February 19, 2016 at 03:08AM

Today I Learned: 1) Three-primer PCR. One is the normal forward primer. One is a normal reverse primer, with an extension. The third is a primer that amplifies off of the extension from the reverse primer (or it could be an extension off the forward primer). This is nice if you want to make two different kinds of modifications to the end of a sequence combinatorially. This came up today when discussion how to mutigenize near the end of a linear DNA sequence while also adding two or more different sets of overhangs to the same end. 2) I apparently had really good English teachers in high shcool. There was a discussion over dinner today about the many awful experiences my coleagues had in high school, and while I could sympathize, I can't really say I had those experiences, for the most part. All of my high school English/Lit teachers were pretty awesome! 3) You know how cheap bamboo chopsticks have that solid block at the end farthest from the eating end? Apparently that's not just to hold them together, and you're not supposed to split it when you break apart the chopsticks. Instead, you're supposed to break off that whole piece, and use it as a stand for your chopsticks so they don't have to touch the table.