Search Results for: maxwell

Streamlining Plant Pathogen Detection: Valto Biocontrol’s Integration of Promega High-Throughput Nucleic Acid Extraction Platform

Posted on by Lindsey Drake

This review summarizes Valto Biocontrol’s move toward a high-throughput (HT) nucleic acid extraction solution utilizing Promega Maxwell® HT simplyRNA Kit, Custom. This project was initiated by Dr. Menno Westerdijk, Head of Laboratories at Valto Biocontrol, who established a molecular laboratory onsite. The Promega Field Support Scientist team assisted Dr. Westerdijk to develop an automated nucleic […]

Revolutionizing Food Security: How Biotechnology Contributes to Sustainability and Safety

Posted on by Kerstin Hurd

Projections from the United Nations suggest that the global population reached 8 billion in 2022. By 2030, the United Nations expect the population will grow to 8.5 billion (1).  In order to sustain the rapidly expanding global population, innovative approaches in the agriculture sector are required to ensure food security and safety while maintaining sustainable […]

What do Exosomes have to do with Cancer Research?

Posted on by Shannon Sindermann

Discovered in 1983 and initially dismissed as ‘cellular dust,’ exosomes have since emerged as pivotal players in biomedical research due to their roles in intercellular communication, potential as drug delivery vectors and as biomarkers for various diseases. These small extracellular vesicles, measuring 30–150nm, are crucial for transferring proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids — including microRNA […]

Automated Sampling and Detection of ToBRFV: An Emerging Tomato Virus 

Posted on by Michele Arduengo

In the Spring of 2015, greenhouse tomato plants grown in Jordan presented with a mosaic pattern of light and dark green patches on leaves, narrowing leaves, and yellow- and brown-spotted fruit (Salem et al. 2015). The pathogen was identified as a novel plant virus, the tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV), and the original outbreak […]

Rooted in Resilience: The Future of Pest-Resistant Crops

Posted on by Anna Bennett

Farmers everywhere strive to protect their crops and ensure a stable food supply while minimizing environmental harm. A promising approach to achieving this leverages a plant’s built-in defense mechanisms, reducing the need for chemical interventions. Many geneticists and agronomists lean on technologies that can automate and streamline nucleic acid extraction and pathogen detection to identify […]

A Silent Killer: Tracking the Spread of Xylella fastidiosa 

Posted on by AnnaKay Kruger

Thought to have arrived in Italy on a plant imported from Costa Rica in 2008, the plant pathogen Xylella fastidiosa was first detected there in 2013. Its subsequent unchecked spread resulted in the loss of millions of olive trees across Southern Apulia, a region in Italy responsible for the production of roughly 12% of the […]

Transform Your Research Lab with our Comprehensive Automation Resources

Posted on by Anna Bennett

In an era where science moves at a rapid pace, integrating automation into your lab is not just beneficial but essential. When you automate your lab, you free up an invaluable resource: time. From scaling up operations and handling increased demand to improving consistency and reducing manual errors, automation can be the key to achieving […]

More Than a Scientist: Paraj Mandrekar’s Career & Contributions to Tabletop Roleplaying Games

Posted on by Riley Bell

Paraj Mandrekar began his career at Promega in 1998 in the Genetic Identity Research and Development program. In 2001, he was a consultant at the World Trade Center to help meet the urgent need to identify victims of the 9/11 attacks. Two products, one of them being our DNA IQ™ System, that Paraj and others used […]

Raising Frogs Takes a Village: Accelerating Amphibian Research at the Marine Biological Laboratory

Posted on by Jordan Villanueva

Sally Seraphin’s life in the research lab started with rats and roseate terns. Chimpanzees and rhesus macaques came next, then humans (and a brief foray into voles). When she pivoted to red-eyed tree frogs, Sally once again had to learn all kinds of new techniques. Suddenly, in addition to new sample prep and analysis techniques, […]

For Frogs, Surviving the Heat Could Come Down to What Is in Their Gut

Posted on by Kelly Grooms

Amphibians are the most threatened vertebrate class worldwide. Because they lack the ability to regulate their own temperature and moisture levels, climate change is playing a significant role in this growing peril (1). Climate change impacts amphibian survival in several ways. In addition to habitat loss, growing drought conditions make maintaining body moisture levels challenging […]