... was founded in early 2018 with the goal of communicating science to non-scientists. Chinmaya Sadangi,...questions about The Addictive Brain and science communication for general audiences. How does The Addictive...Addictive Brain address science communication? At The Addictive Brain, we collaborate with scientists from around...disorders are frequently overshadowed by other medical conditions, so these topics have become a cornerstone...sci-art.  What are your top tips for science communication? It is important to identify your audience ...on the Addgene blog Find all of our science communication posts Sign up to receive our science career ...guide Learn about different careers in science communication Resources on Addgene.org Learn how Addgene...

...ask for an amplification protocol with your deposit. This is because repeated amplifications of pooled ...for further downstream applications. As individual libraries can vary significantly, it’s important that... an amplification protocol developed for each individual pooled library; generalized amplification protocols...smaller libraries, chemical transformations can also be used. Efficiency for chemical transformations is...that Addgene distributes with a chemical transformation amplification protocol is the Chong Zhang E. coli...Plasmids Variable Region Size DNA per Amplification Amplification Type Link to Protocol CRISPR Knockout... this blog, we’ll discuss how to develop an amplification protocol for your pooled library deposit. When...

...original publication and ensure that it includes validation data relevant to your application — and double-check... use a mechanical method before your enzyme lysis. For cell cultures, enzyme lysis is typically sufficient...for your experiment. But if you understand the technical aspects of a western blot, you'll be able to understand... so let's dive in!      Figure 1: The technical decisions to make when designing a western blot...However, they have high cross-reactivity, vary significantly from lot-to-lot, and have to be re-validated...multiplexing is challenging and limited. Direct westerns typically rely on primary antibodies conjugated to fluorescent... antibody or loading sample, which may not be practical. Conjugated primary antibodies can be more difficult...

... A lot of companies and organizations selling biological reagents have a ton of data on the catalog page...originally described in a peer-reviewed scientific publication. We love science, but we don’t have the resources...it’s own tongue-in-cheek website.  If you are skeptical about using Google for serious science questions...companies have real scientists answering their technical support questions (besides Addgene, I know both...be fairly fast, getting the full answer to a complicated question may take some time. If the customer ...message Answering customer service questions is a delicate balance of knowledge, patience, and diplomacy,... is answerable, particularly when it comes to technical questions. BUT, I do believe that scientists who...

...Chavez, researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. CRISPR/Cas9 is an enormously...create specific edits in DNA, there has also been significant work on constructing Cas9 transcriptional activators...reassemble when exposed to specific UV wavelengths or chemicals (Polstein and Gersbach, 2015; Zetsche et al., ... Tuttle and Alex Chavez! Marcelle Tuttle is a medical student at Tufts University and former researcher...researcher at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering.     Alejandro (Alex) Chavez is a member... (2014) A Protein-Tagging System for Signal Amplification in Gene Expression and Fluorescence Imaging....

...previous nosy question! The Application Process Broadly speaking, the PhD application process tends to go something...steps in the application process and usually occurs in the few months leading up to applications opening. ...program. Most applications will recommend that you name two professors in your application that you intend...Virtual) Campus Visits After receiving applications, universities typically invite a select group of students...to continue the application process through a campus visit, a weekend where applications can get to know...of reasons (logistical, financial, etc…) now have options to fully engage in the application process. And...strengthen your application and help you decide if a program is a good fit for you. The application process looks...

...the origin of replication/replicon. The replicon is comprised of the origin of replication (ori) and all...   Types of origins of replication There are lots of origins of replication out there so, for simplicity...gene for replication (reference). **F1 is a phage-derived ori that allows for the replication and packaging...control elements. The ori is the place where DNA replication begins, enabling a plasmid to reproduce itself...are generally different from the those used to replicate the host's chromosomal DNA, but they still rely...readily at lower temperatures and allows the replication machinery room to come in and get busy making...derivatives), pSC101, R6K, and 15A. Not all origins of replication are created equal. Some will produce many plasmid...

...researchers involved. Communication is a major challenge when researchers are communicating across disciplines...closely replicates how you’d interact with team members in person, and improves overall communication.  Maintain...Furthermore, this casual communication reflects the type of informal communication you’d likely have with...But these challenges can be exaggerated when communicating across time zones, digitally, and asynchronously...to keep everyone on the same page is to make communication a non-negotiable part of your collaboration.... Maintain informal communication In between recurring meetings, you should share interesting results or..., this may happen over email or using rapid communication tools such as Slack. Share data and documents...

