That's GOOD science! videos celebrating life science research (season two)

2.01 | A closer look at seemingly identical cells

Transcriptomic changes are one of the ways our immune system responds to pathogen attack. While many groups have tried to study this response in fine detail, single-cell sensitivity has been out of reach. That is until the launch of SMARTer Ultra low kits for RNA sequencing. With these kits, researchers have been able to see, with exquisite precision, differences between cells that might otherwise appear identical. Even well-studied systems can deliver new discoveries when the right tools are available. That's Good Science!

Learn about our latest RNA-seq kit for ultra-low inputs

2.02 | Becoming blood cells

For many blood cell diseases and disorders the best treatment option is a bone marrow transplant, a procedure that provides hematopoietic stem cells that ultimately produce healthy blood cells. In some cases, the lack of a perfectly matched, healthy donor presents a significant clinical limitation. A possible solution? Using a patient's own cells to generate an unlimited supply of healthy blood-forming stem cells. Toward this aim, researchers used lentiviral products, including Lenti-X Concentrator, to facilitate the conversion of somatic cells into hematopoietic stem cells. That's Good Science!

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Creating cancer killers

The immune system doesn't innately recognize that cancer cells are abnormal, but now researchers can genetically modify a person's own immune cells to attack cancer cells. This type of immunotherapy is recognized as a promising strategy for the treatment of a variety of cancers...and that's Good Science!

Learn more about genetically engineering T cells to introduce either a new T-cell receptor or a chimeric antigen receptor

2.04 | A SMARTer way to study Parkinson's disease

New treatments for Parkinson's disease could come from the most unlikely of places. While smoking is incredibly harmful to your health, a history of smoking seems to protect against developing Parkinson's disease. To figure out why, researchers used laser capture microdissection and SMARTer Ultra low kits for RNA sequencing to investigate the transcriptional changes in nicotine-exposed neurons, which may lead to new treatments for the disease. That's Good Science!

Learn about our latest RNA-seq kit for ultra-low inputs

Faster PCR means faster forensic analysis

A quick turnaround on forensic lab results could mean the difference between a cold case and a closed case. Learn how researchers for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police brought their PCR processing time down from four hours to 26 minutes, while still successfully amplifying the ten critical loci for correct identification of an individual.

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2.06 | Advancing vaccines for tropical diseases

Clues for potentially life-saving vaccines lie hidden within the proteomes of the very organisms that cause deadly tropical diseases. In search of promising immunogenic proteins, scientists developed a high-throughput screening method using In-Fusion Cloning coupled with proteomics-microarray technology. This system afforded researchers an exceptional level of efficiency, and uncovered novel immunoreactive antigens for two devastating illnesses: malaria and schistosomiasis. That's Good Science!

Learn more about In-Fusion Cloning

2.07 | Humanizing the study of hepatotoxicity

In drug development, preclinical testing of hepatotoxicity is currently limited in its ability to provide key, predictive data. The reproducibility of human primary hepatocytes is low, and functionality is quickly lost in culture. Cellartis Enhanced hiPS-HEP is a highly homogenous hepatocyte population derived from human iPS cells. With low error margins and high enzyme expression, this new system has the potential to vastly improve patient safety. That's Good Science!

Learn about human stem cell-derived hepatocytes

2.08 | Protecting pandas from extinction

The survival of giant pandas as a species is threatened by deforestation of the bamboo forests they inhabit. The success of captive breeding programs designed to protect pandas from extinction depends on their ability to maintain genetic diversity. Researchers used the SMART PCR cDNA Synthesis Kit and Takara Ex Taq DNA Polymerase to develop an effective genotyping method for measuring genetic diversity in pandas, providing hope for preserving the panda population. That's Good Science!

Learn more about SMARTer cDNA synthesis

2.09 | Crisper cloning

Arabidopsis thaliana is a popular model for plant development, but introducing targeted genomic mutations in plants is difficult. Recent advances in genome editing technologies provide new approaches for creating transgenic lines. With this in mind, a postdoc at Duke University used In-Fusion Cloning to generate the large vectors necessary for CRISPR/Cas9-based gene targeting—thereby identifying a rapid and efficient method to create tools for plant genome engineering. That's Good Science!

Learn more about In-Fusion Cloning

Optimizing materials and methods for cancer research

Good science begins with selecting the right methods and reagents, especially when research targets are challenging. In this work, cancer researchers developed a method to amplify challenging BRCA targets, including those that are GC-rich or over 13 kb in length, using two-step PCR under a single set of conditions.

Read about how the researchers developed their long-range PCR protocol for BRCA1 and BRCA2

2.11 | Protecting the food supply with PCR

Corn crops are vulnerable to a serious bacterial disease known as Stewart's Wilt, which can sharply reduce crop yields. Accurate identification of this pathogen in infected corn plants is critical to minimizing its impact. A team of scientists discovered that Titanium Taq DNA Polymerase was able to generate reproducible PCR banding patterns to distinguish this pathogen from several related strains—providing a rapid, reliable genotyping method to help protect corn crops from a devastating blight. That's Good Science!

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2.12 | Humanizing the study of cardiotoxicity

Cardiac toxicity is a major cause of concern during drug development, where unforeseen side effects could be fatal. With this in mind, researchers are developing revolutionary tools to accurately screen for cardiotoxicity as soon as possible. Specialized Cellartis Cardiomyocytes, derived from human stem cells and functionally similar to their primary cell counterparts, are excellent in vitro models for toxicity screens in preclinical testing. That's Good Science!

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Season two