Mentors at Your Benchside
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
Hepatocyte Counting Methods: From Manual Counts to Fast, Accurate Automation
01 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
#115 — Hepatocytes are liver cells that are essential for its function. They are also essential for certain branches of drug testing and diagnostics...
Single Cell Sequencing: Tips to Optimize Nuclei Extraction and Counting
18 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
#114 — High-quality nuclei extraction is pivotal for many genetic and epigenetic studies, including single cell RNA-seq to describe transcriptomic p...
Personal Advice on How to Respond to Criticism of Your Grant Proposal Reviews
15 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#113 — Learning how to respond to criticism is an unavoidable aspect of grant applications. Follow all instructions from funding agencies to avoid i...
Isoelectric Focusing: A Simple Way to Enhance Your Protein Separation
20 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#112 — Isoelectric focusing (IEF) is a powerful technique distinct from the more familiar SDS-PAGE, [1,2] tailored for separating proteins or peptid...
Top 10 Uses of Microbes in Biotechnology
06 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#111 — In this episode, we dive deep into the fascinating world of microbes and their revolutionary applications in biotechnology. From environmenta...
Let’s Talk About Stats: Methods for Comparing Two Sets of Data
23 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#110 — Comparing two sets of data is a fundamental process in statistical analysis, crucial for drawing meaningful conclusions across various fields...
Personal Advice on Building Your Professional Network. It Takes a Village
09 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#109 — How do you build a scientific network that gives you the best chance of getting your research funded? How can you identify who to include in ...
4 Fixatives for Histology and Cytometry: Perfect Your Preservation
25 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#108 — What should you use to fix your cells? Alcohols or aldehydes? Gluteraldehyde or formaldehyde? And how long will your cells stay fixed?This ep...
Microscope Disinfection: A Quick Guide
11 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#107 — Need to give your microscope a quick clean to get rid of some grime but unsure what cleaning agent to use? Have you had a nasty sample on the...
Tissue Processing For Histology: What Exactly Happens?
28 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#106 — Transforming a tissue sample into a slide ready for microscopic exploration involves a series of critical steps. Among these, tissue processi...
Multiple Fragment Ligation: The Why and How
14 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#105 — You may be familiar with standard single fragment ligations: insert, vector, ligase—done! But what if you have a complex cloning project wi...
Funding Opportunities and the Flow of Money in Science
30 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#104 — What funding stream is right for you? Industry or government? Non-profits or crowdfunding? It depends on what you're researching, but also wh...
Maxam–Gilbert Sequencing: What It Is and 3 Modern Applications
16 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#103 — DNA sequencing is a fundamental technique in modern molecular biology that has revolutionized the study of genes.In the old days, Maxam–Gil...
Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy Explained In 3 Easy Steps
02 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#102 — Fluorescence microscopy images not only look great but also allow us to get a better understanding of cells, structures, and tissues. And con...
How to Become an Expert at Getting Funded
19 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#101 — Discover what it takes to become an expert at getting funded, from simple habits such as summarizing what you read in the literature, to bi...
5 Types of Difficult Lab Supervisor and How to Handle Them
05 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#100 — Science attracts so many different and quirky personalities that you are bound to have some people you just don’t get along with. Conflicts...
7 Top Tips to Make the Most of Your Flow Cytometry Training
27 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#99 — So you’ve got your flow cytometry training booked and are one step closer to that precious data.But if you want to hit the ground running an...
What Reagents Can You Use Past Their Chemical Expiry Date?
20 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#98 — Our labs can contain thousands of chemicals, many of which will be past their given expiry date and many of which are expensive to buy and rep...
How to Write an Effective Research Interest Statement
13 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#97 — A research interest statement is essential to successfully apply for an academic job. In this episode, we delve into how to craft an outstandi...
How to Preserve Microorganisms: Store Your Cells Better
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#96 — An appropriate microorganism preservation method can make all the difference in maintaining the viability of your microbial strains because it...
Overhang PCR: Add Missing DNA Sequences Using Primers
30 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#95 — Have you ever accidentally forgotten to add the Kozak consensus sequence to the start of a coding gene? Or forgotten to include the stop codon...
Practical Applications and Considerations of Phenol-Chloroform Extraction
23 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#94 — While there are lots of methods to choose from for cleaning up your RNA or DNA samples, for many researchers, phenol-chloroform is the go-to t...
How to Become a Bioinformatician
16 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#93 — Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary field that combines mathematics, computer science, physics, and biology to help answer key questions in...
8 Cell Lysis Methods to Break Cell Walls
09 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#92 — We all need to lyse cells to extract the goodness—our samples—from them.However, there are many cell lysis methods. Some are harsh, while ...
Genetic Variants Explained
02 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#91 — Genomes are complex and encode a vast quantity of information. One of their key features is genetic variants—aberrations in the genetic sequ...
