Page 9 - Microbiology and Life Science News
-
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 to keep dust out of a pressurized lens assembly, we recommended that they
-
October 29, 2014
Silicosis is one of the oldest known and widespread occupational lung diseases. Caused by the inhalation of dust containing crystalline silica (SiO2), it kills thousands of people each year around the world. Silica is one of the most common minerals found in the crust and is released into the air when rocks, concrete, or sand are crushed, broken, or sprayed. Construction workers, miners and those that work with masonry, glass, and ceramics are particularly susceptible to exposure to airborne silica dust. When inhaled, silica dust can lodge itself into the alveoli of lungs, deep enough that coughing and mucus cannot to remove it. The tiny particles cause inflammation and, eventually, the build-up of scar tissue in the lungs. The progress of the disease is gradual; many people with silicosis experience no symptoms initially. However, as the nodules of fibrous scar tissue grow larger, symptoms such as chronic coughing, shortness of breath, chest pain, and fatigue can develop.
-
June 26, 2014
Since 2007, the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project has been monitoring the impact of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) on public health at Doheny, Avalon, and Surfrider beaches in California (just when thought it doesn't get worse than peeing in the pool). They explain and summarize their tracking efforts in a neat video below. Sterlitech also offers analytical funnels, Grade F glass fiber filters, manifolds, and microbiological monitors that are similar to the ones you see in the video. If you are also working with or involved in microbiological monitoring, we are also developing a new microbiological monitor that uses a polycarbonate membrane filter in place of the usual MCE filter. You can contact us here, if you would like to learn more.
-
April 01, 2014
To view this white paper in PDF form, click here. Also see Sterlitech's Schistosome Test Kit here. Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease caused by Schistosome flatworms and is considered one of the Neglected Tropical Diseases, which are a group of tropical diseases endemic to low-income populations of Africa, Asia, and the Americas. However, Schistosomiasis affects more than 200 million people worldwide, and the CDC has placed it second only to malaria as the most devastating parasitic disease. Efforts to combat this infection are ramping up dramatically. As an example, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation granted The Imperial College of London $30 million dollars in 2002 to establish the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (SCI), which initially partnered the college and the foundation with the World Health Organization and the Harvard School of Public Health. Their goal was to identify hot spots for infection, provide health education within those regions, treat victims,
-
November 22, 2013
Sterlitech is helping researchers around the globe detect the presence of schistosome eggs, the cause of schistosomiasis, in human urine with its complete Schistosome Test kit. Over 200 million people across the world suffer from Schistosomiasis, and nearly 700 million people live in places where it is endemic. Sterlitech’s Schistosome Test Kit comes complete with everything needed to carry out fast, accurate tests in the field. “The symptoms of schistosomiasis can last for years and lead significant damage to a person’s liver, intestines or bladder,” notes Mark Spatz, president of Sterlitech Corporation. “Accurately diagnosing patients with the disease can help track the source of the infection and make prevention and treatment easier.” Schistosomiasis begins when juvenile schistosome worms burrow through the skin of human host as they come into contact with contaminated water. The immature worms travel through hosts, eventually settling in the veins near the intestines and
-
October 16, 2013
A few months ago, we added an article on our blog about how the pores are track-etched into our polycarbonate membrane filters. Track-etching results in uniform, cylindrical pores, the size and density of which can be tightly controlled by adjusting the polycarbonate’s exposure to charged particles and caustic etchants. As it turns out, the relatively uniform pores in a polycarbonate membrane make them an excellent substrate for the synthesis of nanowires and nanotubes. In the production of nanostructures, polycarbonate membranes are used like nano-scale muffin pans. A chemical precursor for the type of nanotube being produced is allowed to infiltrate the pores of the membrane by means of a solution or chemical vapor deposition. The nanotubes form in the pores as material aggregates onto the walls of the membrane. Finally, the polycarbonate membrane is removed or dissolved away, leaving behind nanotubes that are more uniform than those synthesized without one. Nanotubes are
-
July 29, 2013
Place a polycarbonate (PCT) or polyester (PET) membrane under an electron microscope and you'll see something similar to the picture here: a smooth surface perforated with neat, cylindrical holes. In this aspect, PCT and PET membranes stand out from other membrane types such as PTFE, nylon, or silver which provide irregular, tortuous paths for permeates to follow. So how are the regular little pores created? Are they drilled, punched, molded or torn into the membrane? If you guessed etched in with the help of a nuclear reactor, then you are absolutely right.
Every PCT or PET membrane filter starts as a roll of plastic film stock. The film is exposed in a controlled manner to charged particles in a nuclear reactor. The charged particles pass through the film, leaving behind sensitized tracks. The density of these tracks in the film depends on the amount of time that the film is exposed to the reactor. More time in the reactor with result in more tracks and greater pore density in the finished
-
October 24, 2012
At Sterlitech Corporation, we take great pride in producing the best laboratory filtration products on the market. It’s of one of our specialties, after all. But even we have to admit that filters aren’t always the most electrifying products to talk about. Until someone decides they should be. A team of chemists led by Anthony Kucernak, from the Imperial College London, decided to do exactly that in a study to determine if they could use Sterlitech’s silver membranes as electrodes and improve the performance of alkaline anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AAEMFC). AAEMFCs are a new twist on one the oldest and well-developed fuel cell technologies: the alkaline fuel cell. Owing to their nearly 70% power efficiency, NASA chose alkaline fuel cells to provide electricity with the Apollo missions and the Space Shuttle. AAEMFCs usually have electrodes made from carbon, but the performance of carbon electrodes in the cell tends to degrade because of unwanted secondary reactions. According to the
-
October 16, 2012Today, we have a video that shows, in dramatic fashion, just how simple and efficient Sterlitech's Autofil Laboratory Filtration System is to use in comparison to traditional filter funnel assemblies. In this video, we have Jason on the Autofil System and Kristina on the traditonal filter funnel racing to filter 1000 mL of red water. Jason has to fill four 250 mL Autofil funnel assemblies, while Kristina has to fill two 500 mL filter funnel assemblies. Lets see how this plays out:
-
October 10, 2012
---->As you sit in front of your computer reading this, a myriad of thoughts are probably running through your mind. "Where is this story going?" "What am I going to have for lunch today?" "This blog is awesome!" But what you probably aren't thinking about is how you are actually able to read this. How often have you spared a thought about how the light from the screen is passing through the cornea and lens of your eye to trigger the light-sensitive photo-receptors in your retina and send the visual information to your brain? While you consider that, also consider sending a message of congratulations to Robert J. Lefkowitz and Brian K. Kobilka for winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry today. Their work over the past few decades has revealed the inner workings of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCR), a family of cell receptors which includes the photo-receptors in your eyes, and receptors for adrenaline, taste and smell. GPCRs are a crucial signal pathway for cells, allowing them to detect
