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Archive for June, 2008

Laboratory Maintenance of Rickettsia rickettsii

Friday, June 20th, 2008

Coming soon from CP Microbiology, “Laboratory Maintenance of Rickettsia rickettsii,” authored by Nicole C. Ammerman, Magda Beier-Sexton, and Abdu F. Azad of the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Abstract: This unit includes protocols for the laboratory maintenance of the obligate intracellular bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii, including propagation in mammalian cell cultures, as well as isolation, counting, and storage procedures. Regulations for working with R. rickettsii in Biosafety Level 3 containment are also discussed.

Includes the following protocols:
PROPAGATION OF RICKETTSIA RICKETTSII IN CELL CULTURE FROM FROZEN BACTERIAL STOCKS
PROPAGATION OF RICKETTSIA RICKETTSII-INFECTED VERO CELLS
PROPAGATION OF RICKETTSIA RICKETTSII IN OTHER CELL TYPES
MONITORING RICKETTSIA RICKETTSII INFECTION IN VERO CELLS USING THE GIEMSA STAIN
PARTIAL PURIFICATION OF RICKETTSIA RICKETTSII FROM VERO CELLS BY SONICATION
PARTIAL PURIFICATION OF RICKETTSIAE FROM VERO CELLS USING NEEDLE AND SYRINGE
PURIFICATION OF RICKETTSIA RICKETTSII BY ISOPYCNIC DENSITY GRADIENT CENTRIFUGATION
PURIFICATION OF RICKETTSIA RICKETTSII USING A RENOGRAFIN “CUSHION”
QUANTIFICATION OF RICKETTSIA RICKETTSII BY PLAQUE ASSAY
PREPARATION OF FROZEN STOCKS OF RICKETTSIA RICKETTSII-INFECTED VERO CELLS
PREPARATION OF FROZEN STOCKS OF PURIFIED (CELL-FREE) RICKETTSIA RICKETTSII
GROWTH AND MAINTENANCE OF VERO CELL LINE

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Browsing Multidimensional Molecular Networks with N-Browse

Thursday, June 19th, 2008

Coming in the September 2008 supplement of CP Bioinformatics, “Browsing Multidimensional Molecular Networks with the Generic Network Browser (N-Browse),” authored by Huey-Ling Kao and Kristin C. Gunsalus of the New York University Center for Genomics & Systems Biology.

Abstract: N-Browse (http://www.gnetbrowse.org) is a graphical network browser for the visualization and navigation of heterogeneous molecular interaction data. N-Browse runs as a Java applet in a web browser, providing highly dynamic and interactive on-demand access to network data available from a remote server. The N-Browse interface is easy to use and accommodates multiple types of functional linkages with associated information, allowing the exploration of many layers of functional information simultaneously. Although created for applications in biology, N-Browse uses a generic database schema that can be adapted to network representations in any knowledge domain. The N-Browse client-server package is freely available for distribution, providing a convenient way for data producers and providers to distribute and offer interactive visualization of network-based data.

Includes the following protocols:
BASICS OF THE N-BROWSE GUI
WORKING WITH DATASETS AND USER-DEFINED UPLOADS
INSTALLING AND CONFIGURING THE N-BROWSE CLIENT-SERVER PACKAGE
INSTALLING AND POPULATING THE N-BROWSE GENERIC DATABASE

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Integrative Pharmacology Training Course uses Short Protocols in Pharmacology & Drug Discovery

Wednesday, June 18th, 2008

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) sponsors several 2-week Integrative and Organ Systems Pharmacology (IOSP) Short Courses at a handful of US research institutions. The courses are for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, industry scientists, and academic faculty and provide training in the use of isolated organ systems and in vivo animal models. The University of Nebraska in Omaha course was conducted June 2-13 and included the use of Short Protocols in Pharmacology and Drug Discovery, a condensed version of Current Protocols in Pharmacology, which contains hundreds of methods used by pharmacologists and pharmaceutical companies worldwide. The 2-week IOSP course includes lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on experience, allowing the students to gain whole-animal and isolated tissue experience difficult to find elsewhere. 

See the happy and well-trained class in the photo.

