Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Fragile things
The unit of inheritance is more fragile than ever, according to this report. It also appears that genetic diversity may be built into the cellular machinery, unwittingly or not. I just like to think that God is pretty darn creative in getting things done. Just when you thought there are no more surprises to be had ...
Blame it on ... plastic?
Hah! Finally! If you are a biologist of any flavour and your experiment fails, you can blame it on ....
Your disposables! From multiwell plates to pipette tips, plastic leaching and/or adsorption may be affecting your experiment. If your assay fails, you now have a new candidate for blame. Nope, nothing to do with you not prepping your reagents proper, or your cells are too old or that you may have forgotten to add in the test compound du jour.
Don't believe me? Check this out.
However, with the pervasiveness of plastic in biolabs the world over, does this cast a pall over the results obtained and published in peer review journals? Can we trust the outcome of our experiments, may they be positive, negative or inconclusive?
Heh.
Like labwork isn't hard enough already. But what are the alternatives? Are bioplastics better if they are prepared without the interfering biocides? Will the cost be prohibitive? Judging from the comments, glass isn't without its own set of problems. Apart from the adsorption issue, the manpower required to prepare glassware for laboratory use can be quite a headache.
Just to share ... I used scintillation vials to store my plant compounds as well as for bacterial incubation. Reusing glassware means washing extensively with detergent and using enormous amount of water. My supervisor related that her supervisor made all his students rinse their glassware 10 - 15 times with hot water with a final triple rinse with distilled water. Dude started as a physicist and being the uber-conscious analytical scientist, decided to check glassware for contamination and voila! Apparently normal washing isn't good enough and he devised that demented rinsing regiment as the best way to prep glassware. If you're into sterile work, this is followed by autoclaving and drying. And if you are really obsessive, you throw in dry sterilisation (180 deg Celcius, overnight).
So, how does one have an environmentally friendly lab that produces consistent and reliable result? You tell me.
Your disposables! From multiwell plates to pipette tips, plastic leaching and/or adsorption may be affecting your experiment. If your assay fails, you now have a new candidate for blame. Nope, nothing to do with you not prepping your reagents proper, or your cells are too old or that you may have forgotten to add in the test compound du jour.
Don't believe me? Check this out.
However, with the pervasiveness of plastic in biolabs the world over, does this cast a pall over the results obtained and published in peer review journals? Can we trust the outcome of our experiments, may they be positive, negative or inconclusive?
Heh.
Like labwork isn't hard enough already. But what are the alternatives? Are bioplastics better if they are prepared without the interfering biocides? Will the cost be prohibitive? Judging from the comments, glass isn't without its own set of problems. Apart from the adsorption issue, the manpower required to prepare glassware for laboratory use can be quite a headache.
Just to share ... I used scintillation vials to store my plant compounds as well as for bacterial incubation. Reusing glassware means washing extensively with detergent and using enormous amount of water. My supervisor related that her supervisor made all his students rinse their glassware 10 - 15 times with hot water with a final triple rinse with distilled water. Dude started as a physicist and being the uber-conscious analytical scientist, decided to check glassware for contamination and voila! Apparently normal washing isn't good enough and he devised that demented rinsing regiment as the best way to prep glassware. If you're into sterile work, this is followed by autoclaving and drying. And if you are really obsessive, you throw in dry sterilisation (180 deg Celcius, overnight).
So, how does one have an environmentally friendly lab that produces consistent and reliable result? You tell me.
Monday, August 25, 2008
On Calcium Blockers
This blog, as evident, serve as my del.i.cious account to keep track of things I find interesting online. The links may or not be alive by the time I re-visit them (or whomever who reads this journal and felt like clicking 'em), but I can console my inner OCD-info-hoarder that I did something constructive.*snerk*
Recent events made it necessary for me to look into calcium blockers; a class of drugs used in the treatment of hypertension and atrial fibrillation. Since my physiology and pharmacology was left behind some time ago, I needed faster and easier access to information. It didn't help that I gave away my pharmacology book.
God bless the Internet and people who put up Podcasts (is that the right term?) and videos giving you the info you want. So, thanks Jim Christensen!
Recent events made it necessary for me to look into calcium blockers; a class of drugs used in the treatment of hypertension and atrial fibrillation. Since my physiology and pharmacology was left behind some time ago, I needed faster and easier access to information. It didn't help that I gave away my pharmacology book.
God bless the Internet and people who put up Podcasts (is that the right term?) and videos giving you the info you want. So, thanks Jim Christensen!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
In and out of favour: Darwinism
I've always considered the arguments for and against Darwinism to be strange. It is expected that if you accept the theory of evolution, then it is not possible for you to believe in God. And if you reject Darwinism, then you must be against science.
I love how this article illustrates that this issue is not black and white.
http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/54714/
God is the most creative driving force; life in His hands is an elegantly complex construct with endless variation. The theory of natural selection, to my mind, shed some light as to how God does what He does; but it does not answer everything. Therefore, there is room for discussion and expansion when one tries to understand how life is shaped and what allows it to continue to exist.
And yes, even in science (more like, especially), mileage may vary.
I love how this article illustrates that this issue is not black and white.
http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/54714/
God is the most creative driving force; life in His hands is an elegantly complex construct with endless variation. The theory of natural selection, to my mind, shed some light as to how God does what He does; but it does not answer everything. Therefore, there is room for discussion and expansion when one tries to understand how life is shaped and what allows it to continue to exist.
And yes, even in science (more like, especially), mileage may vary.
Drugging your way to slenderness
Huh. At the end of the article, I was musing if the drug is available in my country and how much will it cost me. Ah, to lose weight without the pain of exercise or dieting. But on the other hand, without exercising, the drug can only help you lose only 5 - 10 lbs.
http://www.the-scientist.com/2008/6/1/40/1/
Oh well, better than no loss at all, isn't it?
http://www.the-scientist.com/2008/6/1/40/1/
Oh well, better than no loss at all, isn't it?
Cave crawling inspiration
Germs are fascinating creatures; nearly invisible and yet the impact on the biosphere is immense.
http://www.the-scientist.com/2008/6/1/21/2/
It is not surprising that germs-driven chemical reactions are responsible for cave formations. After all, without germs, there won't be life as we know it.
http://www.the-scientist.com/2008/6/1/21/2/
It is not surprising that germs-driven chemical reactions are responsible for cave formations. After all, without germs, there won't be life as we know it.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Deflowering of a blog
Heh.
Heaven knows if this blog will ever get any exercise.
Simply set up as a means of expressing my so-called creativity.
We'll see what's what.
Heaven knows if this blog will ever get any exercise.
Simply set up as a means of expressing my so-called creativity.
We'll see what's what.
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