See how researchers around the world are using Bento Lab to change the way they work.
See how researchers around the world are using Bento Lab to change the way they work.
In 55 minutes, Dr Sophie Zaaijer prepared a ready-to-sequence library for MinION, using Bento Lab for DNA extraction. Dr Zaaijer and the rest of the team at the New York Genome Center have developed a rapid, inexpensive, and portable strategy to re-identify human DNA called ’MinION sketching’.
Rapid re-identification of human samples using portable DNA sequencing
“Bento Lab and MinION are useful for genomic analysis and surveillance of AMR bacteria in hospitals and research centers with limited facilities.”
“[…] we proposed a MinION-based workflow for fast Campylobacter and other zoonotic pathogens’ screening using a Bento Lab–MinION combination for portable sequencing at the farm level. … We conclude that this method could provide a basis for future studies to help farmers implement active zoonotic bacterial screening in real-time diagnostics […]”
Dr Josef Vuch studies Proteus anguinus, an amphibian that has adapted to live in hostile environments like the underground caves around Trieste, Italy. An experienced mountaineer, he uses Bento Lab for biospeleology, including extracting DNA and preparing DNA barcodes for sequencing.
“This very compact instrument is ideal for domestic or field use.”
– Dr Josef Vuch, Club Alpinistico Triestino
Lecturer Stephane Boyer at Unitec Institute of Technology uses Bento Lab to teach Molecular Biology to students interested in biodiversity. He also offers 1 or 2 days outreach workshops for school kids and the general public. Stephane’s research focuses on biodiversity assessment and species identification. He often travels to remote places to collect DNA samples, and using Bento Lab he can check that the samples are good quality before bringing them back to the lab.
“Bento Lab allows me to give each student real hands-on experience in molecular analysis. I want to put a Bento Lab in the hands of everyone of my students”
– Stephane Boyer, Unitec Institute of Technology
As part of the Pembrokeshire Fungus Recording Network, David Harries documents and collects fungus fruit bodies. Using Bento Lab, the team extracts fungal DNA from tiny specimen fragments, to isolate and verify a “barcode” section of the DNA from each sample. Working with Aberystwyth University, the team send off these samples for sequencing. The information gained from the DNA sequences, combined with field observations and microscopical characters, contributes to a better understanding of the relationships between fungus collections in Pembrokeshire, UK.
Pembrokeshire Fungus Recording Network DNA Barcoding Exercise May 2019
“Bento Lab enables citizen scientists to explore fungal diversity and gain a better understanding of the science that underpins molecular studies.”
– David Harries, Pembrokeshire Fungus Recording Network
As a founder of both the medical startup Hyasynth and a DIYbio community, Kevin is often traveling, speaking and engaging with the public. While the rest of his lab stays in Montreal, he brings Bento Lab with him to teach and demonstrate his work.
– Kevin Chen, Hyasynth Bio
“I can’t wait till my entire biology lab is the size of my laptop.”
Founder of BeerDeCoded, Gianpaolo Rando is on a mission to understand craft beer at molecular level. Inside a Swiss biohackerspace he prepares DNA libraries for sequencing 1,000 beer microbiomes with the Bento Lab. Portable genomics can also help breweries to understand their processes, benchmark new recipes and explore new brewing spaces.
“With a Bento Lab, it is much easier to survive the postdocalypse and keep doing genetic research.”
– Gianpaolo Rando, Beer DeCoded
