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Tag: contamination

  • When a DNA Sequencer Finds a Bacterium: Why the Result Is Only the Beginning

    When a DNA Sequencer Finds a Bacterium: Why the Result Is Only the Beginning

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    Author: Kasem Jamil Al-Saloumi A portable MinION DNA sequencer being prepared for sequencing. Illustrative photograph; not from the author’s study. Credit: Mongan A.E., via Wikimedia Commons; CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MinION_portable_sequencer.png. Image unmodified. The first time a DNA sequencer gave me the name of a bacterium from a baby’s blood sample, I felt something…

  • Finding NEMO in the Sustainable Development Goals

    Finding NEMO in the Sustainable Development Goals

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    In my previous article, synthetic biology emerged as an extremely powerful tool that can help tackle some of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. As a member of the 2020 University of Edinburgh iGEM team, I would like to exemplify how this can be done in practice using our project.  iGEM is an independent, non-profit…