Research with in-built replications:comment and further suggestions for replication research

This brief commentary on the paper Designing Research with In-built Differentiated Replication expands on concerns about a lack of replication research by focusing on three key questions of continuous importance: Why should researchers conduct more replication research? Why do so few researchers conduct replication studies? What can researchers do to add more studies? This paper identifies barriers preventing replication related to the scientific system, the replication researcher, and the initial research. Suggestions include publishing all papers electronically along with reviews; authors taking steps to encourage replications of their work; and editors inviting replications of important papers. The scientific community should establish a replication index as a measure of output quality. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.

Codon-precise, synthetic, antibody fragment libraries built using automated hexamer codon additions and validated through next generation sequencing

We have previously described ProxiMAX, a technology that enables the fabrication of precise, combinatorial gene libraries via codon-by-codon saturation mutagenesis. ProxiMAX was originally performed using manual, enzymatic transfer of codons via blunt-end ligation. Here we present Colibra™: an automated, proprietary version of ProxiMAX used specifically for antibody library generation, in which double-codon hexamers are transferred during the saturation cycling process. The reduction in process complexity, resulting library quality and an unprecedented saturation of up to 24 contiguous codons are described. Utility of the method is demonstrated via fabrication of complementarity determining regions (CDR) in antibody fragment libraries and next generation sequencing (NGS) analysis of their quality and diversity.

Metrology enhanced tooling for aerospace (META):strategies for improved accuracy of jig built structures

The accuracy of many aerospace structures is limited by the accuracy of assembly tooling which is in turn limited by the accuracy of the measurements used to set the tooling. Further loss of accuracy results from different rates of thermal expansion for the components and tooling. This paper describes improved tooling designs and setting processes which have the potential to significantly improve the accuracy of aerospace structures. The most advanced solution described is environmentally isolated interferometer networks embedded within tooling combined with active compensation of component pick-ups. This would eliminate environmental effects on measurements while also allowing compensation for thermal expansion. A more immediately realizable solution is the adjustment of component pick-ups using micrometer jacking screws allowing multilateration to be employed during the final stages of the setting process to generate the required offsets. Copyright © 2011 SAE International.