Bento Lab

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Take your lab wherever you go. Combining centrifuge, PCR, and gel visualisation. The mobile genomics setup. For research, education and beyond.

Bento Lab is a personal DNA analysis lab that enables scientists, artists and all curious minds to engage with biology and biotechnology. Subscribe to our mailing list to be the first to learn more details.

30/09/2026

🚨OPPORTUNITY ALERT: Need a PCR setup for your research?

The eDNA Collaborative is offering a new round of microgrants, and successful applicants will receive a Bento Lab Pro to help support sample prep, PCR and gel electrophoresis.

Deadline: 9 October 2026

Check out the link in our bio for application details.

29/09/2026

How do you pack a genomics lab for a road trip? The Hawai'i team has it down.

Their Genome on the Go programme takes Bento Lab, Oxford Nanopore sequencing and graduate student mentors directly to learners, so participants can work through a complete sample-to-sequence workflow wherever the workshop happens.

The team has already run workshops across Hawaiʻi, the Pacific and the continental US, and the program is gaining further momentum as organizers explore additional field research and workforce training opportunities.

Check out the link in comments to read the full story.

21/09/2026

Some summer camps have canoes. HelmCamp has necropsies, microscopes, PCR and parasite DNA.

At La Selva Research Station in Costa Rica, participants spent 10 days learning how classical taxonomy and molecular methods can work together, then followed their own samples all the way through sequencing and analysis. All with howler monkeys as a soundtrack.

See what they discovered:
https://bento.bio/story/one-sample-many-skills-inside-helmcamp-2026/

16/09/2026

Thinking of making your genetics lessons more hands on? Get inspired by Oakland University prof Colin Wu, who packs a whole lot of practical PCR learning into his mobile lab.

Find out more (and steal his set-up!): https://bento.bio/story/taking-hands-on-genetics-from-the-university-lab-to-local-schools/

03/09/2026

We recently caught up with Tunisian researcher & educator Nabil Amor, and were delighted to hear how his work has progressed since we first shared his work on the Arabian leopard.

That research has now been published, and he’s already exploring what comes next: faster DNA extraction for field barcoding, airborne sampling, and even a low-cost 3D-printed fluorometer.

Read the updated story: https://bento.bio/story/decoding-the-leopard-genome/

24/08/2026

👀 What if a species is there, but you just can't see it?

At Bosley Reservoir, traditional surveys found no signal crayfish. But when graduate researcher Molly Doyle tested water from the site for environmental DNA, her LAMP assay detected traces of crayfish DNA.

That's one of the things that makes eDNA monitoring so interesting. Instead of needing to catch or observe an animal, researchers can look for the genetic traces it leaves behind.

Molly developed her assays to work in the field using Bento Lab, with results visible through a simple colour change in around 40 minutes.

t makes our day to see molecular biology helping researchers uncover what might otherwise remain hidden.

Read the full story: https://bento.bio/story/finding-hidden-species-with-lamp-edna-monitoring-in-merseyside

20/08/2026

We know that a successful practical requires more than choosing a protocol, so we’ve mined the knowledge of our own experts and experienced educators to present an overview of some of the things you should consider when planning your first (or fifth!) hands-on learning session, whether it takes place in a classroom, a community center, or a remote field station.

https://bento.bio/resources/educator-advice/how-to-plan-a-hands-on-molecular-biology-lesson/

17/08/2026

For Dr Wilda Laux, hands-on genomics is about more than teaching a laboratory technique. She wants students to see how molecular biology connects to health, their communities and possible futures in science.

With support from Pūtahi Manawa - Healthy Hearts for Aotearoa NZ, Wilda has been taking practical genomics workshops into schools, with a particular focus on reaching students who may have fewer opportunities to encounter laboratory equipment or scientific role models.

Using Bento Lab, students get directly involved, from practicing pipetting to interpreting DNA results and discussing what genetic information can tell us.

We really enjoyed hearing how Wilda designs practical activities thoughtfully around the students in front of her.

💡 Get inspired (and pick up a few pointers!) by reading her full story: https://bento.bio/story/making-genomics-visible-a-teacher-led-approach-to-hands-on-molecular-biology/

30/07/2026

When we started Bento Bio, we believed molecular biology should be easier to access and easier to do, wherever the work needed to happen.

Our co-founder Bethan Wolfenden recently reflected on how far that idea has traveled: researchers, educators, and conservationists around the world are bringing PCR and DNA analysis directly to the point of need, from classrooms to conservation projects to farms.

She penned a piece about the impact of portable molecular biology technology and workflows for Labcompare.

Read it here: https://www.labcompare.com/10-Featured-Articles/627104-How-Portable-Molecular-Biology-is-Changing-Research/

11/07/2026

An interesting application of the Bento Lab: Forensic entomology!

We were excited to see this fabulous feature in National Geographic about the work of Charity Owings and Makhali Voss, who are using Bento Lab in the field to analyze the contents of blowfly guts to track parasites, chemical weapons materials, and other wildlife.

Pick up the July magazine, or take a sneak peek now: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/blowfly-wildlife-pandemic

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http://www.bento.bio/

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