What are restriction enzymes? Restriction endonucleases (also known as restriction enzymes) act like molecular scissors, cutting double-stranded DNA at specific sequences. They are produced by many species of bacteria to protect themselves from invading viral DNA. The utility of restriction…
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Using the ELISA to Detect West Nile Virus
Looking for a way to keep your immunology or virology lessons fresh? Consider teaching the lesson from a biomedical diagnostic point of view! Here, we describe how the West Nile Virus can be used to teach the Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (or ELISA). What…
The Mystery of King Richard’s Remains
Last week, several of us Edvotekers spent a wonderful few days soaking up English culture, pub ale, and some cool rainy mist. After several days in the Manchester area, we hopped on the train for two days in York, a…
Biotech Basics: A Plasmid Primer
What are plasmids? In 1952, Nobel Prize Winner Joshua Lederberg introduced the term ‘plasmid’, a double-stranded, circular DNA molecule that naturally exists in bacterial cells and some eukaryotes (Fig. 1). Plasmids have been used by molecular biologists to study, analyze,…
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