Ezra Abrams
@ezraabrams.bsky.social
Scientist at Sage Science in Beverly MA
@sagescience.bsky.social
www.sagescience.com
@sagescience.bsky.social
www.sagescience.com
my 80 yro mom was in the hosp and finally, finally she fell asleep and a tech came in at midnight and said I need to wake her up to draw blood for calcium and I said
NO
not sure if they really need to do this at midnight, or that is just the default
but no MD or nurse came in to question me, so ?
NO
not sure if they really need to do this at midnight, or that is just the default
but no MD or nurse came in to question me, so ?
December 19, 2025 at 3:45 PM
my 80 yro mom was in the hosp and finally, finally she fell asleep and a tech came in at midnight and said I need to wake her up to draw blood for calcium and I said
NO
not sure if they really need to do this at midnight, or that is just the default
but no MD or nurse came in to question me, so ?
NO
not sure if they really need to do this at midnight, or that is just the default
but no MD or nurse came in to question me, so ?
Talmudic Question:
how small can a nucleic acid be and still be a parasite or virus like thing that can replicate ?
50 nts ?
30 ?
Google tells me the smallest known viroid is about 250 nts, so like Feynman famously said, there is plenty of room at the bottom !!
how small can a nucleic acid be and still be a parasite or virus like thing that can replicate ?
50 nts ?
30 ?
Google tells me the smallest known viroid is about 250 nts, so like Feynman famously said, there is plenty of room at the bottom !!
October 20, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Talmudic Question:
how small can a nucleic acid be and still be a parasite or virus like thing that can replicate ?
50 nts ?
30 ?
Google tells me the smallest known viroid is about 250 nts, so like Feynman famously said, there is plenty of room at the bottom !!
how small can a nucleic acid be and still be a parasite or virus like thing that can replicate ?
50 nts ?
30 ?
Google tells me the smallest known viroid is about 250 nts, so like Feynman famously said, there is plenty of room at the bottom !!
As a young PhD in the 1980s, the following made a big impression on me
A professor retired, and left his large collection of offprints ( you all remember offprints ?!) and the had to be thrown out; no one wanted them and they couldn't be recycled as waste paper due to the staples
A professor retired, and left his large collection of offprints ( you all remember offprints ?!) and the had to be thrown out; no one wanted them and they couldn't be recycled as waste paper due to the staples
October 20, 2025 at 9:20 PM
As a young PhD in the 1980s, the following made a big impression on me
A professor retired, and left his large collection of offprints ( you all remember offprints ?!) and the had to be thrown out; no one wanted them and they couldn't be recycled as waste paper due to the staples
A professor retired, and left his large collection of offprints ( you all remember offprints ?!) and the had to be thrown out; no one wanted them and they couldn't be recycled as waste paper due to the staples
not related but to much fun to pass up
www.ccp4.ac.uk/schools/DLS-...
www.ccp4.ac.uk/schools/DLS-...
www.ccp4.ac.uk
October 8, 2025 at 2:11 PM
not related but to much fun to pass up
www.ccp4.ac.uk/schools/DLS-...
www.ccp4.ac.uk/schools/DLS-...
and moved the wedge until the absorbtion of light was the same;
the instrument could do this in scanning mode, and a line was drawn representing the posistion of the wedge, which is proportional to density on the x ray film
www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...
the instrument could do this in scanning mode, and a line was drawn representing the posistion of the wedge, which is proportional to density on the x ray film
www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...
www.google.com
October 8, 2025 at 2:11 PM
and moved the wedge until the absorbtion of light was the same;
the instrument could do this in scanning mode, and a line was drawn representing the posistion of the wedge, which is proportional to density on the x ray film
www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...
the instrument could do this in scanning mode, and a line was drawn representing the posistion of the wedge, which is proportional to density on the x ray film
www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...
