Biotech-Careers Blogs

By Linnea Fletcher, Ph.D. [1] and Sandra Porter Ph.D. [2]
To learn more about credentialing and the BACE, visit Biotility

[1] Austin Community College, Texas, [2] Digital World Biology, Washington

Biotility - Home of the BACE

How do human resource professionals determine if a job candidate has the skills they need to perform well in a certain job?

Imagine you're working in a company and it's your job to hire people for the lab. What if you've never worked in a lab? How do you choose the best person?

Human resources personnel use ... Read more

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This article was written by Valencia College.  The photos and text in this article are used with permission from Valencia College, Florida.

loading a gel

From the moment Naia Kasik walks through the doors of Applied Ingenuity Diagnostics, she knows exactly what she has to do as she comes face-to-face with the COVID-19 virus. She puts on her personal protective equipment, her lab coat, glasses, gloves and an N-95 mask before she sits down to begin a series of testing procedures with RNA/DNA sequences. ... Read more

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This article was written and contributed by Guy Aday, Alamance Community College graduate, BFIP Fellow, and Biotechnology Professional

Loading samples in a gel. Photo credit:  Guy Aday

My journey into biotechnology began accidentally; more of a plan B after my initial goals seemed less in line with my physical limitations following a work injury. Ultimately discovering that I enjoy the field, I turned my attention to it fully and became determined to do my best. Part of the curriculum for my AAS program was the completion of ... Read more

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By: Todd Smith

Biotech Careers - Career and Internship filters

We recently updated Biotech-Careers.org to identify biotechnology companies that have career and (or) internship pages. Almost half (over 3900) of the nearly 8000 companies in the database have one or more "Careers" pages on their websites as of today (June 9, 2020). A company's "careers" page(s) often describe a company's team, culture, and provide links to available jobs. A much ... Read more

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Posted from Discovering Biology in a Digital World by Todd Smith on Wed May 13, 2020

COVID-19 Molecular test EUAs summary
Click the image to obtain a full size, higher resolution, image.

Ending the SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 pandemic requires that we have robust diagnostic tests, effective antiviral drugs, and a vaccine. The front line is testing. As learned in the last post [1] , molecular diagnostic tests are the best way to identify active COVID-19 infections, and ... Read more

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Posted from Discovering Biology in a Digital World by Todd Smith on Wed Apr 22, 2020

Molecular profile of a SARS infection
Click the image to view a higher resolution graphics file.

The numbers of diagnostic tests for SARS-CoV-2 are exploding.* These tests detect either viral RNA or antibodies to virus particles. But, which is best? That, of course, depends on what question is being asked.

To help communicate how the different kinds of tests work, what they ... Read more

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Posted from Discovering Biology in a Digital World by Todd Smith on Mon Apr 13, 2020

Growt of bio databases 2020
NAR databases since 1996. 2019 values are highlighted in red. NAR Database List

I always look forward to the Nucleic Acids Research (NAR) database issue . Typically I cover the issue in January, but I got busy, and then a pandemic broke out, so this year I'm later than usual. Through the delay viruses ... Read more

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By: Todd Smith

COVID 19 Business areas

As the numbers of COVID-19 cases continue to increase, so do the numbers of companies that are working on COVID-19 tests, therapeutics, and vaccines. In early March we began tagging companies, in the Biotech-Careers.org database, that are working on COVID-19. Initially there was a small number of companies. By mid March there were 57, and today - April 6 - ... Read more

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By: Todd Smith

Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 - This transmission electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2—also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19—isolated from a patient in the U.S. Virus particles are shown emerging from the surface of cells cultured i

COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 is on our minds. Each day I do a Google search for "COVID 19 counts." Typically I go to https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ , which is a pretty good site. Today my search led me to COVID-19 Maps and Visuals at http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/maps-visuals - hosted by my alma mater. This then led me to Coronavirus ... Read more

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By: Todd Smith

Careers and career pathways in biotechnology

Summer is about road construction. Summer is also a good time for website construction. In that spirit, we updated Biotech Careers and added many improvements in content layout and information integration. Major updates include new layouts for content and improved ways of showing related content. Other changes and fixes improve the site's look and feel. We also improved how we ... Read more

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