How to Identify Supercoils, Nicks and Circles in DNA Plasmid Preps
19 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#90 — Are you confused about the banding pattern of DNA on agarose gels? DNA can take many structural forms depending on its source and how you have...
Simplicity in Science: How to Increase your Research Effectiveness by Doing Less
12 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#89 — "Achieve more by doing less" sounds like a piece of cheap advice, but there is a lot of wisdom in it. Research is complicated. You must choose...
How to Totally Nail Your First in situ Hybridization
05 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#88 — Getting the best out of your in situ hybridizations requires choosing the correct protocol, deciding if sections or whole mount is better, usi...
Choosing The Right Blood Collection Tubes
28 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#87 — Selecting the right blood collection tubes for your experiment is crucial. But do you know what tubes to use for which type of blood sample?In...
A Step-by-Step Guide to Designing qPCR Primers
21 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#86 — qPCR primer design is a bit of science, a bit of magic, and a little bit of luck. In this episode, we cover the science of qPCR primer design,...
How to Passage Cells in Culture
14 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#85 — Working with living cells is a tricky business, and tiny fluctuations in environmental conditions can affect their physiology and impact your ...
3 Easy Tips for Avoiding Measurement Drift in Analytical Balances
07 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#84 — Every experiment starts by preparing some buffer solutions. And every buffer solution starts with weighing out some compounds on an analytical...
How to Make Your Own Chemically Competent Cells
31 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#83 — Chemically competent cells are a key resource in molecular biology labs. But do you really understand what is meant by chemically competent?In...
5 Easy Tips for Keeping Your Centrifuge Alive
24 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#82 — Did you know that most centrifuge accidents result from user error and improper centrifuge care? While proper balancing of samples is importan...
How Blunt-End Cloning Works
17 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#81 — You’re probably aware of the two main types of restriction cloning (sticky-end and blunt-end cloning), but do you know the difference? And d...
A Beginner’s Guide to Hematoxylin and Eosin Staining
10 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#80 — Dive into the fascinating world of histology as we explore the basics of Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) staining, a cornerstone technique in ...
5 Ingredients for the Perfect Protein Purification Buffer
03 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#79 — Are you struggling to keep your proteins "happy" and active for your experiments? In this episode of Mentors At Your Benchside, we dive into t...
How FRET Works: A Guide to Visualizing Protein Interactions
26 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#78 — Want to visualize if your proteins interact in live cells? FRET is the answer. In this Mentors at Your Benchside episode, we explain how FRET ...
How Can We Make Science More Accessible?
19 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#77 — Have you ever thought about accessibility in science? We don’t always present our science in ways that are accessible to everyone. Nor is ...
A Short History of Cell Biology
12 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#76 — Do you know how the first cells were identified? Or who discovered them? What about why they are called cells? Discover the fascinating histor...
How to use a Hemocytometer
05 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#75 — Counting your cultured cells is vital to seeding the right density for your experiments, harvesting an appropriate amount of downstream experi...
Understand How Alkaline Lysis Works
29 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#74 — Understanding how a technique works make it simpler to troubleshoot when things go wrong in your experiments. Learn how alkaline lysis works i...
All About the qPCR Standard Curve: The Key to Good PCR Data
22 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#73 — PCR is a fundamental technique all biologists rely on, and, for qPCR, we can construct a standard curve that tells us how good or bad our prim...
10 Fun Hobbies for Scientists
15 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#72 — Research requires imagination and strategy, and helpful distractions can give us the mental rest we need to recharge. Fun hobbies for scientis...
How Histology Slides Are Prepared
08 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#71 — A good histology slide can give you beautiful, revealing microscope images of your precious tissue samples. But what goes into preparing slide...
6 Laboratory Sterilization Methods and How They Work
01 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#70 — Sterilization is a critical technique in the biology lab. It keeps your cell lines free from contamination, allows safe disposal of used items...
Types of Digital Images for Stunning Science Publications
25 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#69 — Figures are a fundamental way to communicate science and are essential components of journal articles. In this episode, learn the differences ...
5 Controls for Immunofluorescence: A Beginner’s Guide
18 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#68 — Controls are fundamental to getting meaningful data. Especially in long, drawn-out experiments like immunofluorescence imaging. In this episod...
What is Water of Crystallization? Everything You Need to Know
11 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#67 — What are those mysterious extra water molecules at the end of some chemical names? Do they matter to your experiments? And what should you do ...
Better Plasmid Purification: 11 Reasons Your Plasmid Yield is Low
13 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#66 — Are your plasmid yields low? Not sure what is considered a good yield? Need help boosting the amount of plasmid you get from your preps? In th...
The Importance of Delegation for Scientists
06 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#65 — Delegation is not just for managers! No matter where you are in your research career, there is an opportunity to delegate. In this episode, we...