!!
or:
joyce loebel densitometer. explaining how it works is a bit complex
iirc, it had a piece of glass, about 2 inch by 8, that had a gradient of grey along the long axis (a "wedge")
you put a piece of xray film on this, and the instrument shined a light thru the film and thru the wedge
or:
joyce loebel densitometer. explaining how it works is a bit complex
iirc, it had a piece of glass, about 2 inch by 8, that had a gradient of grey along the long axis (a "wedge")
you put a piece of xray film on this, and the instrument shined a light thru the film and thru the wedge
October 8, 2025 at 2:11 PM
!!
or:
joyce loebel densitometer. explaining how it works is a bit complex
iirc, it had a piece of glass, about 2 inch by 8, that had a gradient of grey along the long axis (a "wedge")
you put a piece of xray film on this, and the instrument shined a light thru the film and thru the wedge
or:
joyce loebel densitometer. explaining how it works is a bit complex
iirc, it had a piece of glass, about 2 inch by 8, that had a gradient of grey along the long axis (a "wedge")
you put a piece of xray film on this, and the instrument shined a light thru the film and thru the wedge
When I was a baby PhD student, I had to take some A260s, to measure DNA conc, and I was shown a then ancient beckman DU spectrophotometer that had been upgraded with a strip chart recorder the size of a mini fridge
The better funded lab down the hall had an HP peak integrator !!
The better funded lab down the hall had an HP peak integrator !!
October 2, 2025 at 10:29 PM
When I was a baby PhD student, I had to take some A260s, to measure DNA conc, and I was shown a then ancient beckman DU spectrophotometer that had been upgraded with a strip chart recorder the size of a mini fridge
The better funded lab down the hall had an HP peak integrator !!
The better funded lab down the hall had an HP peak integrator !!
Ethan Signer, Prof of Biology at MIT:
quote
"dumpster diving, sport of kings"
quote
"dumpster diving, sport of kings"
October 2, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Ethan Signer, Prof of Biology at MIT:
quote
"dumpster diving, sport of kings"
quote
"dumpster diving, sport of kings"
70 purified proteins
wow
iirc, 30 years ago, Jerard Hurwitz's lab was working on SV40 replication and had, iirc, maybe 3 or 4 purified proteins ?
wow
iirc, 30 years ago, Jerard Hurwitz's lab was working on SV40 replication and had, iirc, maybe 3 or 4 purified proteins ?
September 22, 2025 at 2:01 PM
70 purified proteins
wow
iirc, 30 years ago, Jerard Hurwitz's lab was working on SV40 replication and had, iirc, maybe 3 or 4 purified proteins ?
wow
iirc, 30 years ago, Jerard Hurwitz's lab was working on SV40 replication and had, iirc, maybe 3 or 4 purified proteins ?
in the finished product will vary
September 19, 2025 at 5:19 PM
in the finished product will vary
tinkering and experimentation that led to the creation of "regents" eg Fairy aka Dawn, with so many ingredients, some of which may be there merely as cost place holders - eg, there might be two ingredients doing hte same thing, but the relative cost fluctuates from year to year, so the proportions
September 19, 2025 at 5:19 PM
tinkering and experimentation that led to the creation of "regents" eg Fairy aka Dawn, with so many ingredients, some of which may be there merely as cost place holders - eg, there might be two ingredients doing hte same thing, but the relative cost fluctuates from year to year, so the proportions
not clearly described chemicals
Large corporations do
PS: the patent literature is your friend !!
If you look at the ingredient list, and wonder, how was this created, if you go thru the rather voluminous patent lit, or books written for industrial chemists, you will learn the step by step
Large corporations do
PS: the patent literature is your friend !!
If you look at the ingredient list, and wonder, how was this created, if you go thru the rather voluminous patent lit, or books written for industrial chemists, you will learn the step by step
September 19, 2025 at 5:19 PM
not clearly described chemicals
Large corporations do
PS: the patent literature is your friend !!
If you look at the ingredient list, and wonder, how was this created, if you go thru the rather voluminous patent lit, or books written for industrial chemists, you will learn the step by step
Large corporations do
PS: the patent literature is your friend !!
If you look at the ingredient list, and wonder, how was this created, if you go thru the rather voluminous patent lit, or books written for industrial chemists, you will learn the step by step
I think this is fair:
Research people (grad students, postdocs) don't really have time to "optimize" a buffer where a real optimization study might involve testing 100s of combinations of ingredients, where the ingredients are often
Research people (grad students, postdocs) don't really have time to "optimize" a buffer where a real optimization study might involve testing 100s of combinations of ingredients, where the ingredients are often
September 19, 2025 at 5:19 PM
I think this is fair:
Research people (grad students, postdocs) don't really have time to "optimize" a buffer where a real optimization study might involve testing 100s of combinations of ingredients, where the ingredients are often
Research people (grad students, postdocs) don't really have time to "optimize" a buffer where a real optimization study might involve testing 100s of combinations of ingredients, where the ingredients are often
for those of us who are not experts, could you explain that graph a little, and maybe provide a link to source ?
