Bioproduction Basics
This nutrient-rich liquid is commonly used to culture cells and microorganisms.
What is growth media?
This book by Mary Shelley features a scientist who creates life in his laboratory.
What is Frankenstein?
This bacterial shape appears as rod-shaped under the microscope.
What is "bacillus" or "bacilli"?
This scientist conducted the first systematic experiments on genetic inheritance using pea plants and established the laws of inheritance.
Who is Gregor Mendel?
This reagent is commonly used in PCR to extend primers and create complementary DNA strands.
What is Taq polymerase?
This basic ingredient is often used in bioreactors to provide carbon for cell metabolism.
What is glucose?
This Marvel superhero's origin story involves being exposed to gamma radiation during a lab experiment gone wrong.
Who is The Hulk (or Bruce Banner)?
This measurement expresses the concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution, critical for microbial growth.
What is pH?
In 1928, Alexander Fleming discovered this life-saving antibiotic by accident.
What is penicillin?
This reagent stains DNA and fluoresces under UV light during gel electrophoresis.
What is ethidium bromide?
This term describes cell lines that grow while attached to a surface.
What are adherent cells?
This book and film features a laboratory on the fictional island of Isla Nublar where dinosaurs were cloned.
What is Jurassic Park?
This microorganism is often used in baking and alcohol fermentation.
What is yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae)?
This physicist is credited with discovering radioactivity.
Who is Marie Curie?
This reagent is used to stop enzymatic reactions during cell lysis.
What is EDTA?
This phenomenon occurs when microbial populations suddenly produce antimicrobial compounds after reaching a critical density.
What is quorum sensing?
In "Stranger Things," this government lab might have benefited from better biosafety protocols.
What is Hawkins Lab?
This bacterial structure is responsible for antibiotic resistance transfer between bacteria.
What is a plasmid?
First observed by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek in the 1670s, these were initially called "animalcules."
What are bacteria (or microorganisms)?
This commonly used reagent is used for washing glassware and neutralizing acidic solutions.
What is sodium bicarbonate?
This bioproduction challenge occurs when proteins improperly fold and form insoluble aggregates during expression.
What is inclusion body formation?
She portrayed a quirky neurobiologist on The Big Bang Theory - and also has a real PhD in neuroscience.
Who is Mayim Bialik?
This term describes microorganisms that grow optimally at temperatures between 20-45°C, including most human pathogens.
What are mesophiles?
In the 1980s, this scientist discovered prions—infectious proteins—challenging the central dogma of biology.
Who is Stanley Prusiner?
This organic compound is used to extract proteins or nucleic acids by phase separation.
What is phenol or chloroform?