 

 

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International Treasure in Philadelphia—ISSCR

Tuesday, June 17th, 2008

Over 2500 enthusiastic stem cell researchers from around the world convened at the 6th annual meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research in Philadelphia June 11 to 14 to discuss the latest in stem cell research. The combination of plenary sessions, concurrent sessions and poster sessions provided ample opportunities for discovery and networking. The talks, from the Keynote Speaker (Sir John Gurdon) to the concluding Ann McClaren Memorial Lecturer (Rudolf Jaenish), and almost 1400 posters covered the full spectrum of stem cell biology—developmental biology and embryonic stem cells, culture conditions, cancer and adult stem cells, clinical translation, reprogramming, epigenetics, iPS cells. In addition to a plenary session on the topic, a panel comprised of the leaders in generating and characterizing iPS cells, under the leadership of ISSCR President George Daley, concluded that it is time to develop standards that scientifically define and characterize an iPS cell.

 

ISSCR (www.isscr.org) is organized to promote the exchange of information about stem cells in the professional and public forums and to encourage international research on stem cells. It has published guidelines on human ES cell research and its current work in progress, guidelines for clinical translation, is open for comment. In addition to the annual meeting, the society is in the planning smaller, topic centered, regional meetings to improve information exchange. Watch this site for more information.

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ISSCR meets in Philadelphia

Monday, June 9th, 2008

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) is holding its 6th annual meeting in Philadelphia from June 11-14. It’s nice and warm on the East Coast this week, and for those who want to take a break from the sessions, sit outside the Convention Center to network! All of Philadelphia’s 135 square miles have wireless Internet access. If you have time to sightsee, here are six fun things to do in the City of Brotherly Love, courtesy of Frommers.

1.  Visit Franklin Square: Just north of Independence Park at 6th and Race streets. Feels like a European amusement park, complete with an old-fashioned carousel, Philly-theme golf course, and a shiny new playground.

2. Take a Ride the Ducks tours, 6th and Chestnut streets (tel. 877/887-8225). These quirky, land-to-water vehicles roll through Old City and South Street before plunging into the Delaware River at Penn’s Landing for a quick dip.

3. Roll around in Segway i2 Gliders. IGlide Tours (tel. 877/GLIDE-81) depart thrice daily from the Eakins Oval fronting the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

4. Visit the Philadelphia Museum of Art to see the cutting-edge new galleries of the stunning, Art Deco Perelman Building.

5. Eat a cheesesteak! Then, go bowling! Hip bowling alleys Lucky Strikes Lanes and North Bowl have arrived in Philadelphia!

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Budapest and ISAC

Wednesday, June 4th, 2008

Budapest – a mix of the old and new – was the venue for the International Society for Analytical Cytology (ISAC) Congress in May.Quantitative imaging approaches and their applications in systems biology (P. Matsudaira), a systems-level view of irreversibility in the eukaryotic cell cycle (B. Novak) and ruminations on the virtual cell paradigm (I. Moraru) all captured the essence of the congress theme: cytometry in the age of systems biology.

Dozens of exhibitors displaying the latest advances in imaging and flow cytometry instrumentation and software as well as hundreds of short talks – ranging in scope from hyperspectral flow cytometry to cytometric quantification using semiconductor quantum dot applications – were all part of the plethora of daily offerings. (The non-scientific offerings included the crowded but efficient subway (no air conditioning included in the 270 forint charge (about US $ 1.75)), the many variations of goose liver on the menu (morning, noon and night) and the various impromptu discussions over a good Hungarian beer at the hotels lining the Danube.)

Sharing existing knowledge in a tutorial style from both the academic and industrial communities abounded, covering such disparate topics as data standards (R. Brinkman and J. Woods updating the MIFlowCyt effort) , genome structure and gene expression in plants (J. Dolezel and D. Galbraith) and cytometry education (L. Krueger and F. Mandy).

Cytometry in the age of systems biology was alive and thriving in those few days in Budapest, reflecting the international and cross-disciplinary nature of the participants and their work: from Athens, Greece to Vancouver, Canada. (OK, that’s only A to V…couldn’t find a Z…)

 

 

 

 

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