Entries by miniPCR Team

PCR comparative analysis of malaria detection using miniPCR

2018-09-24 in /by

PCR comparative analysis of P. falciparum polymorphic marker MSP 2 using miniPCRTM, Eppendorf Lightcycler and MJ Thermocycler 1,2Oguzie Judith, 1,2Ajogbasile Fehintola, 1,2Uwanibe Jessica, 1Eromon Philomena, 1,2Onikepe Folarin, 1,2Christian Happi*. 1African Center of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases, 2Department of Biological Sciences, Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State, Nigeria Plasmodium falciparum, the most dangerous malaria parasite […]

Scientific Outreach in Haiti

2018-09-20 in /by

— Guest post by Bertina Telusma, MIT Biology Department. A purpose-led life is a blessed life. This model has shaped my adolescent years onward. Early on in my life, I gained the awareness that life fulfilment depended on contributing to something larger than oneself. This sentiment is mostly rooted from my childhood experiences living in the […]

miniPCR at the International Space University

2018-09-01 in , /by

Dr. Reut Sorek-Abramovich, an astrobiologist and research fellow at the The Dead-Sea and Arava Science Center (DSASC), Israel, has presented students from the International Space University (ISU) participating in SSP18 in Delft, the Netherlands, with a specific tailored astrobiology workshop. The workshop was designed to give the participants hands on experience with DNA extraction and […]

Know Your Honey, Honey: Using PCR to Confirm Floral Source in Honey

2018-08-10 in /by

— Guest post by Mike Stiff, Ph.D., and undergraduate student Hannah Aaron. A Sweet Research Interest Undergraduate researcher Hannah Aaron is fascinated by honey. Her interest began when her family looked into keeping bees when she was a student at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, NC. She learned about many uses for the delicious sweetener, including […]

Molecular Ecology in the Austrian Alps

2018-07-18 in /by

At the University of Innsbruck in Austria, undergraduate biology students are gaining hands-on molecular field experience in the Alps.  Professor Birgit Schlick-Steiner, head of the Molecular Ecology research group, leads 120 students every summer in a practical application of molecular ecology, part of a four-day program training the students in eight different areas of biology. Professor […]

Traveling the world: miniPCR in Israel

2018-06-26 in /by

This week, as part of an intensive training for high school Biotechnology teachers from the Ort schools in Israel, participants received an in-depth look into the DNA world that we live in from Gita Reinitz, the miniPCR representative in the Middle East. Teachers learned about the importance of DNA in our everyday lives, from genetically […]

Back in the Classroom (Again!)

2018-06-17 in , /by

– by Bruce Bryan miniPCR curriculum director. This past September, I joined miniPCR as the new Director of Curriculum, working to develop labs and other materials for teachers to use in the classroom. Joining the miniPCR team, however, meant leaving my classroom of nine years, where I taught all levels of high school biology including […]

Congratulations Diversity in STEM Awardees

2018-06-13 in /by

The Diversity in STEM Award was instituted by miniPCR to celebrate champions of diversity in STEM education. Earlier this spring, we announced the first awardee, Mr. Gavin Smith. Today we’re proud to announce three additional Diversity in STEM awardees. Each one will receive $1,500 in miniPCR store credit. We were moved and inspired by all […]

blueGel™ 2.0: Better electrophoresis

2018-05-28 in /by

Since the launch of the DNA Discovery System™ backed by a Kickstarter campaign in 2014, we’ve been working to bring science to everyone, everywhere. The blueGel™ integrated electrophoresis and visualization system has now been used in thousands of research labs and biotech teaching classrooms around the globe to separate and visualize DNA safely and efficiently. […]

Studying DNA aboard the International Space Station

2018-04-29 in /by

This article by the International Space Station Program Science Office first appeared on April 24th, 2018, in NASA Mission Pages.  April 24, 2018 – What do astronauts, microbes, and plants all have in common? Each relies on deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) – essentially a computer code for living things – to grow and thrive.Studying DNA in space could […]