The inaugural issue of 'Life in the Lab' features insights from scientists, special deals on Life Technologies products, and helpful tips for laboratory work. Key highlights include advancements in imaging technologies, the introduction of new molecular probes, and promotional offers on cell culture media and reagents. The document also discusses innovative tools for induced pluripotent stem cell research and invites scientists to engage with the community via social media.

1. WINTER
2011
INAUGURAL ISSUE
Words of wisdom
from fellow scientists
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2. The art of imaging
putting fluorescent probes to work
Multiplex imaging of human carcinoma (HeLa) cell labeled with Qdot® nanocrystals
and mounted with Qmount® media.
Imaging right from your mobile device
The Molecular Probes® cell imaging mobile app can help you find fluorescent dyes,
reagents, and protocols for cell biology–related fluorescence microscopy applications.
Available for iPhone®, iPod touch®, and Android™ devices from the iTunes® store.

3. Life Technologies Intro 2
HELLO
Thanks for reading! TABLE
Everyone loves special offers, creative contests,
and scientific tidbits. That’s why we’re bringing
OF
you the first issue of Life in the Lab, your
quarterly connection to other scientists and all
CONTENTS Gibco® Cell Culture
your favorite life science brands and products
from Life Technologies. Plus, you’ll find fun and
exciting ways to stay engaged with the scientific
community. You can start by letting us know what What’s Your Can IPSCs Protect
you think at www.facebook.com/lifetechnologies. Cell Culture IQ? Endangered Species?
It’s an exciting, challenging, and complex time to
live life in the lab. For those about to science, we
salute you.
Applied Biosystems®
WATCH IT Ambion® RNA Solutions Real-Time PCR Innovations
Invitrogen™
PCR Gets Personal PCR Essentials
This video is inspired by all the dedicated everyday
heroes of science. Life Technologies recognizes your
passion and admires your perseverance.
Invitrogen™
youtube.com/watch?v=lCblncsE8wQ Cloning Essentials Novex® Protein
or search Ph. Diddy
ON THE COVER
This original artwork illustrates
Frostie snowmaculus skeletal structure and vascular system.
© Life Technologies Corp.
Molecular Probes®
Cell Imaging Holiday Science
For Research Use Only. Not intended for human or animal therapeutic or diagnostic use.
© 2011 Life Technologies Corporation. All rights reserved. CO31751 1111
The trademarks mentioned herein are the property of Life Technologies Corporation and/or its affiliate(s) or their respective owners. TaqMan® is a registered trademark of Roche Molecular Systems, Inc., used under
permission and license. iPhone, iPod touch, iTunes, and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple, Inc. Android is a trademark of Google, Inc. Facebook is a registered trademark of Facebook, Inc. Pandora is a registered
trademark of Pandora Media, Inc. JAMBOX and Jawbone are trademarks of AliphCom Corporation. CytoTune is a trademark of DNAVEC Corporation. TRIzol is a registered trademark of Molecular Research Center, Inc.
Eppendorf is a registered trademark of Eppendorf AG. Twitter is a registered trademark of Twitter, Inc.

4. 3 Cell Culture Gibco®
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5. Gibco® Cell Culture 4
What’s your cell culture IQ?
Think you know everything about cell culture? Take our quiz and put
SCORE
DATE _________________________________
NAME _________________________________
your knowledge to the test. Answers below—no peeking!
1. DMEM cell culture medium 7. The stem cells that form blood
I’M NEW
contains how many components? and immune cells are:
[ A ] <10 [ A ] Neural stem cells
[ B ] 10–20 [ B ] Hematopoietic stem cells
[ C ] 21–30 [ C ] Mesenchymal stem cells
[ D ] >30 [ D ] Episomal stem cells
APPRENTICE
2. The two most common cell culture 8. The optimal pH for growth of
media supplements are: mammalian cell lines is:
[ A ] Penicillin and trypsin [ A ] 5.0–6.0
[ B ] DMSO and glutamine [ B ] 6.1–6.9
[ C ] Serum and streptomycin [ C ] 7.0–7.6
GENIUS
[ D ] Glutamine and serum [ D ] 7.7–7.9
3. The more glutamine you add to 9. Which cells cannot be expanded in
cell culture media, the better! culture indefinitely?
[ A ] True [ A ] Primary human keratinocytes
[ B ] False [ B ] CHO-S
[ C ] High Five™ DIRECTIONS
4. The HeLa cell gets its name from [ D ] 293F
which person?
[ A ] Harry Lake 10. Type II neuronal cells exhibit which
[ B ] Hester Lamont characteristic?
[ C ] Henrietta Lacks [ A ] Long axons • MAKE DARK MARKS
[ D ] Herman Lasiter [ B ] Short axons • ERASE COMPLETELY
[ C ] No axons
5. Cells should be frozen: [ D ] Multiple axons
[ A ] Quickly
[ B ] Slowly 11. Adherent mammalian cultures How’d you score?
should be passaged when they are:
6. Frozen cell should be thawed: [ A ] In the lag phase of growth 1–4 correct: I’m new
[ A ] Quickly [ B ] 100% confluent Let’s not be so quick to blame our lab
[ B ] Slowly [ C ] In the log phase of growth partner for last week’s contamination!
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5–9 correct: Apprentice
Moving in the right direction.
12. Geneticin solutions should be
prepared based on: 10 or more correct: Genius
[ A ] Dry weight You sure know your way around a T7 flask.
[ B ] Active weight
ANSWERS: 1 d, 2 d, 3 b, 4 c, 5 b, 6 a, 7 b, 8 c, 9 a, 10 c, 11 c, 12 b

