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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 05/09/2026

I sued Dante Labs for taking my money and failing for 2+ years to give me sequencing results or a refund. Full story: www.reddit.com/r/DanteLabs/...

reddit.com

From the DanteLabs community on Reddit

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 09/08/2026

Yup, here's my freezer. But I have not invested in the -80°C deep freezer necessary for stable long-term storage of RNA. But bacteria all have DNA genomes so stable for years at -20°C. I just started throwing out old samples for space, but only "boring" ones.

A small freezer filled with 20 boxes of tubes

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 09/08/2026

Perhaps if I had had this test at the time, I could have taken some antibiotics right at the start and not needed to miss the conference, and not felt lousy for 12 days! I don't understand why more people aren't curious to actually understand what organism has infected them!

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 09/08/2026

Four years ago I missed my favourite conference ("BlinkOn") for a bad cold. It's been the biggest frustration of my lab that I couldn't find the virus that caused it. Now, that I have a 32-way panel from YouSeq.com I finally know why: It was a bacteria, H.Influenzea, not a virus at all!

The 32 targets in the YouSeq respiratory pathogen panel I ran against my 4 year old sample: C. Pneum, Mp. Pneum, L. Pneum, RNaseP, Adeno, M.Catar, P.aerug, EVD68, HPIV1, HPIV2, HPIV3, HPIV4, HRV, HCovOC43, HCoVHKU1, HCoVNL63, HBoV, HCov229E, Haem.Flu, HMPV, FluA, FluB, Covid19, RSV, K.pneum, S.pyoge, S.aurus, C.albic, S.pneum, B.pertu, A.bauma, B.parap

The positive results from the run:
Haem.Flu Cq=27.5
RNaseP (Endo ctrl) Cq=29.1
S.pneum (a common consensual bacteria) Cq=34.6

PCR amplification curves for the run. H.influenzae in orange, RNaseP positive control in red and S.pneumn(a common bacteria not necessarily pathogenic) in green.

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 02/08/2026

Code, file format documentation and USB protocol specification are available at github.com/RByers/zpcrweb and rapidly evolving. Without a tool as powerful as Claude Code this would have taken me years to build!

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 02/08/2026

Instead of spending $2,000 for windows-only software for my new (used) Bio-Rad C1000/CFX96 thermocycler, I have spent the last couple weeks with Claude reverse engineering formats and protocols and building a web app! Check it out: zpcr.rbyers.ca. I'm learning SO much about how qPCR works this way!

Curves view showing PCR amplification plots along with a 96-well grid colored by sample type (green positive control, red no-template control, blue unknown sample) with plus signs for positive results. Also includes a list of respiratory virus targets. Results indicate a strong SARS-CoV-2 positive sample and some weak Enterovius and human B2M control results contaminating the no-template controls.

Instrument view showing status for a device attached by USB and prepared to start a new run with a standard thermocycling protocol and a simple two column plate layout corresponding to the results from the last screenshot.

A calibration view visualizing the TaqMan fluorophore response by temperature for two fluorophores (FAM and Cy5) using two different types of wells (clear vs. white walled).

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 02/08/2026

I'm trying to adopt agentic engineering practices in my lab work (eg. putting claude code in charge). I was worried it would screw up my pristine data but instead it's really pissing me off by identifying tons of mistakes I've made in my notes over the years!

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 21/07/2026

Instead (or at least ahead) of spending $2,000 on the CFX Manager software BioRad sells, I had Claude reverse engineer the proprietary results file format and generate a script for converting the amplification curves to CSV format in less than 15 minutes! That's good enough for day 1.

PCR amplification curves from 4 wells and 1 channel showing nice s-curves in 3 of them and a flat line in the 4th.

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 21/07/2026

I finally bought a serious lab qPCR machine: Bio-Rad CFX96 Touch (96 well, 5 channels), compared to my Biomeme Franklin (9 well, 3 channels). Already I can tell I'll be able to do so much more with it!

Home lab bench showing a Bio-Rad CFX96 and other equipment.

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 18/05/2026

I forgot that my NEB Luna MM comes with a ROX-like reference dye, so there's an orange background glow in all tubes. It doesn't seem to inhibit detection in the amber channel on my Biomeme qPCR, but it's sure annoying when looking visually like this.

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 18/05/2026

I'm working on a blog post for low-cost DIY SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing using a cheap miniPCR and manual fluorescence visualization. Is this visualization of positives vs. negatives clear enough?

7 PCR tubes in the p51lab.info fluorescence viewer. The first four look yellow, the last three look orange.

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 21/04/2026

I mean we're all spewing our DNA out into the air and surfaces we touch all day, every day. It's getting increasingly untenable to think of keeping this information secret unless you want to live the rest of your life in a bubble!

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 21/04/2026

I appreciate that I am privileged in that I live in a country, Canada, where I trust my government to protect me from genetic discrimination and surveillance. But we should all demand this freedom from our governments.

