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We're glad you enjoyed the video! :)

Hi, Jenny moved onto a new job a while back and is sadly no longer with Bento Lab, but we can certainly try to help you! There is no single "correct" approach for blood - there are lots of different methods that people have used. You can find some information on some of the ones that we think may be easiest and cheapest to use for dried blood spots here: bento.bio/resources/dna-extraction/rapid-dna-extraction-from-dried-blood-spots/ . You might also like to try a 2% DMSO extraction described in www.researchgate.net/publication/331525665_Sex_identification_of_pigeons_using_polymerase_chain_reaction_analysis_with_simple_DNA_extraction , as that seems a very simple and affordable method reported to work well with fresh bird blood. If you have additional questions please feel free to contact us at sales@bento.bio !

@@BentoLab Thank you

You're welcome :) If you do give these methods a try, we'd love to know how they work for you!

Hi, thanks for asking! I've answered your question in your other comment :)

You're welcome - I'm glad you liked the video!

Or maybe it will help parents understand why some people REALLY don't like broccoli, because it tastes so bitter for them?

You're welcome - I hope the video was useful for you :)

Very helpful..may God bless you

I'm glad you liked the video and thanks for the question! Do you mean where does one find reference sequences to compare with? Reference sequences can be found either on NCBI's GenBank (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/) via the BLAST search functionality (blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Blast.cgi ), or on BOLD (www.boldsystems.org/index.php/IDS_OpenIdEngine).

Hi, you can find us at bento.bio, and you can check out our DNA barcoding pages on our website here: bento.bio/protocol/dna-barcoding/ . If you have any questions, send us a message via the Contact Us page with details of what you'd like to learn and I'll see if I can point you towards some useful resources.

We're very glad it was useful to you, and thank you for letting us know! You may also find some useful information on our website here: bento.bio/protocol/dna-barcoding/ , or check out our X feed @thebentolab for more content (some is plant-orientated and might be of interest).

Yes, you could certainly produce PCR amplicons for DNA barcoding a whole range of invertebrates. Check out our page on DNA barcoding here: bento.bio/protocol/dna-barcoding/, and animal primers here (they should work on most invertebrates): bento.bio/product/animal-metazoa-dna-barcoding-primers/. You could then send off the PCR amplicons to a Sanger sequence service, check the returned sequences for quality, and then use them to search against the BOLD database (www.boldsystems.org/index.php/IDS_OpenIdEngine) to get a match. I hope that's useful!

Yes, we ship to the US and most other countries.

Thanks for the question! We have a kit for those interesting in learning about molecular biology, but we also support people who have biology-related hobbies or businesses, like field mycologists or bird breeders. People are making cool contributions to science from 'home' labs: bento.bio/blog/2020/07/24/dna-enabling-uk-field-mycologists-to-discover-new-species-and-dna-barcode-fungal-biodiversity/

Thanks for the comment! I agree, fungal cultures and mycelia are very cool! You can check out our DNA barcoding resources here: bento.bio/protocol/dna-barcoding/ . For fungal DNA barcoding it's also worth checking out the Fungal Sequencing Facebook group - they've got lots of useful information on their Facebook page.

Yes, you could. They belong to the Passeriformes group.

Thanks!!

Thanks! We are working on it. Apart from subscribing, you can also follow us on twitter.com/theBentoLab for regular PCR tips and subscribe to our newsletter on www.bento.bio/blog/ What's your background? Are you a professional scientist working with PCR? Or are you an aspiring learner?

Thanks! Our mission is to make the tools and consumables for PCR workflows accessible to anyone. We think Bento Lab is great value for anyone who needs an all-in-one workstation (if you compare the cost of getting a similar set-up). We also have affordable reagents: bento.bio/shop/

@@BentoLab I am comparing a similar setup from miniPCR, and it is half the cost - It is not combined but it is 100% more accessible :(

Hi @@SkylarGraham - mini PCR is great if you need a basic 8 or 16 well thermocycler. There are limitations (e.g. you need to have it connected to your phone, it can not cool lower than room temperature), but it's a great choice if that fits your needs. Bento Lab is designed as an all-in-one workstation, so it's quite a different approach to mini PCR. In addition to a peltier-driven 32 well PCR (twice the capacity of the larger mini PCR), you get a high speed centrifuge (faster than a regular mini centrifuge) and a whole gel / transilluminator set-up. And there is no need to keep it connected to your phone - Bento Lab has its own interface. If you only need PCR, and you are on a very tight budget, mini PCR is a great choice. You could also consider looking for second hand PCR machines - there are often good deals available on e.g. eBay. If you want a convenient, all-in-one PCR workstation, then we think Bento Lab offers really good value.

Thanks @@BentoLab I did not see those important differences! The eBay PCRs are priced around the same as the mini PCR and are pretty old. The need to have the mini PCR is connected to a device is definitely a draw back, but the software is kinda nifty - Does Bento have any neato software?

Hi @@SkylarGraham Bento Lab’s thermocycler, electrophoresis, and centrifuge are all controlled via the integrated firmware and display screen, so no external software or app is needed. You can program PCR programs directly and save them, including touchdown PCR with our Bento Lab Pro model. What sort of software or smartphone app would you like to see associated with a portable PCR workstation?

Yes - have a look at our bird sexing page here: bento.bio/protocol/bird-sexing/

Hi - check out our bird sexing primer page here: bento.bio/product/bird-sexing-primer-mixes-200-rxn/

Thanks 😊

I'd love to know this given that all the kits I've seen are many hundreds of dollars.

Hi - yes of course. All Bento Lab modules are compatible with other standard lab tools. So for example, if you use the Bento Lab centrifuge and thermocycler, of course you can use a different electrophoresis system. If you want to power a different electrophoresis system with Bento Lab, you may have to check compatibility.

Yes, check out our online protocol bento.bio/protocol/bird-sexing/

hy..i find your idea quite cool...but what if we cut the stem with a blade that is sterlized on the spot (with spirit) ? or how can we cut the stem without blade i couldnt understand this..thank you

@@fatimamoazam4490 just use your sanitized hands and pull it apart without touching the inside

I would assume that the extraction buffer from them would probably just be more pure/clean without the extra chemicals and fragrance that are in commercial dish soap. But essentially should work the same.

Hi! You can find everything about the Biotech 101 Kit here: bento.bio/product/biotechnology-starter-kit/

what other techniques?

Great to hear that!

We currently offer sequencing for barcoding only in the UK (£7 / sample) bento.bio/product/sequencing-for-dna-barcoding-uk/ Depending on where you are, there should be different services available. You can also sign up to our mailing list here to stay up to date: bento.bio/about/

Hi! You can find the DNA barcoding primers on our website here: bento.bio/product/dna-barcoding-primer-mixes-200-rxn/