Apr 16 2021 Read 2 Times
From infectious disease research to microbiological analysis of food products, sterilisation is critical in laboratories of all niches. Designed to kill bacteria, viruses, diseases and fungi, sterilisation prevents the spread of contaminants in both laboratories and the outside world. So why does sterilisation matter in laboratories?
Defining sterilisation
To start, let’s define “sterilisation” and what it means in a laboratory context. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention defines sterilization as the following:
“Sterilisation destroys all microorganisms on the surface of an article or in a fluid to prevent disease transmission associated with the use of that item.” The CDC adds that “While the use of inadequately sterilised critical items represents a high risk of transmitting pathogens, documented transmission of pathogens associated with an inadequately sterilised critical item is exceedingly rare. This is likely due to the wide margin of safety associated with the sterilization processes used in healthcare facilities.”
Apr 13 2021 Read 7 Times
After the novel coronavirus was first discovered in Wuhan City in China in December 2019, it subsequently spread to the rest of the world in rapid fashion, prompting the WHO to declare a global pandemic. Since then, the scientific community have been using all avenues of research available to them to learn as much as possible about this deadly disease.
One such avenue is wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE), which analyses human sewage for traces of the virus’s genetic material. This has been a highly useful method of detecting the presence and prevalence of the disease in a given population before it becomes apparent through hospitalisations and individual diagnostics tests. But what have we learned about coronavirus from wastewater monitoring since the initial outbreak?
Shortly after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a global pandemic in March 2020, the body’s Director General addressed governments all over the world in a special media briefing, urging them to “test, test, test”. Click to read more...
Effective sterilisation methods are essential in any laboratory, whether researchers are working with deadly viruses, patient blood samples or toxic chemicals. Click to read more...
Apr 13 2021 Read 2 Times
Intuitively, rivers seem like they are a symbol of nature, vitality and a healthy planet. However, the pollution which has been allowed to infiltrate many waterways around the world – especially those in urban environments – could be compromising the green credentials of rivers, instead turning them into chief contributors of some of the most damaging greenhouse gases.
Those are the findings of a new study from Hong Kong, which analysed emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) from 15 rivers in the New Territories. The research revealed that all the bodies of water involved in the study had become oversaturated with the three greenhouse gases, resulting in elevated emissions into the atmosphere.
Since the discovery of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 in late December 2019, the disease has ravaged global populations and decimated economies, claiming almost three million lives at the time of writing. Click to read more...
Apr 06 2021 Read 2 Times
The negative impacts of human activity upon our seas and oceans are manifold and well-documented. Indeed, until recently, it was believed that the sheer scale of the water which covers much of our planet was so vast that it would swallow up any and all waste that we threw at it, meaning humans polluted without any thought for the potential repercussions.
Although today’s society is much better informed on the dangers of marine pollution, the damage has already been done in many cases – while it continues to occur in many more. However, not all forms of contamination are created equal. Here’s a breakdown of the four most common varieties of marine pollution and the harmful effects they can have on marine populations.
Apr 04 2021 Read 29 Times
The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in December 2019 has thrown the world into disarray over the ensuing 15 months, with the scientific and medical communities scrambling to find ways to control and contain this deadly disease. A key facet of this approach has been effective diagnostic testing capabilities, which have helped to quantify the scale of the problem and allowed the authorities to take appropriate action to limit its spread.
While a rudimentary diagnostics test for COVID-19 was struck upon fairly early in the fight against the virus, the technology behind the discipline has advanced some way since then. Primarily, our capacity to refine the results that we can achieve from analysis of samples has increased, allowing us greater precision in the identification of neutralising antibodies in the immune system of the infected person. However, that’s not the only breakthrough which has been witnessed to date, with advanced automation and sample management capabilities also proving important in the struggle against COVID-19.
Apr 04 2021 Read 6 Times
There are thousands of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in use around the world today. Sadly, the majority of these have not been fully tested to ascertain how long they will endure in the environment if they are allowed to infiltrate it, nor have their impacts upon flora and fauna been investigated to a satisfactory degree.
However, numerous studies have shown that PPCPs are present in wastewater effluents in alarmingly high concentrations. These findings have traditionally been arrived at by collecting samples from the effluent in question, then subjecting them to complex laboratory processes such as liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to identify and isolate any PPCP components. Despite this state of affairs, pharmaceutical pollution receives far less attention than other contaminants, such as heavy metals and pesticides.