iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Bento Bio 🧬 @bento.bio · 30/09/2026

🚨OPPORTUNITY ALERT: Need a PCR setup for your #eDNA research? The eDNA Collaborative is offering a new round of microgrants, and successful applicants will receive a Bento Lab Pro to help support sample prep, PCR and gel electrophoresis. Deadline: 9 October 2026 Apply here: bit.ly/4xXBDWO

New microgrant opportunity for a free Bento Lab Pro portable PCR set-up for researchers doing environmental DNA (eDNA) work

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Bento Bio 🧬 @bento.bio · 29/09/2026

How do you pack a genomics lab for a road trip? The Hawaiʻi INBRE team has it down. They've traveled across Hawaiʻi, the Pacific & the continental US delivering their popular Genome on the Go program. 🧪 See what they've learned: bit.ly/3Tvphqv

An image from the Hawai'i INBRE program's Genome on the Go workshops, featuring the Bento Lab portable PCR

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Bento Bio 🧬 @bento.bio · 23/09/2026

SPOTTED: A new publication exploring how scientists could do bioanalysis in the most challenging conditions has included Bento Lab in its metagenomics workflow. Click thru to learn about 𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗣𝗟𝗘 𝗔𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗟𝗮𝗯, designed for an Antarctic field campaign in 2027. 🧪 www.frontiersin.org/journals/ast...

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Bento Bio 🧬 @bento.bio · 21/09/2026

Some summer camps have canoes. HelmCamp has necropsies, microscopes, PCR and parasite DNA. See what participants discovered on their 10 day journey of discovery at La Selva Research Station in Costa Rica. bento.bio/story/one-sa...

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Bento Bio 🧬 @bento.bio · 16/09/2026

Eight Bento Labs. Two 40-minute practicals. One very portable PCR class. Thinking of making your genetics lessons more hands on? Get inspired by Michigan prof Colin Wu, and find out exactly what he packs into his milk crates. bento.bio/story/taking...

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Bento Bio 🧬 @bento.bio · 03/09/2026

We recently caught up with Tunisian researcher & educator @nabilamor.bsky.social to hear how his work has progressed since we first shared his research on the Arabian leopard. He's been busy developing field DNA extraction methods, airborne #eDNA & more! Read the updates: bento.bio/story/decodi...

A Bento Lab set-up for eDNA as part of a workshop

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Bento Bio 🧬 @bento.bio · 24/08/2026

👀What if a species is there, but you just can't see it? At Bosley Reservoir, traditional surveys found no signal crayfish. But when graduate researcher Molly Doyle tested water from the site for #eDNA, her LAMP assay detected traces of crayfish DNA. Read the full story: bento.bio/story/findin...

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Bento Bio 🧬 @bento.bio · 20/08/2026

We know that a successful practical requires more than choosing a protocol, so we’ve mined the knowledge of our experts & experienced educators to create a guide to what you should consider when planning your first (or fifth!) hands-on learning session, wherever it may be. bento.bio/resources/ed...

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Bento Bio 🧬 @bento.bio · 17/08/2026

What happens when genomics moves off slides & screens, and into students’ hands? Dr Wilda Laux is bringing practical molecular biology into schools across New Zealand, helping students experience the science for themselves. Get inspired (and pick up a few pointers!): bit.ly/4hDYTVk

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Bento Bio 🧬 @bento.bio · 29/07/2026

Bringing PCR closer to where questions arise can mean faster answers, greater access, and new possibilities for research, education & conservation. Bento Bio co-founder Bethan Wolfenden explores how portable molecular biology is changing the science landscape in Labcompare. bit.ly/4fF8zMB

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Bento Bio 🧬 @bento.bio · 09/07/2026

Throwback to a decade ago, when a Bento Lab beta prototype was featured at the London Science Museum "Beyond the Lab" exhibition! It's undergone quite a few changes since then, and it's been great to see it become a staple in many lab, field research and classroom kits.

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Bento Bio 🧬 @bento.bio · 26/06/2026

🦉 For this month's newsletter, we’ve gone birding! Take a peek at our refreshed bird sexing resources, as well as stories of the workflow being applied to everything from pet care to conservation. Plus, practical tips for PCR workflows. Check it out: bento.bio/blog/2026/06... Image by N Suma

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Bento Bio 🧬 @bento.bio · 25/06/2026

🦤 Thinking of bringing bird sexing in-house? Sometimes the biggest benefit isn't cost. Here are 5 signs it might be time to take the plunge. Click through for a more in-depth guide: bento.bio/resources/bi... #birds #BIOsky

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Bento Bio 🧬 @bento.bio · 18/06/2026