thanks
thanks
September 19, 2025 at 2:11 PM
for those of us who are not experts, could you explain that graph a little, and maybe provide a link to source ?
thanks
thanks
I read in the NYT this week that many corporations have, at least until recently, absorbed much of the cost of tariffs
YMMV
YMMV
September 14, 2025 at 9:51 PM
I read in the NYT this week that many corporations have, at least until recently, absorbed much of the cost of tariffs
YMMV
YMMV
will cost 850 million dollars
Maybe I'm old and don't know what things cost, but that sounds like an awful lot of money to me
Maybe I'm old and don't know what things cost, but that sounds like an awful lot of money to me
September 13, 2025 at 3:25 AM
will cost 850 million dollars
Maybe I'm old and don't know what things cost, but that sounds like an awful lot of money to me
Maybe I'm old and don't know what things cost, but that sounds like an awful lot of money to me
many many years ago, I heard an explanation of Talk Radio:
It doesn't matter that much what you say, people just want to hear a voice, have some companionship
shrug
It doesn't matter that much what you say, people just want to hear a voice, have some companionship
shrug
September 12, 2025 at 6:47 PM
many many years ago, I heard an explanation of Talk Radio:
It doesn't matter that much what you say, people just want to hear a voice, have some companionship
shrug
It doesn't matter that much what you say, people just want to hear a voice, have some companionship
shrug
Have you tried Mastodon ?
<sarcasm/>
<sarcasm/>
September 12, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Have you tried Mastodon ?
<sarcasm/>
<sarcasm/>
I know almost nothing about AI/LLMs
but, somewhat anecdotally, all the people I work with, managers, engineers, PhDs, tell me that in their daily work LLMs are very useful
I bring this up because ~ 99% of posts about AI are negative, but in the real world this is not what I see
#AI #LLM #LLMs
but, somewhat anecdotally, all the people I work with, managers, engineers, PhDs, tell me that in their daily work LLMs are very useful
I bring this up because ~ 99% of posts about AI are negative, but in the real world this is not what I see
#AI #LLM #LLMs
September 11, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Walking past a "holistic" store, I saw an ad for skin cream that had apple stem cells to rejuvenate your skin and tbh I was afraid to ask
August 27, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Walking past a "holistic" store, I saw an ad for skin cream that had apple stem cells to rejuvenate your skin and tbh I was afraid to ask
D
I work for Sage Science, and our Pippin Prep may help, esp if there are contaminants in your DNA
eg,
sagescience.com/pacbio/
Contact Support
For U.S. and Canada: support@sagescience.com
Phone: 978.922.1832
I work for Sage Science, and our Pippin Prep may help, esp if there are contaminants in your DNA
eg,
sagescience.com/pacbio/
Contact Support
For U.S. and Canada: support@sagescience.com
Phone: 978.922.1832
Size Selection for PacBio HiFi SMRTBell® Libraries | Sage Science
sagescience.com
August 27, 2025 at 4:16 PM
D
I work for Sage Science, and our Pippin Prep may help, esp if there are contaminants in your DNA
eg,
sagescience.com/pacbio/
Contact Support
For U.S. and Canada: support@sagescience.com
Phone: 978.922.1832
I work for Sage Science, and our Pippin Prep may help, esp if there are contaminants in your DNA
eg,
sagescience.com/pacbio/
Contact Support
For U.S. and Canada: support@sagescience.com
Phone: 978.922.1832
Older Version of this
If you are running a "gel" (DNA, RNA, Protein, agarose or PAGE) and you have a comb with N teeth, what is the max number of experiments/gel ?
the answer is N-1, cause you need a marker on each gel
This was from a Cozzarelli Lab student
If you are running a "gel" (DNA, RNA, Protein, agarose or PAGE) and you have a comb with N teeth, what is the max number of experiments/gel ?
the answer is N-1, cause you need a marker on each gel
This was from a Cozzarelli Lab student
November 20, 2024 at 9:41 PM
Older Version of this
If you are running a "gel" (DNA, RNA, Protein, agarose or PAGE) and you have a comb with N teeth, what is the max number of experiments/gel ?
the answer is N-1, cause you need a marker on each gel
This was from a Cozzarelli Lab student
If you are running a "gel" (DNA, RNA, Protein, agarose or PAGE) and you have a comb with N teeth, what is the max number of experiments/gel ?
the answer is N-1, cause you need a marker on each gel
This was from a Cozzarelli Lab student