6. 5 Cell Culture Gibco®
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7. Invitrogen™ Cell Reprogramming 6
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www.lifetechnologies.com/cytotune Loring and her group at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla,
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to endangered species conservation and created iPSCs from two
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Loring and her team propose applications in cell therapy for
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and generating iPSC-derived germ cells for the production of
viable offspring.
What do you think? What research needs to be performed before
iPSCs can be used to rescue endangered species? When will we
see this research being applied to species conservation? Send me a
message on Twitter at twitter.com/orthostichy
For more information on the research described above, read the
article in the September 2011 issue of Nature Methods at
nature.com/nmeth/journal/v8/n10/abs/nmeth.1706.html
TWEETS from ORTHOSTICHY
stem cell advances and other life obser vations
We believe in the power of community and support a variety of associations and
user groups. Here are some Twitter musings from our colleague, David Welch.
“iPSCs share a pluripotent metabolomic signature w/ embryonic stem cells that
is distinct from their parental cells: ow.ly/1A9zeX”
“Check out this PBS film on Dr. John Kessler of Northwestern
University and his mission with stem cell research: ow.ly/1A9z6X”
Follow David on Twitter
@orthostichy

8. 7 RNA Ambion®
Sasha Vlassov Interview Senior Staff Scientist, Ambion® Products
When did Life Technologies begin to offer oligonucleotides that are more specific due to
products for the miRNA functional workflow? innovative chemical modifications that inactivate
Ambion (now part of Life Technologies) was the the star strand. These mimic the natural
first company to launch tools for the miRNA microRNA, thus increasing the level of the specific
functional analysis over 7 years ago. In July 2011, microRNA inside the cell.
we launched the next generation mirVana™
mimics and inhibitors. What are the different offerings within
this product line?
How are the new mirVana™ products different? The new product is available both at small scale
mirVana™ inhibitors are single-stranded as well as at larger scales (In Vivo Ready format).
oligonucleotides that are more potent due to their We offer human and mouse libraries for both
novel chemical modifications. These inactivate the mimics and inhibitors with 100% coverage of
natural miRNA, thus reducing their levels in cells. miRBase version 17.
mirVana™ mimics are double-stranded synthetic
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*Certain restrictions apply. Please see page 26 for terms and conditions.

