In an upper-division interdisciplinary laboratory experiment, students use Raman spectroscopy to highlight how the overall structure and conformational order of lipid bilayers can be influenced by their individual phospholipid composition. Students prepare a supported lipid bilayer, as a model cell membrane, by spreading liposomes made of various…

This article illustrates the use of Microsoft OneNote as an Electronic Notebook for undergraduate biochemistry lab reports as well as student opinions of this use both before and during the online coursework shift during the pandemic.

Along with the COVID-19 pandemic, universities in Turkey as well as all over the world have started to carry out their education activities with the distance education method. In this case, many difficulties were encountered in the application of the Biology course, which is one of the applied courses carried out in the laboratory. Virtual…

The CRISPR/Cas9 system is a powerful tool for gene editing and it has become increasingly important for biology students to understand this emerging technique. Most CRISPR laboratory teaching modules use complex metazoan systems or mammalian cell culture which can be expensive. Here, we present a lab module that engages students in learning the…

The concepts of phospholipase activity is often taught in undergraduate biology and biochemistry classes and reinforced in laboratory exercises. However, very rarely does the design of these exercises allow students to directly gain experience in the use of modern instruments such as digital imaging systems and fluorescence spectrophotometers. The…

Laboratory exercises for undergraduate biochemistry students are described in which changes in sugar content during fermentation of the trendy beverage kombucha are analyzed by three methods: thin layer chromatography, a 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid assay, and a standard commercial blood glucose meter. Each of the three analyses can be completed in a…

Metabolomics is a key discipline in systems biology, together with genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics. In this omics cascade, the metabolome represents the biochemical products that arise from cellular processes and is often regarded as the final response of a biological system to environmental or genetic changes. The overall screening…

The concepts of protein purification are often taught in undergraduate biology and biochemistry lectures and reinforced during laboratory exercises; however, very few reported activities allow students to directly gain experience using modern protein purification instruments, such as Fast Protein Liquid Chromatography (FPLC). This laboratory…

Modern research often requires collaboration of experts in fields, such as math, chemistry, biology, physics, and computer science to develop unique solutions to common problems. Traditional introductory undergraduate laboratory curricula in the sciences often do not emphasize connections possible between the various disciplines. We designed an…

Transcription termination comes in two forms in "E. coli" cells. Rho-dependent termination requires the binding of a termination protein called Rho factor to the transcriptional machinery at the terminator region, whereas Rho-independent termination is achieved by conformational changes in the transcript itself. This article presents a test…

Bioprocess engineering is a highly interdisciplinary field of study which is strongly benefited by practical courses where students can actively experience the interconnection between biology, engineering, and physical sciences. This work describes a lab course developed for 2nd year undergraduate students of bioprocess engineering and related…

The genes responsible for luminescence in various species of the marine microorganism "Photobacterium", have been used for many years as a tool by researchers and instructors. In particular, the "lux" operon of "Photobacterium fischeri" has been used by many instructors to teach recombinant DNA techniques. Two methods using an automated plate…

Western blot analysis, commonly known as "Western blotting," is a standard tool in every laboratory where proteins are analyzed. It involves the separation of polypeptides in polyacrylamide gels followed by the electrophoretic transfer of the separated polypeptides onto a nitrocellulose or polyvinylidene fluoride membrane. A replica of the…

Gel electrophoresis is the single most important molecular biology technique and it is central to life sciences research, but it is often too expensive for the secondary science classroom or homeschoolers. A simple safe low-cost procedure is described here that uses household materials to construct and run DNA gel electrophoresis. Plastic…

Lipid rafts have been implicated in numerous cellular processes including cell signaling, endocytosis, and even viral infection. Isolation of these lipid rafts often involves detergent treatment of the membrane to dissolve nonraft components followed by separation of raft regions in a density gradient. We present here an inquiry-based lab series…