Chromothripsis is a term used to describe chromosome shattering. In this SNiP, we highlight a recent study by Li et al. that revealed a link between Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) infection and chromosomal instability. The authors identify a locus on chromosome 11q23 that is susceptible to binding by multiple copies of the EBV protein EBNA1. They propose a mechanism by which this concentrated binding and subsequent chromosomal breakage could explain the association between EBV and a variety of cancers.
And, did we mention that >90% of adults worldwide live with EBV? Read on to learn more.
In today’s TransMission, we answer the FAQ: “What is the difference between transfection and transduction?”
The success of an experiment can rely on the type of cell culture media used. In certain cases, you may need to adapt your current cell culture to a new medium. A stepwise process may be necessary to minimize stress and to retain normal cellular phenotype. Check out this Tip from the Bench to learn how to gradually adapt suspension cells to a new media formulation.
Howdy everyone! Dr. Bees here. So far, we have discussed common insect cell lines and the insect-specific transfection reagent TransIT®-Insect (Part 1) and producing baculovirus with flashBAC™ (Part 2). Today in Part 3, we will do a quick flyover of the pOET Transfer Plasmids, which complement flashBAC™ DNA like bees and honey!
In this short post, we highlight the importance of transfection for cell and gene therapy.
In today’s TransMission, we answer the FAQ: “What media can I use to form transfection complexes?”
Today’s TransMission is a SNiP (Small News in Pieces) about zinc fingers and the subtleties in zinc finger design. Zinc fingers are an alluring biotherapeutic modality because of their natural prevalence in humans, modularity, small size (~30 amino acids per finger) and DNA-targeting ability. However, zinc finger protein design remains challenging because DNA binding specificity and affinity is affected by the presence of adjacent zinc fingers in an unclear pattern.
Read today’s TransMission to learn how Ichikawa et al. applied machine learning in hopes of developing a proverbial ‘Zinc Finger Rosetta Stone’ for designing zinc fingers capable of targeting any genomic sequence.
Howdy everyone! Dr. Bees is back with the 2nd installment of our insect transfection series, and bee-lieve me you will enjoy this one. Last time, we covered commonly transfected insect cell lines. Today we are going to focus on flashBAC™–what it is and how to use it for producing baculovirus.
What happens when chemical transfection meets gene guns? In today’s Small News in Pieces (SNiP), we highlight biolistic transfection and a study that incorporated TransIT®-2020 Transfection Reagent to genetically modify wheat plants.
Howdy everyone! Guest writing for the TransMission is one of our field application specialists, Dr. Bees… which is a nom-de-plume, of course!
Starting the month of February for you love bugs and valentines, Dr. Bees will be doing a series of insect-themed posts, including transfection solutions that Mirus has developed for insect cells. In Part 1, we begin by introducing the cast of characters and the critical cell biology of insects.