MicroscopesBlog: Expert's reviews, news, notes on Microscopes, Centrifuges, Lab Coats, Pipettes, Lab Safety, & more Lab Products!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Anaerobes
Anaerobes are organisms that do not require oxygen for growth and may die in its presence. Obligate anaerobes can't use oxygen and can be harmed by it whereas facultative anaerobes can grow without oxygen but can use it if it's present. You are probably familiar with anaerobes and you don't even know it. Anaerobes are responsible for producing ethanol, the key ingredient in alcoholic beverages. This occurs through a process called fermentation where acetaldehyde is reduced by NADH to form ethanol. Anaerobes can be cultured using the GasPak System. This is a sealed container in which oxygen gas combines with hydrogen gas to form water. This removes any oxygen gas from the container and creates an anaerobic environment. Companies such as BD, Bel-Art, and Chemglass all provide products used for anaerobe research.
Posted by Paul at 3:54 PM Read Article 0 comments 
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Tools for Stem Cell Research
If you are so lucky to be someone preparing to explore the life of a Stem Cell, then you will need to be very prepared. We want you to have the most updated technologies and products available to you to further your research efforts. We know that Stem cells are cells that have the ability to to renew themselves by mitosis and can differentiate into many different specialized cells. We also know that Stem cells are currently being used to in a therapeutic applications in Germany. Such therapy's are being used to treat diabetes, stroke, spinal injuries, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, and many more life debilitating diseases. You will need to be prepared in the lab with some of the finest laboratory products to work in this field. You will need the very minimum laboratory consumables, pipettors, reagents, media, laboratory equipment, cryostorage dewars to the higer end laboratory equipment; such as centrifuges, refrigerators, thermal cyclers and cytocentrifuges! These are just some of the items to give you an idea. These products are made by very prominent names in the laboratory industry; such as Biomedical Polymers, Gene Technologies, Thermo Scientific Kingfisher, Biohit, and many more. I fully support adult and embryonic stem cell research. Keep up the great work and never lose sight of your goals!Monday, October 26, 2009
Splish Splash
A friend of mine who is running a biochemistry lab asked her tech. to heat a sample to 120oC. After the experiment didn't work my friend asked her tech "How did you heat the sample?" "In a water bath." said the tech. Upon examination it was revealed that the thermometer was resting on the bottom of the beaker on the hot plate. The tech should have used the circulating bath with bath fluid designed for heating to 120oC. Heating baths, immersion circulators, and recirculating chillers can provide constant temperatures from -30 to 200oC . The fluids for these baths are specially formulated for specific temperature ranges and viscosities. Dow Corning makes a wide range of bath fluids. Polyscience, and Brinkmann are manufacturers of heating baths and recirculating baths (cooling baths). Brinkmann and Polyscience also manufacture recirculating chillers.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Let's go Streaking!
Ok, not that kind of streaking. I'm referring to a technique used to spread bacterial colonies on an agar plate. A sterile loop or cotton swab is dipped into the bacterial culture or patient sample that contains many different kinds of bacteria. This swab or loop is then spread over a growth medium known as agar. One will choose what type of agar to use depending on the bacteria that is being tested for. If you've ever had strep throat your doctor most likely took a throat culture and had it tested. The culture was spread over an agar plate with nutrients that favor bacterial growth. If bacterial colonies develop over the next 24 to 48 hours the test is positive and you have strep throat. Once you have streaked a mixed bacterial culture, you may then remove individual colonies with a loop or needle and subculture them on a new plate. Parter Medical, Greiner Bio-one, and BD all make products used for streaking.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Do You Measure Up?
Numbers cannot stand alone. They mean nothing without units of measure. Does 10K mean 10,000 dollars, 10,000 volts or 10 kilometers? Units have a prefix indicating their order of magnitude. For large numbers the orders of magnitude are K= kilo or x1000. M = mega or x1,000,000. For small numbers m = milli or x.001(1 x 10-3); u = micro or x .000001(1 x 10-6); n = nano or x .000000001(1 x 10-9). Units are specific to the physical property they describe such as mass - grams, g. So 6 mg is .006 grams.
Pressure has many units of measure which can be confusing. Some of these are Torr, atmospheres (atm), and pounds per square inch (psi). In a gas regulator pressure is generally measure in psi. Vacuum is measure in Torr, P - Pascals, and in Hg(mercury) or mm Hg. Vacuum pressure regulators can use any of these units. Unit conversion charts and calculators are available on the web for most physical properties.
Your Vote Counts! OpticsPlanet Product Brilliance Award
OpticsPlanet Brilliance Awards are now here! This is where you can voice your opinion by voting for your favorite product of the year! Let everyone know about the product that has changed your world in a positive light. Prizes, yes we will be giving out one Grand prize $200.00 gift card to our store and five Second Prizes of $50.00 Gift cards to our store! Wish I could vote!
Voting/Sweepstakes Deadline: November 1st 11:59 P.M. CST
Visit OpticsPlanet and vote!
Directions:
Register to win a prize!
