Yes, it's an antibiotic related to penicillin. We use bacteria (a harmless strain of E. coli) to make (express) our proteins. The ampicillin is used to make sure we only grow protein-making bacteria. Otherwise you get a lot of bacteria growing, but very few making protein. Hence, bad ampicillin leads to little protein.
7 comments:
I thought you'd got past the bad ampicillin...?
It's a post-quandry haiku.
What is ampicillin? Please excuse my ignorance. Is it related in any way to penicillin?
Yes, it's an antibiotic related to penicillin. We use bacteria (a harmless strain of E. coli) to make (express) our proteins. The ampicillin is used to make sure we only grow protein-making bacteria. Otherwise you get a lot of bacteria growing, but very few making protein. Hence, bad ampicillin leads to little protein.
In my PhD lab we got so tired of Amp problems that we switched to Carbenicillin. Was worth the higher price tag.
Naughty, naughty ampicillin!
Go and sit on the naughty mat!
:-)
Loving this haiku...especially the fact that it's part of the "post-quandry haiku" genre. :) Bravo.
Though I hope the ampicillin straightens up and flies right.
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