Taylor & Francis

In this Tech Blast episode supported by Sartorius (Göttingen, Germany), we talk to Daryl Cole about cell-line development (CLD), some of its challenges and a possible solution: the Octet Bio-Layer Interferometry (BLI) system. Daryl Cole is a Scientist in the Bio Applications Team at Sartorius with extensive experience in a range of fields; he offers insights into the possible applications of CLD and how to get the most out of the Octet BLI system.

In this episode of Editor’s Picks, we bring you the latest news in the life sciences including DishBrain, a dish of neurons that can play a computer game of table tennis, and click chemistry, which was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry this year.

In this podcast, we spoke with Katja Piltti from University of California, Irvine (USA) to learn about the importance of quality control in regenerative medicine. We discussed how automated cell culture monitoring and quality control can address changing needs in the transition from preclinical research to cGMP production.

Organoids are transforming the way we approach the drug discovery pipeline. In this Tech Blast episode, Ritwika Biswas, Product Scientist at Sino Biological (Beijing, China), explains why drug discovery needs new methods and how organoids can help.

Find out the importance of growth factors in the development of organoids for drug discovery, the challenges associated with their use and the impact of organoid biobanks on the field in this 15-minute overview of the landscape of organoids in drug discovery.

Contents:

Introductions: 00:00-00:28

Reviewing the drug discovery process: 00:28-02:45

Traditional methods used for target validation and drug screening: 02:45-05:20

Challenges associated with traditional methods: 05:20-07:00

How organoids can be used to address these challenges: 07:00-09:30

The importance of growth factors in organoid development: 09:30-10:50

Challenges in the utilization of organoids in drug discovery: 10:50-13:30

Organoid biobanks: 13:30-14:40

The impact of organoids in precision medicine: 14:40-16:20

In this Tech Blast episode, we discuss multiplex PCR methods, their challenges and advantages, and the tools being developed to advance multiplexing capabilities. Marco Bianchi, Product Manager at Bio-Rad Laboratories (CA, USA), provides an insight into what role multiplexing plays in research.

In this month's episode of Editor's Picks, we’ve got articles on magnetic synthetic cells, the synthesis of the most complete artificial microbiome yet and how a key protein in human fertilization was identified.

In this episode of the Talking Techniques podcast, we explore microbiomes and the techniques used to profile them. Get an overview of the different techniques’ working principles, their pros and cons and the different applications that they are best suited to.

Providing an expert insight into this field is Annabelle Damerum, Microbiome R&D Scientist at Zymo Research. Annabelle reveals some key tips best practice when profiling the microbiome and details the importance of an emerging aspect of the field: the vaginal microbiome.

Contents: Into: 00:00-01:50Why it is important to profile microbiomes. 01:50-04:15Key applications of microbiome profiling: 04:15-06:10Techniques used to profile the microbiome and their working principles: 06:10-09:20Targeted sequencing: 06:10-08:00Shotgun metagenomics: 08:00-09:00Metatranscriptomics: 09:00-9:15The strengths and limitations of these techniques: 09:12-             Targeted sequencing: 09:20-10.15Shotgun metagenomics: 10:15-11:25Metatranscriptomics: 11:25-11:50Matching techniques with applications: 11:50-13:30Tips for best practice for using these techniques: 13:30-16:25What is one thing you would ask for to improve the ability of microbiome profiling techniques: 16:55-18:10Investigating the vaginal microbiome: 18:10-20:55Conclusions and closing: 20:55-22:10 

As the cell and gene therapy industry expands further into commercialization, researchers, developers and manufacturers are growing increasingly aware of the need for specialized ancillary materials in the production of therapeutics. High-quality ancillary materials are often neglected during the early stages of development due to perceived cost, but conversion at later stages of development can be prohibitive and detrimental to program success. 

In this podcast, in association with Sexton Biotechnologies (now part of BioLife Solutions; WA, USA), Steve Elimann of Orbsen Therapeutics (Galway, Ireland) and Steven Thompson of Sexton Biotechnologies discuss the challenges of variability in producing cell therapeutics, and how using consistent reagents from reliable manufacturers can tackle this challenge. We also dive deep into the importance of gaining and maintaining trustworthy partners early in your cell therapy journey and how this can influence the overall success of your final product.

In this special episode of Talking Techniques, brought to you from the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies Forum (FENS; 9th–13th July 2022), an expert panel discuss their research into the relationship between the gut–brain axis and addiction.

The panel features Benjamin Boutrel (Lausanne University Hospital; Switzerland), Lorenzo Leggio (NIH Intramural Research Program; MD, USA) and Nathalie Delzenne (University of Louvain; Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium), who discuss their current research into the role of the microbiota in alcohol addiction, if this work could be translated into the clinic, and if similar processes are at play in other addictions, such as food and cocaine.

The discussion also features an audience Q&A, which explores the microbial relationship between mother and fetus, and social factors in addiction.

Contents:Introduction: 00:00–01:35Introduction to panelists: 01:35–03:40Techniques being used to investigate the relationship between the gut and addiction: 03:40–06:55Translating this research to the clinic: 06:55–11:40Parallels between alcohol addiction and other addictions, such as food, cocaine and tobacco: 11:40–17:05Microorganisms as drivers of behavior: 17:05–18:30The hot topic of gut health: 18:30–20:30Future directions for the research, including microbiota transfers, precision medicine and avoiding alcohol dependence: 20:30–24:35Audience Q&A – microbial elements between mother and fetus, and social factors in addiction: 24:35–29:15

In this Tech Blast episode, we discuss all things organoids with Ritwika Biswas, Product Specialist at Sino Biological US Inc (PA, USA). Ritwika provides an overview of what are organoids are, how reconbinant growths factors are utlized in their development, the benefits 3D organoid systems offer over 2D cell culture systems and the various applications organoids can be used for.

Ritwika also explores the challenges that remain in organoid research and how these can be overcome, as well as what the future holds for these models.

Contents:

Introduction: 00:00–00:30

What are organoids? 00:30–01:05

Existing organoids: 01:05–02:00

Generating organoids and cell culture methods: 02:00–04:30

Applications of organoids: 04:30–06:10

Comparing 3D and 2D culture systems: 06:10–07:40

Reproducibility, matrigels and increasing complexity: 07:40–09:50

The future of organoids: 09:50–12:20