Lipospermine-mediated gene transfer technique into murine cultured cortical cells

In order to transfer exogenous DNA into embryonic cortical cells, we have chosen a transfection technique using a synthetic lipospermine (dipalmitoylphosphatidylethanolamylspermine, DPPES) which complexes DNA molecules and allows their penetration into the intracellular compartment. The procedure was optimized after testing several parameters: DPPES/DNA ratio, incubation time, kinetics of transgene expression, and growth medium. The protocol was achieved by following the expression of the E. coli LacZ reporter gene under the control of the cytomegalovirus promoter. The lipopolyamine-mediated transfection is efficient for terminally differentiated cells, since we routinely obtained transfection efficiencies of 30% for neurons

Science and the media

Science seeks and needs the attention of the public and the media, and the media are eager for news from the world of research. This sometimes seduces scientists to communicate their results in early stages of their work and may bring them into the situation of the sorcerer's apprentice – they can’t get rid of the ghosts they called. We give some recent examples of early or doubtful communication in physics and ask for a responsible cooperation of science and the media which takes care of the peculiarities of the scientific process