... DNA purification without a kit as well as one way to reuse silica columns from DNA purification kits....that silica spin column, stop to consider some ways to purify DNA without a kit. DNA purification kits.... Kit-less DNA purification methods avoid many of the drawbacks of kits and typically follow the same...plasmid purification and DNA gel extraction method described in Kim and Morrison is nearly identical to that... DNA to silica columns, it’s bound to glass syringe filters. Normally DNA does not bind silica or glass...et al., 2018. Regeneration of silica columns for DNA purification Starting material: PCR product or...method for regenerating silica columns that come with PCR product purification or DNA gel extraction kits...

...xkcd.com Science communication should be fun and engaging for the communicator as well as the audience...many ways options available to today's science communications: podcasts, blogging, videos, lectures, exhibits...in what people think of as "the best way" to communicate their science, meaning that they will heavily...heavily evangelize for the mode of communication they connect best to. And that's really natural - if it works... text or use Facebook. However you choose to communicate your science, some people will love it and others...audience, so pick a mode of communication that you enjoy and that plays at least slightly to your strengths...outside of the box. There are so many ways to communicate and I wholeheartedly encourage experimentation...

...extension is repeated 25-35 times to exponentially replicate the target DNA of interest. This entire reaction...have been developed for different scientific applications. These PCR methods all use the same basic PCR...not as quantitative as other methods of PCR. Theoretically scientists should be able to determine the quantity...the final cycles which would slow or stop PCR amplification. Other times, the PCR reaction may not be 100%...quantified by qPCR. qPCR is used in a variety of applications including gene expression profiling, studying...concentration, unlike qPCR where results can vary across replicates. ddPCR can be used to quantify DNA sequences ...droplet contains the material required for PCR amplification. Following the PCR reactions each droplet is...

...after application of NE (10 μM) and corresponding pixel-wise ΔF/F0 heatmaps. White insets indicate surface...developing and depositing two new norepinephrine indicators: nLightG and nLightR (Kagiampaki et al., 2023...surface expression of the indicators over white dashed lines. Scale bars, 10 μm (HEK293T), 20 μm (neurons...trialed in two-photon in vivo experiments. nLight indicators are more sensitive to and selective for norepinephrine...feedback in response to norepinephrine release, and clinically-used drugs targeting these receptors cannot be...They can, however, be studied with the nLight indicators. Speed One of the major advantages of this next...nLightR, both generating a measurable signal after electrical stimulation with a single pulse, while nLightR...

... Clinical applications Viruses in vaccines helped pave the way for their use in other clinical applications...etc.). When you’ve decided on an application, our Viruses as Biological Tools blog can help you learn about...vector from basic science research all the way to clinical gene therapy. But how can you use these amazing...s unpack the myriad number of emerging viral applications and give you some recommendations for putting...putting viruses to work. Viral applications Viruses work by infecting a host cell (the target of viral infection...and delivering a genetic payload. This cargo is typically their own genome, but this step can be engineered...expressed. It’s important to note that for all the applications we discuss, there is more than one type of virus...

...– The basics Statistical analysis is what determines if there is statistical significance among data sets...values – numerical risk allowance in a statistical test. Distribution - spread of data; typically, normal...asterisk of significance? You’ve already done the heavy lifting, so don’t let the statistical analysis of... sets. Significance is a numerical value which quantifies the likelihood that a result is due to chance...are statistically different. They are classic parametric tests and one of the simplest statistical tests...analysis on a five-sample data set yields statistical significance, you won’t know if only two of those samples...if the dependent variables worked synergistically, antagonistically, were additive, etc.). ANCOVA and...

...names for technical support roles. Examples are Technical Service Representative, Technical Support Specialist...these departments from technical support. Technical support careers in brief Technical support careers are...troubleshoot problems at the bench. Specifically, roles in technical support make excellent use of the ...worked as a technical support specialist for 4 years. Read on for insights from my time in technical support...products successfully. In technical support you may have to answer technical enquiries such as: “Can I... areas of expertise in technical support positions. When applying for technical support positions, you...familiarize yourself with technical support. Even having personal experience with technical support through the...

...plasmids rely on their host cell's replication machinery in order to replicate—but not always to the same extent...described in our previous Origin of Replication post, DNA replication is initiated at the ori and may or...consider the replication mechanism of plasmids under stringent control, such as pSC101. DNA replication and regulation...review how E. coli normally replicate their chromosomal DNA. Chromosomal replication in bacteria is carefully...entire round of replication. Initiation is the primary control point of DNA replication in bacteria, so..., it recruits helicases to continue unwinding the strands. This creates two replication forks that move...chromosomal DNA ensure that the helicases are released from the DNA once the replication forks reach each other...

