Long-form writing from the group
Notebook
Methods written out properly, decisions explained, and the occasional account of how the lab actually runs. Protocols here are citable and cross-linked to the papers that use them.
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The job you think you’re taking
Since my kids were born, I have used time tracking as a two-week diagnostic exercise to identify areas where I could be more efficient with my time. Having had a brush with…
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Nucleic acids are not strips of tape
No whiteboard is big enough to design a library. Hence why I built a browser-based tool to design and check structured building blocks for (T)InDel assembly.
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Building a personal knowledge management system with Claude skills
Scientific research relies on a lot of paper: PDFs of individual articles, lists of papers from searches (e.g. PubMed), individual annotations from papers, reviews, and books. In my case, I have seen…
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The Lab Philosophy
We are an international lab, with members from a wide range of cultures. While the similarities between cultures far outweigh the differences, on multiple occasions the small differences that do exist, have…
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DNA Library Synthesis for Directed Evolution
A DNA library is a collection of DNA sequences that differ at chosen positions. This post compares the three main ways of building one – degenerate oligos, multi-primer PCR and additive synthesis…
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New Lab
This original idea was to narrate a bench by bench account of the move from London to Leuven. Moving was a big decision, as it meant relocating with family, learning a new…
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In search of the Holy Grail
By Mandy Garner (as available on the Gates Cambridge website) Vitor Pinheiro has his own research group which is looking to create life from synthetic material. Genetically modified organisms have been hailed…
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UCL Synthetic Biology Showcase 2015
Friday, 10th July UCL is one of the research powerhouses in Synthetic Biology in the UK, significantly contributing to the field in a number of areas. The UCL Synthetic Biology Showcase Meeting…