Did You Know Your Grill Lighter Can Be Converted Into A Genetic Engineering Tool?

[Jim White]

Here's a screengrab from a terrific article about how scientists at Georgia Tech took apart a simple butane lighter and turned it into a tool for genetic engineering. This makes an important lab tool available to labs with low budgets--like high schools:



Here's the link to the article for those who want to read it: https://phys.org/news/2020-01-scient...-tech-lab.html

[HawkerXP]

no. thanks

[ComfortablyNumb]

I had to look it up. This is what I found:

"

Electroporation, or electropermeabilization, is a microbiology technique in which an electrical field is applied to cells in order to increase the permeability of the cell membrane, allowing chemicals, drugs, or DNA to be introduced into the cell."

Sounds like it could be fun.....

[Jim White]

In what seems like a previous life, I was once a practicing molecular biologist. I'm pretty sure I did electroporation a time or two.

[ComfortablyNumb]

Jim White Well if you can't remember it, it must have been fun!! ;-)

[FireMan]

Oh yeah man, it was fun! ✌️

[RonB]

Hmmm - I'm kinda iffy on high school students doin' genetic engineering...

[Jim White]

No worries. They don't have access to--or the equipment for handling--anything that's actually dangerous.

[JGo37]

AND the winner for the month's Accidental New Virus is...… Jimmy W! C'mon down and See what you've Won!

[wu7y]

Hmm. ". . . ( a device) to temporarily open cell walls . . ." When I was a defense attorney I had a few clients who could have used one of those.

[Bobmcgahan]

Now that is hilarious.