March 28, 2016 at 01:55AM

Today I Learned: 1) ...a bit more about loop-mediated isothermal amplification, or LAMP (don't ask me how it got that acronym). LAMP is a specific, complicated form of PCR, which means it uses a polymerase to quickly and massively amplify a DNA target. Exactly how LAMP works is a bit much for me to explain here -- if you feel you're equipped to nerd out over PCR methods, check out NEB's video primer* here: http://ift.tt/1UR04jt. The gist is this: LAMP is more complex than the usual method of PCR, requires more primers, and makes a variety of multimeric chains of the target sequence instead of clean individual copies, BUT it can be performed entirely at room temperature just by mixing the primers, polymerase, buffer, and target, and only takes 10-20 minutes to run. This makes LAMP potentially really awesome for diagnostic applications, where a) the targets are more or less fixed, so you don't have to re-design primers all the time; b) you need super-fast results; and c) you don't want to have to be able to use a thermal cycler to use the diagnostic. * I couldn't help myself 2) There is a nice little stall in Pike Place, Seattle, that sells homemade pastas with incredible flavors. They well a habañero pasta which they warn is quite spicy. Today I learned to take that warning seriously. It did not need to be put in a spicy dish to work. 3) ...how to use the printers in SFL. Apparently when you print to them from a computer, they're put in a queue until you physically go to a printer, log or swipe yourself in, and tell it to print the job. I didn't have to do this last time I was in SFL, so this must be a new thing....