Editing BioMicroCenter:News2010 (section)

=== Aug 9, 2010 ===
Dear Users,<br>
There have been a number of significant changes in the BioMicro Center in the past few months and there will be more to come.  To keep you up to date, I will again be sending out a newsletter every month or two with highlights of what is going on. Unlike previous newsletters, these will only be sent to those who have used the facility within the past year or so, so be sure to spread the word if you see items that might be of interest to others in your lab!
====New equipment====
A number of pieces of new equipment have been added to the BioMicro Center, particularly in the area of high throughput screening. First, through an equipment grant sponsored by Wendy Gilbert, we have added a second robotic fluidics machine that is specifically geared for screening 96 and 384 well plates.  Unlike the older robot, this [[BioMicroCenter:Tecan_Freedom_Evo|Tecan]] has a plate manipulating arm that allows it to handle much larger experiments. We also have added the [[BioMicroCenter:RTPCR|Fluidigm Biomark]] which has been relocated from E17 and we are also in the evaluation phase for the [[BioMicroCenter:Nanostring|Nanostring nCounter]]. Both of these machines allow you to look at a large number of genes / SNPs across a large number of samples. The [[BioMicroCenter:RTPCR|Biomark]] is a nanofluidic RT-PCR machine that creates large matrices (either 48x48 or 96x96) of samples and primers, allowing you to do close to 10,000 RT-PCR reactions on a plate. The [[BioMicroCenter:Nanostring|nCounter]] uses a [[BioMicroCenter:Nanostring|“code set”]] of up to 800 genes to hybridize to dozens or hundreds of samples, then visualizes the single molecule interactions. The [[BioMicroCenter:Nanostring|nCounter]] is particularly interesting in that it does not require conversion of the sample to cDNA, or even purification of the RNA. Information about all of these instruments can be found on our website.

====New services====
We are happy to announce the beginning of sample preparation services for Illumina sequencing. We are introducing this service starting with double stranded DNA fragments (>100bp) such as de novo genomic sequencing, resequencing, ChIP-seq and RNA-seq that has been converted to cDNA. The service includes QC, end-repair, adaptor ligation, size selection and enrichment. Once samples are prepared, they are validated and added directly to the Illumina sequencing queue. Right now, this service is limited, but we are hoping to introduce multiplexing and RNA samples in the near future. 
====Upcoming Events====
With so many changes both in new equipment and upgrades to current equipment we wanted to create an opportunity for you to learn more about the assays available in the facility. To help with this, we will be sponsoring a [[BioMicroCenter:Technology Seminar Series|“Technology Seminar Series”]] this fall. The weekly seminars will be at noon on Mondays (lunch will be provided). Each week we will showcase a different technology in the facility and bring you up to date on the latest advances and future directions of the technology. We have asked the companies we have invited to bring their scientists to speak (not the sales team) so you have a chance to interact with them directly. 
I hope you are having a great summer!<br>
-Stuart