Bento Lab 🧬

PCR workstation with laptop-sized footprint? ✅ 32-well thermocycler? ✅ 8,000 × G centrifuge? ✅ Electrophoresis unit? ✅ Blue light transilluminator? ✅ Spare capacity/fieldwork/teaching/at home? ✅ Affordable and portable✅ Check out Bento Lab here: bento.bio/product/bento-…

Fieldwork rarely goes exactly to plan. For Sunni Patton from the @vegathurberlab at @UCSB, that unpredictability became a defining part of her recent research trip in the Florida Keys. See how the ability to extract DNA, run PCR, and visualise results directly in the field enabled her to pivot quickly in her investigation of bacteria transmission in staghorn coral. bento.bio/story/detectin…

@3lnahual Check out gel green: bento.bio/gg

@theBentoLab an alternative instead of sybr safe?

@linz_vv @purple_maia Amazing!

@theBentoLab @purple_maia This banana was clean! Subsequently, it will be included in a third class project to run light experiments with these educational tissue culture kits. It is a Hawaiian variety that is unusually thick called Hua Moa. We also have ulu (breadfruit), uala (sweet potato), & others

#invitrolibrary @purple_maia @theBentoLab testing for plant pathogens in tissue cultures with mobile genomics kit

Bento users have been a busy bunch this month, with portable eDNA metabarcoding in the fjords of Norway, molecular biology murder mysteries in an English classroom, and more! Check out our latest round-up: bento.bio/blog/2026/04/3…

Inspired? Check out bento.bio/teaching for teaching resources and examples from other amazing educators!

𝗠𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗯𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆: We love seeing creative approaches to #STEM outreach, and this recent workshop at Windsor College is a great example of how hands-on learning can spark curiosity. See how science educators from the @UKHSA brought science to life in their 𝘔𝘜𝘙𝘋𝘌𝘙 𝘔𝘠𝘚𝘛𝘌𝘙𝘠: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳 activity. The interactive scenario was designed to explore radiation science and molecular biology through investigation, and they used the Bento Lab to give students the opportunity to gain valuable scientific lab skills. linkedin.com/posts/dr-ashve…

Several of the researchers also published recently in the Nature publication Polar Biology about their use of eDNA metabarcoding to tracking biodiversity in changing Arctic waters around Svalbard Check out that study: link.springer.com/article/10.100…

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁, 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲: Another great example of off-grid science, this time in the fjords of Norway & a training course in Brazil. The international team, led by @mauvisseau and @izzaywhat, field tested a fully portable, off-grid eDNA metabarcoding pipeline that enables end-to-end analysis within a few days using a Bento Lab workstation & a @nanopore MinION sequencer. They shared the full protocol in their recently published pre-print: biorxiv.org/content/10.648…

Not so long ago, this kind of workflow would have required a full lab. Great to see it happening at home, and kudos to @banana_baeee for taking curiosity to the next level & sharing the process with other aspiring citizen scientists. See the steps he followed: vibe-genomics.replit.app

@banana_baeee Amazing what you were able to do with your camping table wet lab! And awesome that you got started with @theBentoLab and our learning guides. Thanks so much for sharing, and we can't wait to hear what comes next!

@theBentoLab Hi Bento Lab people check out what I did using one of your units! I really liked the bioengineering 101 kit, I learned all the lab skills I needed from it!

Guys look Claude helped me - a random guy in his basement - build a wetlab and do vibe genomics! I sequenced my whole genome despite zero lab experience, without my DNA leaving home! I put together my notes and a step by step guide here: vibe-genomics.replit.app It was a lot easier than I was expecting! Ultimately I hit ~16x coverage and compared my results against my 600k raw 23andme SNPs, and it held up!

March Round-up: Snake Genomics in a Van, Biotech Education, and Building a Bird Sexing Business bento.bio/blog/2026/03/3…

From poultry enthusiast to bird-sexing lab owner! 🐣🧬 Brittney Knight started out with no PCR experience, learned how to sex birds using Bento Lab, and now runs her own successful bird sexing laboratory. We’re very excited to share her story and how she got started. Read all about her inspiring journey here 👇 bento.bio/story/solving-…

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Doing science in a camper van, what's cooking?

Who doesn't love a camperlab?

@igkarimov We have different Bento Lab models available - see more here: bento.bio/bento-lab/. We also have discounted refurbished units. The accuracy is similar to a traditional thermocycler. The sequencer used in the workflow is made by @nanopore

@theBentoLab How much can it cost and what is the accuracy?

Genome sequencing goes off-grid! 🚐🧬 Researchers from Johns Hopkins successfully sequenced the Red Coachwhip snake (Masticophis flagellum piceus) genome using a mobile lab in a camper van. Using a ONT Nanopore P2 Solo sequencing and Bento Lab, they show that genomes can be assembled at relatively low cost and without the need for a large laboratory! 🐍 Nuclear & mitochondrial genomes of Masticophis flagellum piceus sequenced 🐍 BUSCO completeness score better than most current snake genomes 🐍 All work done in field- or field-simulated settings A great step toward decentralising and democratizing genomics, especially for research in remote locations! You can read the article here: Scott & Mohr (2026). A Nanopore-Only Assembly of a Nuclear and Mitochondrial Genome of a Red Coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum piceus). Genes, 17(3), 307. doi.org/10.3390/genes1… Images copyright Alan F. Scott.