science

Polbase

Polbase is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Polbase rather than just read about it. In short: Polbase (DNA Polymerase Database) is an open repository of DNA polymerase information. Polbase captures information from published research on polymerase activity, and presents it in context with related work.

Key takeaways

Polbase belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Polbase to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Polbase from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Polbase (DNA Polymerase Database) is an open repository of DNA polymerase information. Polbase captures information from published research on polymerase activity, and presents it in context with related work. Polbase is a comprehensive repository from the 1950s to the present and includes hundreds of polymerases and their related mutants. Polbase's collaborative model allows polymerase investigators to complete, correct and validate Polbase's representation of their work.

Content Polbase features a listing of known polymerases categorized by organism, polymerase family, and selected properties. Each indexed polymerase has its own snapshot page containing links to all its information in the database. All results in Polbase are stored with the relevant experimental details to put them into context. If structure information is available, Polbase links to the polymerase's Protein Data Bank (PDB) entry. All information gathered in Polbase is linked to the original publication where it was reported.

Information sources Polbase draws information from a variety of sources including PubMed, PDB, and directly from polymerase investigators.

Interconnections Polbase is connected with various other databases. These include:

The Protein Data Bank European Bioinformatics Institute ExPASy Bioinformatics Resource Portal UniProt BRENDA PubMed Various Scientific Journals

History Polbase began in March 2009 with a grant from the NIH's SBIR program and was first presented to the public at MIT's DNA and Mutagenesis Meeting In March 2010 Polbase was presented to a larger audience at the Evolving Polymerases 2010 Conference. Polbase was also presented in more technical detail at the Rocky 2010 ISMB Conference. Polbase is described in more detail in the 2012 Nucleic Acids Research Database Issue. Polbase was built at New England Biolabs by Brad Langhorst and Nicole Nichols with the help of founding collaborators Linda Reha-Krantz, Bill Jack, Cathy Joyce, Stu Linn, Stefan Sarafianos, Sam Wilson, and Roger Woodgate.

References

External links The DNA Polymerase Database (Polbase)

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Polbase

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Polbase claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Polbase before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Polbase ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Polbase

In research: Polbase appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Polbase in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Polbase is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics DNA replication, Enzyme databases, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Polbase outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Polbase in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Polbase means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Polbase out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Polbase in simple terms?

Why does Polbase matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Polbase?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Polbase.