20.109(S10)

Spring 2010

Instructors: Jacquin Niles, Alan Jasanoff, and Agi Stachowiak

Writing Instructor: Neal Lerner, Linda Sutliff
Oral Presentation Instructor: Atissa Banuazizi

TAs: Christina Birch, Xiaosai Yao, Nicole Casasnovas

Lecture: T/R 11-12 (4-237)
Lab: T/R 1-5 or W/F 1-5 (56-322)

Welcome to 20.109! For many of you this will be the first time in a research lab and for others it will not, but it is our goal to make this class a useful and fun introduction to experiments and techniques in biological engineering. There is not time enough to show you everything you’ll need to know if you go on to do research, but after taking this class you should feel confident and familiar with some fundamental experimental approaches and lab protocols. You will develop good habits at the bench, ones that will increase the likelihood of success in your work and ensure the health and safety of you and those around you. By the end of the semester, you should also be aware of good scientific practice, having had some experience with report writing, notebook keeping and publicly presenting your data. All of us involved in teaching 20.109 hope you will find it a satisfying challenge and an exciting experience that has lasting value.

Announcements

• Module 2 report announcements
  • Reverse primer info: T7 reverse priming site in pRSET, 5' CTA GTT ATT GCT CAG CGG TGG
  • Forward primer info: T7 promoter site in pRSET, 5' AATACGACTC ACTATAGGGA G

• Correction to mutation info in Lecture 8
  • The surprising results of E84K having increased binding affinity was a result of part of my Excel sheet pointing to the wrong cells. No one else's outcome was affected. I hope you all enjoyed the discussion of why such a result might have come about anyway :)

• You can find the latest changes to the 20.109 wiki at Recent changes for 20.109

• You can find old announcements here