Reviews of cool things
Sequencing
A side-by-side technical comparison of Illumina SBS, Element AVITI avidity sequencing, and Ultima Genomics flow SBS: library architecture, cluster generation, chemistry, error profiles, and when to use each.
Lentivirus
A mechanistic account of how reverse transcription generates recombination in pooled CRISPR screens: inter-molecular template switching, intra-molecular repeat deletion, and why RT engineering remains the field’s blind spot.
Transposons
A comprehensive review of transposable elements: from Barbara McClintock’s jumping genes to engineered transposon systems, the piRNA ping-pong cycle, CRISPR-Cas origins, and transposon reactivation in aging.
miRNAs
Step-by-step processing of the miR-E/miR-30 scaffold from Pol II transcription through RISC loading, with actual sequences, intermediates, and the CNNC motif that made it all work.