* Select a category of your choice
* Vote for a product and / or brand within that category
* One vote per person per award
* To be eligible to win a prize you must submit your email,
see official rules and disclaimer
VOTE BY CATEGORY:
Balances and Scales, Centrifuges, Lab Furniture and Bio Hoods, Microscopes,
Refrigerator Freezers,Safety Glasses. The categories are endless! Well my job is done here. I have put the word out to you, let us hear back on what you think of your favorite products. Good luck to you!Friday, October 16, 2009
Agar Plate
An agar plate is a petri dish that contains a growth medium used to grow microorganisms such as bacteria. The growth medium can contain selective growth compounds such as antibiotics and sheep blood. Streaking is a technique used to spread the bacterial mixture throughout the plate. This is a way of differentiating the different bacterial strains contained in the mixture. Agar plates can also be use to grow bacteria for molecular biology experiments. One can grow selective bacteria on a plate and use this strain for protein expression experiments. Different types of agar can be used to grow bacteria such as sheep blood agar and chocolate agar. Don't be fooled by the phrase "chocolate agar." If you taste it you may be disappointed as its name refers to the color of the agar. Agar is made from scratch in some laboratories however one may order pre made agar plates from several different companies. Companies like EMD, BD, and Himedia Laboratories supply agar plates as well as supplies for agar plate preparation.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Live Blood Analysis, Is It a Scam?
Well that is a really good question, how much do we really know about Live Blood Analysis and the so called doctors and holistic practitioners that provide this service? Supposedly there is a scam going around and what the scammers are after is your blood. Don't fall victim to this bloody scam. With just a using a lancet and obtaining just small drop, unprincipled so called medical doctors, and traditional doctors such as (sinsehs) and alternative medicine practitioners claim that they are able to diagnose a host of presumed illnesses, ranging from vitamin deficiencies to the seriousness of cancer, by placing your blood on a microscope slide and viewing it under a microscope. They are able to convince their unsuspecting patients by using an impressive but discredited test method called Live Blood Analysis (LBA). It appears that thousands have fallen victim to this scam over the past 10 years! There is an alarming growing number of centers and individuals offering such services. Medical associations are now urging the authorities to take action against those offering Live Blood Analysis(LBA). It is also known as Nutritional Blood Analysis or Live Cell Analysis. All methods require a drop of the patient’s blood to be put under a high resolution darkfield microscope. Those using LBA claim they are able to assess a patient’s health and detect infections, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, toxic substances, weak kidneys, bladders and spleens, and even cancer earlier than standard laboratory tests.
Live Blood Analysis (LBA), is considered experimental and requires experimental protocols be followed including an Institutional Review Board and CLIA High Complexity Testing Certificate. Posted by Naturopathic Physicians Board of Medical Examiners March 7th 2008.Friday, October 09, 2009
Cell Motility
Ever wonder how bacteria can move throughout a substance or organism? Cell motility is an important characteristic of bacteria. Bacteria can move by way of a flagellum (flagella, plural). The flagellum is attached to the cell body and rotates like a cork screw. Eukaryotic cells also have a flagella however it is made up of microtubules and the protein tubulin. The flagella of bacteria is made up of flagellin. Bacteria that have a flagellum or flagella can have different arrangements depending on where the flagella are located on the cell. If a cell has one flagellum on each end of the cell it is classified as amphitrichous. If there is a bundle of flagellum located on one end of the cell it is classified as lophotrichous. When there is only one flagellum on one end of the cell it is monotrichous and if there flagellum located all over the cell it is peritrichous. The flagellum allows the bacteria to move through regions of the human body such as the mucus lining of the stomach. The ability to move through substances is another characteristic of bacteria that make them dangerous. Companies such as Barnstead, EMD Chemicals, and Eppendorf supply products used to study bacteria.
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
What's your Favorite Lab Brand?
Here are just a few laboratory brands that come to my mind. Who is your favorite? , BD, Beckman Coulter, Brinkman, Celestron, DeWalt, Dow Corning, DuPont, Eppendorf. There are hundreds of laboratory brands, do you know them all? What products do you use in the lab the most? beakers, balances, Nikon Microscopes? I am sure that some of these brands have come across your desk in the lab on more than one occasion. Try and think about just how many of those brands you use on a daily basis. It may just blow your mind!Monday, October 05, 2009
Keep Your Balance
In the past a laboratory balance had two pans, one for precision weights, the other for sample. Over the years laboratory weighing instruments have become electronic, but they are still called balances. An analytical lab balance has weight capacities of ~50 grams up to 300 grams and readabilities (lowest significant figure) of ~0.1mg. Analytical balances have draft shields to prevent air currents from affecting the sample weight.
Precision balances have capacities from ~200 grams to as high
as 30,000g. Readabilities are from 1mg to 100mg. Precision balances are generally not supplied with draft shields.
Ultra micro and micro balances are even more sensitive than analytical lab balances. An Ultra-microbalance has a capacity of ~6g and a readability of 0.1ug. Microbalances have capacities of ~50g and readabilities of .001mg. Microbalances and ultra-microbalances require a balance table to isolate the balance from vibrations.
Some manufacturers of laboratory balances are Ohaus, Mettler Toledo and Sartorius.Friday, October 02, 2009
Bioremediation
If you haven't heard of it already, you will become more familiar with the term bioremediation as time passes. Bioremediation is any process that uses microorganisms to return the natural environment changed by pollutants to its natural state. Bacteria were used to clean up the oil spill off the coast of Alaska roughly 20 years ago. Mycoremediation is a form of bioremediation that uses fungi to reduce the level of contamination in a given environment. Fungi can release specific enzymes and acids that break down the major components of plant fiber. The accumulation of waste is directly proportional to population and as our population grows scientists will be under more pressure to find ways to eliminate contaminants from our environment. Bioremediation microbes will continue to be used in an attempt to return our polluted environments to their original state. Corning, Barnstead, and BD supply products used by those researching bioremediation.