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 21/04/2026

There's lots of fear about what companies will do with our DNA data. Personally I go the other direction, my full genome is public: drive.google.com/drive/folder...

drive.google.com

Rick-DanteLabs-FullGenome - Google Drive

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 20/04/2026

This weekend I was happy to be invited for a discussion about at-home SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing with the "Still Coviding" group: www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4Um.... Updated slides I used: docs.google.com/presentation...

youtube.com

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 20/04/2026

Also, I'd seriously consider just starting with the Bento Lab and trying their reagents: bento.bio. It looks like it would be just a little more expensive than my shopping list, but more compact and probably more beginner-friendly.

bento.bio

Everything you need to go from DNA sample to result

Make DNA Science Yours: with accessible PCR equipment, easy-to-use reagent kits, guides, and support

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 19/04/2026

If anyone has a source for good lab-quality denatured ethanol that will work with spin column extraction, let me know. I know "real" labs use pure ethanol, but it's heavily regulated. The BioBasic 15% methanol has always worked fine with their EZ-10 kits for me, but I don't see it on their site now.

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 19/04/2026

Also my non-frost-free is working as intended though I'm clearly due for a manual defrost 😀. I think moist air leaks through the seal where I run a temperature probe, I really need to drill and seal a hole like I have for my mini-fridge.

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 19/04/2026

Now looks like this (including a couple additional items I forgot yesterday).

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 19/04/2026

Right sorry, I meant non-frost-free 😂. Will correct. Link is correct.

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 19/04/2026

Of course a consumer product like pluslife.com is far more practical and of similar quality in practice, and less error-prone. But getting into DIY lab experiments can be a lot of fun, and opens up a whole additional world of possibilities as I describe at lab.rbyers.ca/essays/20260....

pluslife.com

Pluslife-Home

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 19/04/2026

I was asked today: if I was just getting started in molecular biology and and wanted a simple low-cost PCR lab for COVID testing, what would I buy? Here is my shopping list for a basic endpoint qPCR setup: docs.google.com/spreadsheets... Disclaimer: be safe and follow local laws

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 29/03/2026

Three RSV RATs I did at the same time: 1. A shallow (but thorough) nasal swab, fully negative 2/3. Deep mid-turbinate nasal swabs, clearly positive. I'm surprised by the difference. In my PCR tests of other viruses I've seen very little difference from swab depth.

A rapid antigen test with Adeno, RSV and FLU A+B lanes, all three negative.

A rapid antigen test with Adeno, RSV and FLU A+B lanes, RSV is positive, Adeno and FLU A+B not run,

A rapid antigen test with Adeno, RSV and FLU A+B lanes, RSV positive, Adeno and FLU A+B negative.

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 24/03/2026

Did another Europe cruise with my family, came home harbouring another new virus for my collection. That's three for three: Dec 2023 in the Caribbean: Influenza A July 2024 on the Danube: Parainfluenza 3 Mar 2026 on the Rhine: Respiratory syncytial virus A Perhaps I should be learning something?

Table showing all respiratory viruses I've found in myself since starting my lab.

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 23/03/2026

This was my first time analyzing Illumina sequence, it was fun learning about the short paired-end reads and getting Gemini to whip up an analysis notebook for me: github.com/RByers/Respi...

Charts of coverage depth for my 3 new samples

Charts of base read quality for my three new samples. First a histogram of all qualities then a plot of quality by read position. R1 and R2 reads are plotted separately.

View of the IGV application showing sequencing reads for my three samples, aligned to the SARS-CoV-2 genome.

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 23/03/2026

PQ is a recombinant variant which includes a spike gene derived from JN.1, which is what the Fall 2025 mRNA vaccines targeted. So my daughter should have had some good protection and indeed her illness was very mild (was shocked to learn it was COVID). The JN.1 shot came too late for me and my son.

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 23/03/2026

I sequenced my remaining 3 SARS-CoV-2 samples: - Feb 2025 I had JN.1.4.3.1 - Aug 2025 my son had PQ.24 - Feb 2026 my daughter had PQ.2.8.1 I now have 7 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from my family, nextclade puts them on the phylogenetic tree this way:

Nextclade phylogenetic chart of SARS-CoV-2 viruses from nextstrain.org, my 7 sequences are highlighted with their Pango lineage designation.

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 20/03/2026

Thank you for the explanation! An "interesting mess" with nice/smart people is indeed what I'm here for 🙂.

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 19/03/2026

Thanks! I honestly don't understand how people who work in molecular biology labs could possibly resist the temptation to run their own samples. I guess I just have a weird compulsion. It feels the same when I see a coded message, I feel compelled by curiosity to decode it 😂.

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 19/03/2026

Cool! I'm just getting into IAV phylogenetics and, coming from SARS-CoV-2, am confused. I expected a convention like Pango, but for human strains the strain ID isn't very useful on its own, right? HA and NA clade IDs seems useful but often not mentioned in papers / tools like this, right? Why?

