2023: Top content and our year in review
This year, BioTechniques celebrated its 40th anniversary. In honor of this occasion, we created and hosted a series of projects and competitions, while still covering updates across the breadth of basic life-science research.
Here, we wanted to share our top-performing content of 2023 with you, highlighting the considerable innovation flourishing across the life sciences despite the economic hardships that scientific bodies have faced this year. From using primordial germ cells to prevent the extinction of the northern white rhino to using liquid-electron microscopy in structural biology, we wrote about and commissioned experts on a wide range of techniques and their applications so no matter what area of research you’re interested in, we’ve got you covered.
So, without further ado, your top content of 2023…
Top content:
News: Northern white rhinoceros could be brought back from the brink of extinction
One of our first pieces of 2023 quickly became a hit with our audience, clearly encapsulating their detailed technical knowledge with their passion for research that has positive and tangible impacts on the world around them. The article reported a successful effort to generate primordial germ cells for northern white rhinos, which could play a vital role in preventing their extinction.
Tech News: The future of lipid nanoparticles and mRNA cancer vaccines
This Tech News article delved into perhaps one of the most impactful technologies to take shape in the last 5 years, examining how lipid nanoparticles enabled the development of the tremendously successful mRNA vaccine and how this technology is being deployed in the fight against cancer. Featuring insights from Jay Berzofsky, the Head of Molecular Immunogenetics and Vaccine Research and the Vaccine Branch at the National Cancer Institute (MD, USA), and other leading researchers in the field, this article is not one to miss.
Interview: Antivenom intelligence? The role of AI in developing snakebite treatments
Perhaps one of the hottest technological topics throughout 2023 has been artificial intelligence, and it’s a topic that we have covered increasingly throughout the year, sometimes in rather unexpected spheres. This interview revealed AI’s applications in antibody discovery programs for the development of antivenoms.
Learn
Always looking to expand the practical functionality of BioTechniques, our Learn Guides have taken on new and exciting formats, now incorporating infographics and protocol listicles.
Ten tips for successful flow cytometry
This Learn Guide does what it says on the tin, delivering ten helpful tips for conducting successful flow cytometry analyses. Accompanied by a simplified infographic, this guide can be printed and stuck on your lab wall for all to see, use and marvel at.
Liquid-electron microscopy: making waves in structural biology
This article tracks the expanding use of liquid-EM in structural biology and the current methodologies available for conducting this technique, before detailing the requirements for imaging and sample preparation. Compiled by the Kelly Lab at Pennsylvania State University (PA, USA), this article provides an essential touch point for anyone looking to conduct liquid-EM for structural biology applications.
How to prepare samples for proteomic analysis with Protocols.io
Protocols.io acts as a searchable archive for protocols featured in published papers and provides a vast resource for research scientists looking to avoid the need to continually break new ground. Here, we compile a list of sample preparation protocols for proteomic analysis.
Sponsored features:
Panel Discussion: Measuring protein–protein interactions
Our final webinar of the year featured four experts on the analysis and characterization of protein–protein interactions and provides a platform for researchers old and new to learn more about the various techniques, such as surface plasmon resonance and isothermal titration calorimetry, used to measure protein–protein interactions for therapeutic development.
In Focus: Sequencing for conservation
Nanopore sequencing has been a linchpin in the rise of long-read sequencing techniques and their dissemination throughout the life sciences. This In Focus discusses ways these techniques are being used to defend the 42,000 species of animals, plants and fungi around the world that are threatened by extinction.
Foundational to multiple fields of research, from immunology and infectious disease to drug discovery and development, antibody discovery studies, and the techniques used in them, are common practice for many of BioTechniques’ members. It is not surprising, then, that this Spotlight detailing the various techniques and technologies utilized in antibody discovery, how high-throughput flow cytometry can be used for successful discovery campaigns and the emerging role of artificial intelligence in antibody discovery, was our most read of the year.
Podcasts:
Our podcast hosting expanded once again this year to house Hello PhD: the show of one of our Learn Mentors, Josh Hall at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (MA, USA).
STEM Tea | Mentoring first-generation students
Our most listened to podcast of the year was our STEM Tea episode on mentoring first-generation students. Hosted by AJ Hinton (Vanderbilt University, TN, USA) and featuring Keisha Hardeman and Arnaldo Díaz Vázquez (both at The University of Texas Southwestern, TX, USA), the episode delved into the challenges of being a first-generation student as an undergraduate through to a faculty member and how they can empower their mentees to take control of their academic careers.
Talking Techniques | Welcome to the jungle: sequencing for conservation
Featured in our aforementioned In Focus on sequencing for conservation, this episode explored the fascinating research of Zane Libke, a field researcher based at Sumak Kawsay In Situ (Pastaza, Ecuador) working in the Ecuadorian rainforest with nanopore sequencing technologies to find undescribed species and training future field researchers.
Hello PhD | My green lab with Allison Paradise
The unavoidable truth of working in research is that many scientists may be some of the most environmentally conscious people in the working world, while also having some of the largest carbon footprints. The demanding energy requirements of lab equipment and the high volumes of single-use plastic waste are key contributors to this footprint. This episode of Hello PhD discusses the integration of sustainable practices into the lab with Allison Paradise, CEO and founder of My Green Lab (CA, USA), a non-profit organization committed to making research more sustainable.