9. Ambion® RNA 8
What has been the feedback on this technology?
We have received very positive feedback from the
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10. 9 Real-Time PCR Applied Biosystems®
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11. Applied Biosystems® Real-Time PCR 10
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12. 11 Real-Time PCR Applied Biosystems®
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13. Applied Biosystems® Real-Time PCR 12
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14. 13 PCR Applied Biosystems®
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15. Invitrogen™ PCR 14
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16. 15 Transfection Invitrogen™
Designer T-cells Two recent articles present the amazing results of
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Full articles can be found at The New England Journal
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17. Invitrogen™ Transfection 16
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18. 17 Cloning Invitrogen™
Get there faster
Don’t spend days or hours—minutes are all you need
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19. Invitrogen™ Cloning 18
Invitrogen
TOPO® cloning
• For TOPO® cloning, start with a 1:1 molar ratio of insert and vector
• For TOPO® TA cloning, try to perform your PCR and TOPO®
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Build your next
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Gateway® products GeneArt® gene synthesis
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GeneArt® solutions give you predictability,
• If your Gateway® destination vector has the same antibiotic adaptability, and confidence. Whether
resistance marker as the entry vector, cut the entry vector with increasing protein expression rates as much
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AS LOW AS
39
very accurate over ODs greater than 1.0
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¢
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20. 19 Everyday Essentials Invitrogen™
Precious samples
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21. Life Technologies Everyday Essentials 20
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22. 21 Protein Novex®
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23. Novex® Protein 22
Lab Wisdom
COLLEGIAL CONTRIBUTIONS FOR THE LAB
Top 10 tips from lab managers
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everyone does in the lab
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- Download the Novex® and NuPAGE® Precast Gel 6. Include all people working in the lab on duty rotations—
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www.lifetechnologies.com/novextechnicalguide 7. Build strong relationships with stores and building
• 2.5% BME or 50 mM DTT can be substituted for NuPAGE® porters
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Marie, Lab Manager
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WATCH IT
Do you know about the upcoming technology
shift in immunoprecipitation? This video helps
explain it.
www.youtube.com/immunoprecipitation To contribute collegial words of wisdom to the next issue,
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24. 23 Cell Imaging Molecular Probes®
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26. 25 Holiday Science Life Technologies
How is your lab preparing for the holidays?
Follow these tips for scientifically magical holidays!
In your lab In your science
1. Be sure to spend any budget expiring at the end of year. 18. Safely freeze down your cells with Gibco® Recovery Cell
(May we suggest doing so at lifetechnologies.com?) :) Culture Freezing Medium.
2. Defrost freezers. #lamelabstuff 19. Transfer your lab notes from benchpaper and paper towels
3. Buy gift for your lab manager. #properlabetiquette into your lab notebook.
4. Pump up Gibco® Cell Culture Radio on Pandora at your lab’s 20.Clean your fridge and freezer with care. When in doubt,
holiday party. (You did get your free JAMBOX™ speaker, right? DON’T throw it out!
See page 5.) 21. Head to the cloud—ensure all important data files are
5. Ensure all equipment maintenance and calibrations are up to backed up.
date. (e.g., pipettes, scales, pH meter, etc.) 22.Educate yourself about new technologies. (Not sure how
6. Clean it up! (e.g., countertops and repaper public areas, to do that? Talk to us on Facebook!)
radioactive areas, common-use areas, etc.) 23.Plan what experiments need to be done before the
7. Prepare your lab for savings, set up standing orders with key holiday—you don’t want to have to check on your cells
vendors for 2012, and take advantage of year-end promotions during your break.
as you stock up on reagents with long expiration dates. 24.In the spirit of giving and getting—learn a new technique
8. Get in the spirit! Decorate your labmate’s bench with a and teach one to someone else.
garland of Eppendorf® tubes and lights. 25.Plan that next big experiment you are going to start when
you get back! #discoverthemeaningoflife
In your life
9. Read up on relevant papers, clean up your LinkedIn profile,
and join a new Facebook group.
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department head.
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any networks? Get busy!)
12. Plan attendance at research and user group meetings in
conveniently chosen locations (Hawaii, Colorado, and Paris
sound fun to us!) #perksofscience
13. Make sure to align your schedule with your PI’s. (Vacation
schedule, that is.)
14. Regift promotional items you’ve received over the past year.
(Who else needs a USB drive?)
15. Save yourself time—search iTunes® store and download good
scientific mobile apps. (Check out Invitrogen™ CloningBench,
Molecular Probes® Cell Imaging, and Invitrogen™ Daily
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16. Start the New Year by watching Monty Python’s Life of Brian
—always look on the bright side of life!
17. Spread some cheer! Make your own video—serious or
fun. (See the Zheng Lab Bad Project video on YouTube for
inspiration of the latter.)

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Terms & Conditions
All promotions are open to qualifying customers in the US and Canada. Offers expire January 31, 2012. Customer can use each promotion only once. Discounts
apply to list price in effect at the time order is received by Life Technologies. Each promotion cannot be combined with other discounts or promotions. By placing
the order, you warrant that you are not prohibited by employment, contract, or law from accepting a gift from Life Technologies. Offer void where prohibited by
federal, state, provincial, or local laws or regulation or agency/institutional policy. Limits on quantities apply. Other restrictions may apply.
To see complete terms and conditions, go to www.lifetechnologies.com/lifeinthelab

28. 8 premier brands. 600,000 citations.
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