Matthew Meselson, a Harvard molecular biologist whose famous experiment substantiated the double-helix structure of DNA, has won the Lasker Award for Special Achievement in Medical Science.
Matthew Meselson, a Harvard molecular biologist whose famous experiment substantiated the double-helix structure of DNA, has won the Lasker Award for Special Achievement in Medical Science.
Meselson laid the biochemical groundwork for several key areas: DNA replication, DNA repair, DNA recombination, and DNA restriction. He and colleagues grew bacteria in heavy nitrogen-laced broth and then switched the microbes to broth that contained light nitrogen, finding that DNA replicates itself by making new double-stranded twins, each containing one strand of the original parent molecule and one newly formed strand.
To analyze the DNA generated during the experiment, Meselson invented equilibrium density gradient centrifugation. He showed that a parental helix made of two heavy strands duplicates to give two molecules, each composed of one heavy and one light strand. This research was the foundation for establishing the existence of messenger RNA, the genetic intermediary between genes and proteins.
Inside the Laboratory: The Gionfriddo Group at the University at Buffalo
March 28th 2024In this edition of “Inside the Laboratory,” Emanuela Gionfriddo, PhD, an associate professor of chemistry at the University at Buffalo, discusses her group’s current research endeavors, including using solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled to liquid chromatography (LC) and gas chromatography (GC) to further understand the chemical relationship between environmental exposure and disease and elucidate micropollutants fate in the environment and biological systems.
Transferring Methods to Compact and Portable HPLC
February 14th 2024The current trend in laboratory equipment design is the miniaturization of laboratory instruments. Smaller-scale HPLC instruments offer benefits that cannot be matched by analytical-scale equipment, especially in the areas of portability, reduced fluid volumes, and reduced operating costs. Yet, the miniaturization of laboratory equipment has brought with it a unique set of challenges, including transferring methods to compact LC. Capillary LC expands the use of LC to applications not currently done using conventional LC in a wide array of application areas, including pharmaceutical, food and beverage, petrochemical, environmental, and oil and gas. Greg Ward, Axcend’s CEO wrote, “Customers want an HPLC system with a small footprint, low flow rates and green chemistry.” Join his podcast where he shares method transfer in these application areas.