How To Make ECL Reagent: 4 Ingredients, Better Blots
30 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#64 — Like many experiments, doing a Western blot typically means comparing half a dozen online protocols, failing completely, triple-checking the r...
3 Hot Tips to Optimize Your Western Blot Transfers
23 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#63 — Are you fed up with Western blots that look like your pen leaked in your pocket? We all are. That's why we've put together our three favorite ...
Top 5 of the Most Commonly Used Cell Lines
16 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#62 — Do you want to use a cell line but are unsure where to start? Or perhaps you’re just curious about the most commonly used cell lines. Listen...
Get a Grip: Dealing with Sweaty Glove Hands
09 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#61 — Fed up with fighting to put on another pair of gloves with sticky hands? Faced the embarrassment of giving a sweaty handshake? You need to lis...
What Ponceau S Staining Can Reveal About Your Western Blot
02 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#60 — There's nothing quite as frustrating as imaging a western blot only to find your bands are a wonky mess, your blot is covered in bubbles, or y...
Plasmid Incompatibility: Should You Care?
25 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#59 — Have you heard of plasmid incompatibility? Should you be worried about it? Listen to this episode of Mentors At Your Benchside to discover exa...
Protein Colocalization: 2 Essential Methods to Prove Protein Overlap
18 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#58 — One of the most common goals in biology is to prove that two proteins colocalize. Usually, colocalization happens as part of a crucial disease...
Why Do Enzymes Have Optimum Temperatures?
11 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#57 — Some microbes survive at 37°C, and some survive at 90°C. So why do their respective enzymes have optimum temperatures? Listen to this episod...
The How and Why of Removing Serum From Your Media
04 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#56 — Do you add serum, such as fetal bovine serum, to your cell culture medium? This ingredient may be critical for cell growth and proliferation, ...
Cell Passage Number Explained
28 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#55 — Do you know how to keep track of cell passages using passage numbers? Is there a maximum passage number you should grow cells? And is there a ...
10 Common PPE Sins
21 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#54 — Do some people's terrible PPE habits bug you? Are you guilty of not wearing your PPE in the lab?Listen to our top 10 PPE sins. Sins that we've...
PPE for Eye and Face Protection—Better Safe than Sorry!
14 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#53 — Anywhere but the face! On the list of places you wouldn't want to spill a chemical, I bet your face ranks pretty high.Wise scientists know the...
How to Handle Strong Acids in the Lab
07 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#52 — Acids are ubiquitous in the lab. We use them for many tasks, such as pH-ing solutions, cleaning glassware, calibrating instruments, and dissol...
How to Use a pH Meter Correctly in 4 Simple Steps
28 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#51 — A neglected pH meter means less reliable experiments, poor reproducibility, and time wasted. Yet, despite being critical to all our experiment...
The Dangers of UV Light in the Lab: Keep You and Your Experiments Safe
21 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#50 — While we all know the dangers of too much UV light from the sun and the need to wear sunscreen, how much thought do we give to the dangers of ...
Problems Amplifying GC-rich regions? 5 Easy Solutions
14 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#49 — It's not easy being rich. If your DNA is GC-rich and you're struggling to amplify it, you aren't alone. Listen to this Mentors At Your Benchsi...
8 Steps to More Successful Experiments
07 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#48 — One of the critical skills required for any scientist is the ability to consistently design and carry out successful experiments. It’s also ...
How Buffers Work—A Guide For Biologists
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#47 — Buffers are everywhere in a lab. But do you know why we use them? Listen to this episode of Mentors At Your Benchside as we explain what buffe...
What Is a Ct Value?
24 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#46 — If you are performing quantitative PCR (qPCR), you must understand what a Ct value is. In this episode of Mentors at Your Benchside, we'll tak...
Different DNA Polymerases Explained
17 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#45 — Taq polymerase is a fantastic all-rounder for standard PCRs, but what do you do if you need something a bit more specialist? In this episode o...
10 Good and Evil Ways to Use Your Dr Title
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#44 — So you might be wondering why you bothered with all those years of failed experiments, committees, overbearing supervisors, thesis writing, an...
How DNA Extraction Kits Work in the Lab
03 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#43 — DNA extraction kits. A magic black (or red or blue) box that helps you isolate DNA without you even thinking. That's great—until things go w...
Funny Fruit Fly Gene Names
20 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#42 — There are a lot of humorless scientists out there. But thankfully, some do their bit to make science a bit more fun by adding a splash of imag...
How to clean and calibrate your lab balance
13 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#41 — Keeping your lab balance clean and calibrated will make your bench work a lot easier. In this episode we give you useful tips to maintain your...
How to Write a Thoughtful Discussion for Your Scientific Paper
06 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#40 — Are you struggling to write the discussion section of your paper? It can be daunting to put your results in context and to thoughtfully consid...