One of the most common PCR questions we get: "What actually needs refrigeration?" Short answer: Not everything. Knowing which supplies require cold storage & which can handle ambient temps can make fieldwork & logistics much easier. ➡️ Check out our new guide: bit.ly/3PUhUay

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Bento Bio 🧬 @bento.bio · 02/06/2026

🧪 Ever wonder why PCR fails sometimes? Check out our top tips to troubleshoot non-specific amplification. bento.bio/resources/be... #BIOsky

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Bento Bio 🧬 @bento.bio · 26/05/2026

✈️ Planning your next field trip or scientific adventure? We’ve put together our Top 5 Travel Tips, covering everything from travel-friendly reagents to handy letters for customs or security agents. And be sure to tag us so we can follow along! Bon voyage 🏖️ bento.bio/resources/be...

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Bento Bio 🧬 @bento.bio · 19/03/2026

Genome sequencing goes mobile! 🚐🧬 Johns Hopkins researchers sequenced the Red Coachwhip snake genome in a camper van using ONT Nanopore & Bento Lab. High-quality nuclear & mitochondrial genomes, all done in field-like conditions! 🐍 doi.org/10.3390/gene... Images copyright Alan F. Scott.

Camper van portable sequencing lab, image copyright Alan F. Scott.

Camper van portable sequencing lab setup, showing Bento Lab and other lab equipment. Image copyright Alan F. Scott

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Bento Bio 🧬 @bento.bio · 31/03/2025

We are thrilled to share the story of BeeCode Berlin 🐝 — a citizen science project that’s bringing DNA barcoding out of the lab and into a community library and public forum. 📷 BeeCode Berlin

A group gathered around a DNA gel on Bento Lab

Two hands encircling an agarose gel, illuminated by blue light

Two women wearing white hats and looking at a bee hive

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Bento Bio 🧬 @bento.bio · 14/03/2025

The first molecular evidence of Arabian leopards previously thought extinct ➡️ So pleased to share Dr Nabil Amor's conservation work across North Africa! He's changing eDNA sampling in remote locations, and sharing these skills via African BioGenome Project. 🔗 bento.bio/story/decodi...

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Bento Bio 🧬 @bento.bio · 17/02/2025

Are you curious about doing molecular biology and PCR outside a traditional lab, and wondering what it would involve? If you are, check out our Lab@Home vlog series by Dr. Jenny Shelton – available on Youtube and the Bento Lab Knowledge Hub. bento.bio/resources/la...

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Bento Bio 🧬 @bento.bio · 21/01/2025

Have you ever made an agarose gel in the field with NO microwave? We tested 4 different ways of running gels without access to a microwave. See our full results in the link below. Whether you're in the field, running an outreach event, or making do, there are plenty of clever workarounds.

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Bento Bio 🧬 @bento.bio · 08/01/2025

We are excited to see this new preprint for a molecular detection toolbox for bacterial antibiotic resistance gene markers, with different workflows for 1) well-equipped labs, 2) equipment-poor labs, and 3) portable uses with Bento Lab & lateral flow strips! 👇

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Bento Bio 🧬 @bento.bio · 19/12/2024

If you’re doing DNA barcoding in a fieldwork or resource-limited context and you want to improve phylogenetic resolution at lower cost, here’s a method that allows the sequencing of 3 unlinked regions using long amplicon PCR and @nanoporetech.com MinION for ~€5 a sample. 📷 Timothy Dykes

Image shows a spider and a paper preview on bioRxiv

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Bento Bio 🧬 @bento.bio · 03/12/2024

We’re excited to share a great new proof-of-concept study preprint on portable in-field DNA sequencing to detect pathogens & their antimicrobial resistance from retail meat, lake water & wastewater treatment sludge, using Bento Lab and ONT MinION! 👇

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Bento Bio 🧬 @bento.bio · 26/11/2024

For aquatic eDNA enthusiasts, here’s an interesting and useful review of the last 10 years in the field by Takahashi et al. (2023), covering 407 articles and including 522 single-species primers and 141 metabarcoding primers.

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Bento Bio 🧬 @bento.bio · 15/11/2024

Here's a great article validating the quick and super-easy "Squash PCR" method for microalgae cultures, by Yuan et al. (2024). This method could be useful to anyone who needs to microscopically verify a small sample and then use the same sample for DNA extraction. Squash PCR involves👇

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Bento Bio 🧬 @bento.bio · 14/11/2024

For any plant pathologists or fungus enthusiasts doing DNA barcoding, here’s a one-tube rapid DNA extraction method from diseased tissue or tiny immersed fruitbodies that might be useful for DNA-based identification of plant pathogens.👇

Image shows a photo of rice blast symptoms on rice stalks by Donald Groth, USDA Forest Service.

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