Microbiology and Life Science News
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July 06, 2017
There’s no shortage of news stories on a tiny bacterium continuing to cause big trouble; Legionella. In a recent search of Google News, 1800 different stories from across the globe are revealed for June of this year when searched strictly against the term “Legionella.” Illustrations of how serious a threat is this bacterium can be are seen across the variety of the news stories; from people becoming infected after using contaminated showers in gyms, hotels, hospitals, to babies born in birthing pools, basic residential water supplies, and even a simple backyard garden hose. So, what is this nasty little microorganism, and why is it still causing trouble? To look closer, let’s revisit two newsletter stories Sterlitech originally published back in December 2010 and April
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May 16, 2017
As we grow in understanding the significance different organisms have in the ecology of an environment, it helps tremendously if we know which organisms inhabit that environment – whether they’re supposed to be there or not. One method that is gaining widespread use, and relies on a simple filtration method, is the analysis of environmental DNA (eDNA) from local waterways.
As animals inhabit a river, lake, or pond, they shed off skin cells and other body waste that often contains that animal’s own unique DNA. These shed cells and their DNA can be easily isolated, by filtering a sample of collected water and then sequencing the captured DNA in a lab. The data is then compared against known organisms for that area. The data allows researchers to identify the presence or absence of organisms based on small gene sequences that turn up from the analyzed unique eDNA, just like a fingerprint on a crime scene. Sterlitech offers the
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February 02, 2017
Sterlitech is proud to launch a new product based on the successes of the Autofil bottle-top disposable filter funnel, now in a solvent-resistant version.
The Autofil PP bottle-top filters are a revolutionary new way to purify solvents for analytical applications or purify buffers and extracts. These new devices are the world’s first single-piece polypropylene funnel, designed to withstand harsh solvents that would normally degrade traditional polystyrene bottle-top filter assemblies. All active components are FDA-grade, which makes Autofil PP perfect for extracting compounds used in the food and drug industry. Autofil PP is designed to conveniently fit on top of most laboratory bottles with a GL45 thread, and works seamlessly with the same no-spill cradle system that made the
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February 02, 2017
Did you know that the potable water on board the International Space Station (ISS) is up to 80% recycled from astronauts’ sweat, urine and other reclaimed wastewater sources?
This means bacteria testing to monitor the quality of the recycled water is frequently required to ensure astronauts’ health and safety of consumption. Traditional test methods for bacteria testing can be timely, and complex, however a new approach currently being evaluated by European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut, Thomas Pesquet, aims to improve the speed and efficiency of these tests on board the ISS.
His experiment involves depositing a water sample onto Aquapad, developed by bioMérieux. Aquapad consists of a paper pad impregnated with powdered growth medium to create a 3D petri dish, on which the microbes are revealed in the form of countable, colored spots; a simple calculation determines whether the water is safe to drink. Traditional bacteria counting methods typically utilize
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October 05, 2016
Numerous industries have a necessity to keep things clean and sanitary. Filters are an efficient and cost effective way to keep dirt, dust, bacteria, viruses and other small particulates out. The variety of applications are endless, and hundreds of product manufacturers employ filtration to keep things clean: from medication, to automobiles, to even your home.
Within the life sciences, it is often critical for researchers to keep the growth environments of key cells sterile for production of significant compounds. Contamination could mean the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of product. At university labs, cell biologists and clinical researchers alike utilize small vent filters and devices to keep their cell growth devices and growth media free of any bacteria or molds that could damage their cell lines in their ongoing research. Sterlitech offers standard
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September 13, 2016
In 2015, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) signed off on new legislation to finalize the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which requires food and beverage manufacturers to be more proactive to minimizing food-borne contamination from microorganisms. The FDA now places more effort on the individual companies to test food products according to the new guidelines in various parts of the production process. These processes can be ideal places to draw fluid samples for bacterial capture and subsequent analysis. The use of membrane filters to evaluate bioburden in these types of liquids is the standard means of recovering and quantifying potentially harmful microorganisms. Does this sound like it makes for more work for the food processors in our communities? It might, but Sterlitech Corporation can help!
According to the new regulations, high-risk food producers will be inspected more frequently, will have to maintain more detailed records, and establish clear food safety
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July 28, 2015
(Updated Feb, 2017) If you were to casually browse through Sterlitech's website, you may find that we have an incredible range of filter options. The casual browser may certainly find themselves overwhelmed looking for the right filter for their application. One of the most important aspects of filter selection is pore size, which determines the size of largest particles that can pass through the filter. Pore sizes are usually placed in one of two categories: nominal or absolute. So what's the difference? Nominal pore sizes A nominal pore size rating refers to a filter capable of preventing passage of a minimum percentage (usually between 60% and 90%)of solid particles of greater than the stated pore size, which is normally expressed in micrometers or microns. Conditions during filtration, such as operating pressure, shape of the particles and the concentration of particles, have a significant effect on the retention of the
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July 28, 2015
Heartworms (Dirofilaria immitis) are a species of parasitic roundworms that primarily infect dogs, but can also infect cats, wild canids, and, in rare cases, even humans. They are found in every state in the country and spread from one host to the next through mosquito bites, which deposit larval heartworms into the new host when they feed. Since their lifecycle depends on mosquitos, infection rates are on the rise as human activities, such as irrigation and urban development, create new habitats suitable for mosquitos. Heartworm infections develop slowly, with symptoms often presenting themselves only months past since the initial transmission.
The first symptoms are innocuous enough, just a slight cough. As the worms grow and lodge themselves in the arteries leading into the heart and lungs, the coughing becomes worse and persistent. The dog will exhibit difficulty breathing and a reluctance to exercise, which gets worse as time goes on. Eventually, a severe infection
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January 27, 2015
Schistosomiasis is one of the most widespread diseases in the world, with an estimated 200 million people infected across the world. It is a chronic and debilitating disease caused by parasitic worms called schistosomes. The World Health Organization wants to have Schistosomiasis under control by 2020 and one of Sterlitech's customers, the Natural History Museumin London, is tackling the disease head on. The Natural History Museum, in partnership with other organizations including the Zanzibar Ministry of Health, is helping with the WHO's initiative with a special project called the Zanzibar Elimination of Schistosomiasis Transmission (ZEST). ZEST's goal is to reduce the number of new cases of schistosomiasis using a three-pronged approach to eliminate the worms that cause the disease:
- Treatment of infected people to kill the adult schistosome worms.
- Controlling the population of snails that host the parasite
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December 17, 2014
In the remote mountains of northern Chile, miles away from nearest city or streetlight, construction of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) has begun. Coupling an extremely wide field of view with a 3200 megapixel digital camera, the LSST will be able to capture the entire night sky every few days, generating a wealth of information that will be used to detect signatures of dark matter and dark energy, map the Solar System and the Milky Way and observe fleeting stellar phenomena like supernovae. In order to do this, the LSST relies on a complex system of lenses and reflecting mirrors to collect and focus incoming light; the largest of the mirrors is a mammoth 8.4 meters in diameter. To get the clearest view of the most obscure celestial objects, the telescope’s mirrors and lenses need to be free of terrestrial contaminants. When the researchers working on the LSST asked us to recommend a filter media