Page 12 - Microbiology and Life Science News
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August 08, 2011Coal miners could be at greater risk to lung ailments caused by air-borne contaminants such as crystalline silica, according to a new NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) publication. After reviewing information that had been published over the last 15 years the agency determined that miners may face increased exposure to these harmful materials as the more productive seams of coal are mined out, forcing them to dig deeper into thinner mining seams. The result is longer working hours in environments that have denser concentrations of crystalline silica, creating respiratory and pulmonary disease. NIOSH is responsible for setting guidelines on exposure levels of damaging substances like crystalline silica as well as recommending the sampling procedures for these toxic particles. The NIOSH sample technique for crystalline silica involves redepositing the sample onto a 0.45 micron, 25 mm silver membrane filter for analysis by x-ray diffraction. Testing for air-borne
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July 28, 2011Here is a cool bit of news this morning; Boeing is working with Embraer and the Inter-American Development Bank to study the production of renewable jet fuel made from Brazilian sugarcane. Even sweeter is that this jet fuel is produced by one of our customers, Amyris! According to Amyris CEO John Melo the goal here is to, “help us replace fossil fuels with a renewable jet fuel that surpasses both technical and sustainability criteria.” The study is being directed by ICONE, a non-profit Brazilian research organization, and the World Wildlife Fund is acting as an independent reviewer and advisor. Sounds like it's a dedicated coalition of minds working on this issue. We’re thrilled that we can indirectly support this kind of innovation and will look forward to seeing the results in early 2012.
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July 27, 2011Do you feel like sample prep is taking up all your time? If you answered yes then you aren’t alone according to this recent survey from Lab Manager Magazine. The results of 245 lab professionals show that in chromatography about 80% of their time is spent on the process of sample preparation – from collection to data management. This survey found that filtration is the most common technique used to achieve sample preparation, with Solid Phase Extraction also ranking as a common method. Add these results together and it looks like quite a few of you are spending a lot of time with our products. So the question becomes, how can you improve your sample preparation process? When asked this question, 97% of respondents said they would look to lower costs, such as by using less solvent or using cheaper materials.
Techniques Used for Sample Preparation Filtration 20% Solvent Extraction 18% Liquid-Liquid Extraction (LLE) 15% Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) 14% Protein Precipitation (PPT) 7% Dialysis -
July 12, 2011
As we’ve brought up before, the Google Science Fair has turned out some amazing projects from 13-18 year-olds all over the world, and today Google announced the very deserving winners from each age group. Taking home the top prize is Shree Bose of Fort Worth, Texas whose project seeks to improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy treatment for ovarian cancer (you know, typical kids’ stuff). The techniques she uses, such as flow cytometry, microscopy and western blotting, will no doubt be familiar to many of our visitors. Other winning projects covered the effects of environmental pollutants on asthma patients and methods for reducing carcinogens in our food. That all three of these winners were girls is an added bonus that will hopefully dispel some poorly conceived stereotypes about women in science. All in all, there were some mind-bendingly impressive projects and the participants can look forward to bright futures as innovators in their chosen fields.
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June 27, 2011
If you fastidiously watch “Through the Wormhole” like I do, chances are you’ll find this application for silver membrane filters fascinating – they’re being used to assist in the collection of antimatter! Now if your main reference for antimatter is a certain Dan Brown novel, you should know that separating and collecting antimatter is a much, much more difficult process than the entertainment industry would have you believe. In fact, “If you take all the antimatter produced in the history of the world and annihilated it all at once, you wouldn't have enough energy to boil a pot of tea,” according to Harvard physicist Gerald Gabrielse. Professor Gabrielse is a leader in antimatter trapping methodology and a co-author of the paper Pumped Helium System for Cooling Positron and Electron Traps to 1.2 K, which details how our filters are used to trap antimatter.
Antimatter is composed of the exact opposite particles (particles of the same mass but opposite electrical charges) as its traditional -
June 16, 2011
Cruising around the Scandinavian coastline in November might not sound like the most ideal place to conduct an environmental impact study, but for Norway’s Institute of Marine Research it was necessary in order to investigate the levels of anthropogenic particles in the Skagerrak strait. As you can imagine, this setting presented some unique challenges for the research team. In order to gather and analyze microscopic samples from this body of water, which is located between Norway, Denmark and Sweden, researchers had to come up with some new sampling methods and fashion their own equipment to solve problems that had plagued previous studies.
One key obstacle that these scientists needed to overcome was how to distinguish between anthropogenic particles, which are man-made bits of matter that impact the environment (i.e. oil-spill droplets, asphalt, rubber tire wear, fly ash), from those particles with similar characteristics which appear naturally (volcanic ash, peat). To make this distinction,
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June 10, 2011Check out this interesting article from the NIST Tech Beat explaining how nature may be manufacturing silver nanoparticles all by itself. The article also discusses some ideas as to why it is that silver is such a good antibacterial agent.
Read the NIST article here. -
June 08, 2011Move over Copernicium! A collaboration of scientists from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California (one of our customers - we're so proud!), and the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Russia are being recognized today for officially creating two new elements! Scientists first created these elements in 1999 and 2000, respectively, by slamming lighter atoms together to see if they would stick. After a lengthy experimentation and review process by the International Unions of Pure and Applied Chemistry and Physics they are now certified and ready to take their rightful spots as the heaviest members of the periodic table. Both of these elements are radioactive and exist for less than a second before decaying into lighter atoms. For now the elements are being referred to by their element numbers, 114 and 116, since the discovers are still in the process of submitting their recommendations. It's probably a good thing that the naming process is limited only to the researchers
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March 15, 2011A new study by NIOSH found a more effective method for testing occupational exposure to airborne wood dust, which is known to cause cancer. This new practice incorporates silver membrane filters along with a mid-infrared diffuse reflection method for direct on-filter determination of wood dust mass instead of gravimetric analysis and glass fiber filters, creating a more specific test. To learn more, you can view the article abstract here.
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March 07, 2011
Today the Environmental Protection Agency awarded $32 million to 4 universities around the country to study the health impacts of air pollution. These centers will answering questions like, "does air pollution effect a child's learning ability?" "Are obese people more susceptible to health effects of air pollution?" "How does your commute effect your health?" We work with a number of environmental labs to provide filtration materials, and one of the most common requests we get from them is for our 0.45 micron, 25mm silver membranes to comply with NIOSH methods for testing airborne contaminants such as silica and bromine. Here is a breakdown of what the four new centers are focusing on:
- University of Washington - Effects of roadway pollution on on cardiovascular health.
- Michigan State University - The relationships between obesity and air pollution.
- Emory University / Georgia Institute of Technology - Characterize health risks of air pollution mixtures, research how social factors (living