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 19/03/2026

Interesting, but would be nice to compare this to iota carrageenan nasal spray. That seems broadly effective and proven safe yet still largely unused. Why? bsky.app/profile/lab....

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 19/03/2026

Instead here on BlueSky you'll just get real people saying: thank you for your service to public health! ☺️

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 19/03/2026

Nice! I can relate. I got so worked up by my toddler's colds that I eventually taught myself molecular virology and built a lab in my basement 🙂 docs.google.com/presentation...

Image of a slide with speaker notes saying: "This is me and my son Oliver when he was about 1
One night he had a cold. His breathing sounded a little rough so we took him to the Doctor.
The doctor checked his O2 and called 911!
He was whisked away to the hospital in an ambulance where he was hooked up to a ventilator!
Oliver had asthma induced by colds and allergies.
The advice from his doctor was to avoid exposing him to sick people."

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 19/03/2026

Interesting! Did you make any attempt to compare infection rates / disease severity by, for example, the ventilation in the nursery? Have any advice for nurseries to minimize total disease burden? Sorry I've only read the summary so far, I'm debating whether to shell out $25 for the full paper.

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 17/03/2026

Though even here viruses get short changed a bit 🙂

A tree of life dominated by microbes with with viruses as a tiny island on the side.

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 17/03/2026

Finally a Zoo which does the full tree of life some justice! Micropia at ARTIS Zoo Amsterdam: www.artis.nl/nl/artis-mic...

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 12/03/2026

Thankfully we avoided catching it from her, and so we went on vacation as planned. N95 masks, UV-C HVAC sterilization and iota carrageenan nasal spray for the win!

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 12/03/2026

I can’t fathom how it took me years to discover this safe and likely effective defence for and treatment of all respiratory viruses! It seems there’s a serious disconnect between academic science and public health. Why hasn’t this been studied and promoted a LOT more?

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 12/03/2026

In 1958 a gel extracted from seaweed, “iota carrageenan”, was found to dramatically reduce Influenza death in animals. In 2020 a double-blind placebo controlled study found it had an 80% reduction in SARS-COV-2 transmission (www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.2...). In 2026 it’s still largely unknown.

tandfonline.com

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 21/02/2026

Oh and her PCR test is one of the highest viral loads I've ever seen, 8x higher than any other SARS-CoV-2 I've sampled!

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 21/02/2026

My teenage daughter just tested positive for COVID. I'm taking care of her this weekend. It's been two years since I've had COVID and 4 months since my last booster. Will I be able to keep from getting infected?

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 16/02/2026

Also turns out I probably had a zinc deficiency leading to low testosterone. After years of working with my doctor to troubleshoot fatigue, I think I may have found and fixed at least part of the issue myself thanks to SiPhox.

Graph of testosterone levels starting medium low in 2022, several points medium low in 2025 then a few very low in late 2025 and early 2026. The two points at the bottom of the good range, the fist labeled "start Zinc".

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 16/02/2026

SiPhox (siphoxhealth.com) is pretty awesome. I've been doing monthly blood tests for a variety of biomarkers without the hassle of going to get a blood draw. It makes it so much easier to stay on top of things like cholesterol and blood sugar, and really learn how to move them.

siphoxhealth.com

At-Home Blood Tests | Comprehensive Health Testing & Biomarker Analysis | SiPhox Health

SiPhox Health brings comprehensive, at-home blood testing to your door! Take control of your disease risk and increase your healthspan today with affordable, convenient at-home blood testing. No lab v...

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 13/02/2026

Yeah, it's not easy or cheap - at least $1000 per nanopore run and many hours of lab work to prepare. Lately I've found it far more practical to send my amplified & quantified samples to plasmidsaurus.com for sequencing (~$50 ea).

plasmidsaurus.com

Plasmidsaurus – Sequence Everything

Sequence everything.

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 09/02/2026

6 years and 300+ experiments later, I've concluded that sequencing all the viruses going through my house is actually slightly useful, while still wildly impractical of course! lab.rbyers.ca/essays/20260...

lab.rbyers.ca

The Utility of Home Molecular Virology | RByers Lab

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 04/02/2026

Oh oh 😬. My Google News feed thought this was a story I'd be interested in... abcnews.go.com/US/fbi-inves.... Would I get the same press coverage if police searched my house and found this? At least they'd find nothing labeled HIV or Ebola in my freezer!

Photo of lab freezer with 20 tube boxes with labels like "Samples 4" and "Probe assays".

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Rick Byers Lab @lab.rbyers.ca · 02/02/2026

Wow, I am constantly impressed by Google Antigravity and Gemini 3.5 pro. I used it to build a whole blog website, including totally custom Tweet archive, in just a few hours of work! Eg. see lab.rbyers.ca/posts/2024. Code at github.com/Rbyers/lab-b....

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