...re more interested in selling a product than communicating your ideas with people or discussing science...I do a lot of public speaking where I enjoy communicating face to face with the audience. I post on LinkedIn...own expertise and your resources for science communication opportunities like an AMA. One of the best things...recommend taking every opportunity you get to speak publically about your work (you can find my tips for a perfect... science communication...

...the chemical factor, of a naturally occurring voltage indicator. To give an example, a genetically encoded... Gong Y. Enhanced genetically encoded voltage indicators advance their applications in neuroscience. Curr...and sensing electrical potential. Thankfully, there is a tool to measure these electrical events! Voltage...Voltage indicators are voltmeters for cells! In this blog we will review how these indicators work, their...their general applications, and why viruses are essential to their use as biological tools. Why Use Voltage...Voltage Indicators? Electrical signals are integral to many facets of biology. For example, many heart issues...studying voltage within a cell are genetically encoded voltage indicators (GEVIs) and chemigenetic sensors...

...and includes biochemical properties, previously established uses, and intended applications. Within CasPEDIA...CasPEDIA, there is a classification system, CasID, to help facilitate direct comparison of different enzymes...multiplex ability Experimental guidelines and applications Protein structure and properties Links to ...you want to read literature on the less common applications of an enzyme for your non-traditional experiment...al. (2023). CasPEDIA Database: A Functional Classification System for Class 2 CRISPR-Cas Enzymes [Preprint...I., Iranzo, J., et al. (2019). Evolutionary classification of CRISPR–Cas systems: a burst of class 2 and...

...protein purification. For a more thorough introduction to pCri, please see the original publication cited...expression and purification: a comprehensive review of affinity tags and microbial applications." Biotechnology... Protein purification can be one of the most stressful lab activities. Working with proteins requires...interest can save a lot of time later. Protein purification specialists recommend doing some research, notably...Gomis-Rüth, aims to take the guesswork out of protein purification through simple and efficient multiplexing. pCri...sites should one need to remove the tag post-purification. A sample of pCri constructs: pCri-1a, -4a ...4a and -9a. 6xHis tags enable affinity purification using a Ni-NTA resin. MBP improves protein solubility...

... Here at Addgene, we’re dedicated to advancing and sharing science! In association with the Harvard graduate...chief goals. First, SITN works to bridge the communication gap between scientists and the public and help... SITN helps graduate students develop their communication skills and engage with the public. The organization...Bio-Medley) to showcase SITN’s strength in the biomedical sciences and decided to offer a varied format...students, these opportunities to improve our communication and organizational skills provide great training... science communication...

...run in triplicate.  The nice thing about qPCR is that since it measures relative quantification - that... not need to be run in triplicates. ddPCR is an extremely accurate application, even in areas of the genome...Digital PCR for AAV QuantificationPolymerase Chain Reaction Overview and Applications Resources on Addgene.org...blog post, we're going to focus on PCR-based applications (qPCR and ddPCR.) qPCR Quantitative/real-time... In that case, an RQ value of one (or, more realistically, between 0.80-1.20) would mean you have one ... on and so forth. This also serves as a light technical control - an RQ value of 1.5 means you have either...range of RQ values as noted above.   In both applications, results can be affected by DNA quality and ...

...background, which means that each mouse is genetically identical and all mice of the strain are homozygous...create a limited but genetically diverse gene pool. Outbred strains are strategically bred to maintain maximum...using the same nuclease may not result in genetically identical mice. Thus, scientists must genotype each...organism used to understand mammalian traits and genetically engineered mouse models provide researchers with...useful and adaptable tools to perform basic and preclinical research. For scientists new to using mouse models...in research can fall under one of two broad classifications: inbred or outbred. Inbred strains share a ...) National Institutes of Health (NIH) Swiss. Genetically engineered mice Mice can be engineered by inserting...

... Predoctoral Fellow at University of Rochester Medical Center. During development, complex genetic programs...genetic underpinnings of these processes has been complicated by the lack of precise genetic tools for modulating...central nervous system (CNS). To address this technological gap, a trio of recent papers describe the development...recent advancements and offer commentary on their application to neuroscience research. What is CRISPR-based...with different untranslated or coding regions. Typically, each gene isoform has a distinct transcriptional...accessible to neuroscientists, not all neuroscience applications require such optimized tools. This is elegantly...necessitates such molecular gymnastics for sensitive applications such as CRISPR screening. The plasmids used ...

