Xenopus - Bionomous

Automating the sorting of Xenopus oocytes and embryos

Xenopus laevis is the scientific name of the African clawed frog. This species is native from southern Africa and inhabits slow moving water or stagnant ponds. Its facility to adapt to different environments and conditions makes it considered as an invasive species in Europe, North America and South America (1). The consequence of its invasiveness is a decrease in the local biodiversity because of the competition with local amphibians and the fact that it eats local fishes and invertebrates (1). On the other hand, X.laevis is a very good model organism…

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29 August 2023

19th International Xenopus Conference

Bionomous will be present in the 19th International Xenopus Conference ! The 19th International Xenopus Conference is taking place in Cambridge (USA) between the 20th and the 24th August. This conference is held biennially and is about the use of Xenopus in research. We will have an exhibition stand to present the EggSorter and highlight its possible uses for xenopus research. Come and visit us on our exhibition stands where we will happily present to you the EggSorter and our company!

Articles

Fifth in the series : Prof. Janet Heasman

For the last week of March and as the end of our mini-series, we are pleased to present Prof. Janet Heasman. She has dedicated her career to vertebrate development using Xenopus laevis as a model. Biography Her contribution to Xenopus science Conclusion References Biography Janet Heasman was born in Hartlepool, England (1,2). She attended University College Hospital Medical School in London and in the second year, she took an intercalated BSc degree in J.Z. Young’s Anatomy department where she met her husband, Christopher Wylie (1,2) . Janet succeeded her BCs…

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31 March 2023

Articles

Fourth in the series : Hilde Mangold

To continue the March series of articles on women, we are pleased to introduce a woman who greatly contributed to the understanding of cell fate in the development of amphibian embryos, such as Xenopus laevis. This woman is Hilde Mangold, a German biologist of the early 20th century. Biography Hilde Mangold's contribution to the concept of organizer Conclusion References Biography Hilde Mangold, previously Proeschold, was born on 20 October 1898 in Gotha in Germany (1–3). At the age of 16, she entered the Gymnasium Ernestinum where she was one of…

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23 March 2023

Articles

Xenopus laevis chromosomes in the Christmas spirit

Christmas is coming and even the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) cells are in the Christmas spirit. In fact their cells contain a structure that looks like Christmas trees. But what is this particular structure? They are rRNA transcription units in chromatin spreads. And what does this mean? Keep reading to understand it! In this article we will explain the genetic and transcription bases of this structure. DNA and RNA Christmas tree structure Conclusion References DNA and RNA All living organisms are built from deoxyribonucleotide acid (DNA). In animals, most…

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23 December 2022

Articles

Introducing Xenopus!

Over the past couple of weeks, you might have encountered men of all ages, proudly wearing a freshly grown moustache. During the month of November, many men take part in Movember, an annual event which involves growing a moustache to raise awareness around men’s health and in particular men’s mental health and prostate and testicular cancer. World-wide Movember foundations raise money and organise events with the aim of increasing early cancer detection, diagnosis and effective treatments. While raising awareness and increasing early detection may prevent many deaths, a better comprehension…

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29 November 2021

Articles

Small model organisms

Over the past years, zebrafish have proven to be excellent model systems for a wide panel of experiments. We have discussed throughout our previous articles their advantages and disadvantages, how they could be incorporated to various research fields and different automation techniques which facilitate their handling in laboratories. Today we will discuss 4 other model organisms: Drosophila melanogaster, Xenopus laevis, Caenorhabditis elegans and Arabidopsis thaliana, all have in common their genetic similarity to humans, their ease of care and prolific breeding. While this last feature is particularly useful for studies requiring…

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14 December 2020