How Using Oil Immersion Microscopy Can Increase Your Resolution
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#39 — Oil immersion microscopy can help increase your resolution in light microscopy. Which, in turn, can lead to better images; and who doesn’t w...
Artificial Intelligence in Biology
22 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#38 — Artificial intelligence, or AI for short, is changing the way we analyze images and data in biology. But what exactly is AI?Listen to this epi...
Does Your h-index Measure Up?
15 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#37 — How do you measure how good you are as a scientist? How would you compare the impact of two scientists in a field? What if you had to decide w...
How to Check the Accuracy of Your Pipette in 7 Easy Steps
08 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#36 — Don't let an inaccurate pipette ruin your experiments. In this episode of Mentors At Your Benchside we’re talking about how to check the acc...
How to Make the Perfect Agar Plate Every Time
01 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#35 — A smooth, perfect agar plate will make your microbial experiments a lot easier. Whether you're using LB, M9 or blood agar, tune in to this epi...
Top 5 Protein Quantification Assays
25 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#34 — Whether you like it or not, you need to know the concentration of your protein samples accurately. Binding constants, enzyme kinetics, and act...
Top 10 Worst Lab Smells
18 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#33 — Your lab. It probably doesn't look very nice, and often enough, it probably doesn't smell very nice either. Lumps of E. coli, fishy amines, eg...
Is Your Bacterial Culture Still Growing? A Primer on ODÂ600 Measurements
11 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#32 — How do you know if your bacteria culture is ready for your experiment? In this episode of Mentors At Your Benchside we take a close look at th...
How CRISPR-Cas13 Can Revolutionize Your RNA Research
04 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#31 — CRISPR can do more than edit DNA. Cas13, a CRISPR-associated protein that can bind and cut RNA, provides the power of CRISPR for studying RNA....
Keep Calm and Spin On: The Whats and Whys of Centrifugation
29 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#30 — We have all heard about centrifugation, or more specifically, the horror stories associated with centrifugation going wrong.But don't let cent...
Protease Inhibitors 101: How They Work and How to Use Them
27 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#29 — Ever wondered why you have to add protease inhibitors to your lysis buffer? In this episode of Mentors At Your Benchside we’ll tell you all ...
Constant Current or Voltage in SDS-PAGE: The Great Debate
22 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#28 — SDS-PAGE gels can be run at constant current, constant voltage or constant power. But which is best? Listen to this episode of Mentors at Your...
DNA Ligation: How it Works & 6 Top Tips
20 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#27 — Optimal conditions for DNA ligation reactions are a delicate balance between DNA molecules interacting and the enzymatic ligation reaction.In ...
What Is Cryo-Electron Microscopy? A Brief Introduction
15 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#26 — Cryo-EM is a revolutionary imaging method that lets us see complex biostructures at higher and higher resolutions. But do you understand the m...
The Basics: How Phenol Extraction of DNA Works
13 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#25 — Phenol extraction of DNA is a commonly used method for removing proteins from nucleic acids, for example, to remove proteins from cell lysate ...
Postdoc Interview Preparation: Sample Questions and Answers
08 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#24 — How can you best prepare for a postdoc interview? Here we cover 10 questions that are often encountered during the job-hunting process. Prep...
Creativity in Science: How a Good Imagination Can Help Your Research
06 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#23 — Creativity in Science: How a Good Imagination Can Help Your ResearchIf you're stuck in a research rut in the lab, developing your creativity...
Ten Bad Chemicals in the Lab and What They do to You!
01 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#22 — Research often requires you to use dangerous chemicals. From caustic acids and bases to pH solutions and toxic reducing agents, chemical hazar...
How Confluent Are Your Cells? A Beginner’s Guide to Measuring Cell Culture Confluency
30 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#21 — Do you know the difference between cell confluency and cell number? Can you measure cell confluency accurately? Cell confluency measurements a...
Laemmli Buffer: What Is It for Anyway?
25 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#20— Have you ever wondered how Laemmli buffer actually works? In this episode of Mentors At Your Benchside, we talk through the different component...
What is Alternative Splicing, and Why Is It Important?
23 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#19 — Listen to this episode to discover what alternative splicing is, the history of how it was discovered, and get key examples of splicing in act...
Why Is SDS-PAGE Run Vertically? Here are 3 Great Answers
18 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#18 — Why are SDS-PAGE gels run vertically? What would happen if we ran them horizontally? Has anyone ever tried? Discover the answers to these ques...
How (and Why) To Manipulate Plasmid Copy Number
16 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#17 — Why do some plasmids give a better protein yield than others? It may have a lot to do with the plasmid copy number. In this episode we talk ab...
Top 10 Tips for Viva Success
11 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#16 — Is your viva on the horizon? Many people think viva exams are going to be painful. But what if you could make your viva go smoothly and maybe ...