...some tips for performing this purification.  Check out the AAV Purification protocol page for more detailed...! Subscribe to the Addgene YouTube page! AAV purification by iodixanol gradient ultracentrifugation This...This video goes over AAV vector purification using an iodixanol column gradient. We'll show the loading... tissue culture as it is commonly called, is a critical tool for many scientists. Mammalian cells provide...provide scientists with the means to study biological processes on the cellular level instead of having ...

... the types of viruses used as biological tools.   Viruses as biological tools In nature, viruses infect...enough to ensure the virus can replicate and spread. Instead, viruses replicate by hijacking the host’s system...them ideal for applications with whole organisms. Finally, viral delivery is typically straightforward...Capacity (~4.5kb From basic science to clinical applications, viruses are true bench to bedside tools... why viruses are such wonderful scientific and medical tools. As scientists, we can manipulate what this...effectively infect a wide range of cell types that are typically ‘difficult to transfect’, such as primary cells...straightforward across applications, while electroporation of a human, for example, isn’t a reasonable option. Since...

...repair Adapter Ligation Clean up/Size selection Amplification Clean up  I found this kit easy to use because...DNA we started the process with, we got great amplification of our sample libraries. NEB also gave us a ...mostly used to make new libraries as opposed to replicating them like we do at Addgene), going to the workshop...

...and applications.    Plant applications We outlined many synthetic biology MoClo applications, but....” ACS Synthetic Biology, vol. 5, no. 10, American Chemical Society (ACS), 2 May 2016, pp. 1059–69. Crossref...Biology.” ACS Synthetic Biology, vol. 5, no. 1, American Chemical Society (ACS), 4 Nov. 2015, pp. 99–103. Crossref...Libraries.” ACS Synthetic Biology, vol. 6, no. 6, American Chemical Society (ACS), 15 Mar. 2017, pp. 1016–25. ...Assembly.” ACS Synthetic Biology, vol. 4, no. 9, American Chemical Society (ACS), 1 May 2015, pp. 975–86. Crossref...” ACS Synthetic Biology, vol. 12, no. 11, American Chemical Society (ACS), 6 Nov. 2023, pp. 3393–405. ....” ACS Synthetic Biology, vol. 3, no. 11, American Chemical Society (ACS), 20 Feb. 2014, pp. 839–43. Crossref...

... the Communicating Science Conference series for graduate students. I believe that communication is the...skill in science communication over time.  Like most skills, great science communication comes with practice...able to communicate with their colleagues and peers. Scientists also need to be able to communicate to expert...careers in science communication The strength of story telling Science communication: 9 strategies to get... world is the value that you can succeed in communicating. Even the most rigorous, insightful, and novel...scientist's career is mediated by some kind of communication to another person.  In an interview setting,...you do to ensure that your skills in science communication will be a positive asset throughout your career...

...ideas about the controversial medical issues. Participants gave significantly more favourable ratings to...Further, when science is communicated in a format that is accessible, that communication often neglects the ...SciCommSummer Scicomm Series: Modes of CommunicationCareers in Science Communication: Science Writing... past my bedtime, poring over my grandparents’ medical textbooks by torchlight under the covers. In high... to save a few days’ worth of capsules to self-medicate with when they get a cold. A primary school teacher...boasted to me that he never eats “anything with chemicals in it,” leaving me to wonder how he has survived...dihydrogen monoxide (H2O). Studying science communication as a PhD student Fortunately, by the time I ...

...reproducibility crisis.” Results in preclinical, biomedical and psychological sciences were called into question...researchers.There is both theoretical and empirical evidence (in psychology, cancer biology, pre-clinical life science...after credible attempts to replicate major findings could not be replicated by other researchers.There...published research is difficult to replicate.  Why is replicating previous research findings so difficult...can be difficult to replicate. Unclear methods Until someone attempts to replicate the results of another...practices (QRPs) can quickly lead us to find statistically significant results that are not robust. Sampling ...an attempt to present only the most novel or significant findings, and combined with powerful cognitive...

...to a) figure out the sources of miscommunication and b) find practical solutions.  My PhD prepared me... for this task. Good scientists learn how to communicate their work differently based on their audience... family is going to vary widely. The way you communicate your science at a poster is going to vary depending...two main problems with Addgene’s cross team communication. Although these real world examples did not ... for the container to be used in cross-team communication A list of “AKA” names, or jargon terms, for ...types or purposes of each given container, when applicable Any other relevant information Prescribing an...tracking system. Though you might not have to communicate with a team of software engineers in your lab...

