jun 2016

What is a Cytoskeleton?

The cytoskeleton of a cell helps provide shape, strength, and an organised structure to the cell. The cytoskeleton can be compared to a transport network facilitating various types of movement in the cell. It helps with cell reproduction, the movement of organelles, the functions of muscles and intracellular transport between the organelles. It also enables the separation of daughter chromosomes to opposite poles during cell division.

1 Jun 2016

Southern Blot - Lab Technique Used to Detect Specific Biomolecules

Blotting is a powerful technique used in modern molecular biology. This technique is used to identify specific biomolecules present in a sample. There are several types of blotting techniques based on the target molecule that each of the technique is used to detect.

16 May 2016

Western Blot - Lab Technique Used to Detect Proteins

Western blot is an invaluable lab technique used to detect proteins in a tissue or blood sample. It helps researchers identify specific protein molecules in a complex mixture of proteins. Since antibodies are used in this technique to mark the target protein, this technique is also known as an immunoblot.

16 May 2016

What is Transcription?

Transcription is the first step in the synthesis of proteins from specific gene sequences. In this process, the genetic information in the DNA is copied to an mRNA with the help of an enzyme called RNA polymerase and several transcription factors.

12 May 2016