...about Julie Cicalese  Ms. Cicalese served as the Chief Human Resources Officer for Harvard Medical School ...excited to welcome Julie Cicalese to the Addgene Board of Directors. Cicalese served as the Chief Human...Human Resource Officer for Harvard Medical School. The addition of Cicalese to the Board of Directors brings...Human Resources Association, Association of American Medical Colleges and the Society for Human Resource...When I was working in Human Resources at Harvard Medical School, Joanna was my colleague. She mentioned ... science but my prior HR experience at Harvard Medical School means I understand the needs of scientists...where I foster dogs and help screen dog adoption applications. My most recent foster dog was with us for two...

...science communication are as varied as the field itself. Among other things, science communication comprises...suspect that science communication might be for you, don’t wait. Start communicating now. These 9 strategies...museums, zoos or botanical gardens. You can also work or volunteer for a science communication organisation...project. Science communication opens doors Getting involved in science communication has been the most...career researcher looking to break into science communication? Everybody goes about this in their own way....hashtag #scicomm and start following science communication societies like @BritSciAssoc, @AAAS, @Stempra.... Use Twitter to promote your other science communication activities, e.g. tweet it when you publish a...

...when we originally sent out the call for applications. Cervical cancer screening in Ghana Gladys is currently...Papillomavirus (HPV). As Gladys wrote in her application, “Cervical Cancer is the leading cause of cancer related... she can use as positive controls in PCR-based cervical cancer screens. This third grant represents the...currently working to enhance cervical cancer screening in Ghana. While pap smears and visual tests are ...in other developing countries” and “Almost all cervical cancers are caused by persistent infection of ...controls To start her work, Gladys will improve cervical cancer screening for a limited group of Ghanaian...including PCR screening for HR HPV alongside the cytological tests currently in use. Gladys will use plasmids...

...protein for your application. Selecting the best fluorescent protein for a specific application can seem like...Here, we will explain how practical brightness is determined and why practical brightness is a better criterion...criterion than theoretical brightness for selecting the brightest fluorescent protein. Theoretical brightness...higher the number, the higher the theoretical brightness. The theoretical brightness often appears in tables...proteins based on their practical brightness in your experimental set up. The practical brightness takes all...same reference protein) under identical conditions, a ranking of the practical brightness can be made (Goedhart...which is a key determinant of the practical brightness. Therefore, practical brightness provides a better ...

...placing the calcium indicator GCaMP6f in the effector position, as well as to optogenetically control the depolarization...researchers to label just a fraction of a single genetically-defined subset of cells. By labeling fewer cells...While transgenic animals are commonly used to specifically manipulate a cell type of interest in an organism...Drosophila require heat-shocking the system or using chemical inducers of gene expression (del Valle Rodríguez...cells are not labeled. PhiC31, a recombinase. It specifically integrates an attP site into an attB site. In...intermediate (d), and sparse (e) labeling of the calcium indicator, GCaMP6f, in the Drosophila optic lobe. Image ...Image from Isaacman-Beck et al., 2019. Applications for SPARC SPARC technology is versatile and can be ...

...supporting datasets must be logically annotated and arranged, as in an actual publication and not require interaction...data supporting the research reported in PLOS publications. The policy was not an overnight revelation,... is founded on the principle that scientific publications must contain enough information (or links to... errors in assumptions, use of inappropriate statistical methods, omission of some data, etc.  The firestorm...probable to some extent - but that is the price of publication. Who is to say that the initial data-generating...months or years before others. In some cases, typically consortia involving genomic screens, the data ...published, this data is usually condensed into a statistically evaluated set of values.  However, to evaluate...

... recombination that are typically employed during viral plasmid amplification (Fischer, KB. 2019). This... was not present (Kuhlman, SK. 2008). While theoretically this strategy should work, these vectors suffered...Callaway’s lab (Fischer, KB. 2019) set-out to systematically test the potential causes of these phenomena...expression profile at multiple steps from plasmid amplification in bacteria to transgene expression in vivo.... the level of spontaneous recombination. This indicates that the amount of leaky expression can largely...of spontaneous reversion during AAV plasmid amplification. On the left homologous pairs of scrambled cre-recombinase...expression of receptors, post-translational modifications, and other factors that AAV utilizes to gain...

...In this post of the Careers in Science Communication blog series, you’ll hear more about Caitlin Runne-Janczy...Runne-Janczy’s first day at eScience Labs was not your typical first day. “I walked in and they asked me, 'How...business.” Caitlin’s advice for budding science communicators: “My recommendation would be to take any opportunity...