Nerdy Science Blog

When I first saw this Vioguard UVKB50 Self-Sanitizing Keyboard, the first thing strike into my mind was that its market can be extended to microbiology laboratories.

Vioguard Self-Sanitizing Keyboard bathed the keyboard with germicidal ultraviolet light (UV-C) automatically when it is unused.  UV-C is a well-known disinfectant, and it was proven capable of killing more than 99.9% harmful microorganisms within seconds.

Technical specifications:

Keyboard: 88-key low profile UV-resistant keyboard
Pointing device: Advanced multitouch trackpad
Proximity sensor: Infrared, 1-3″ range
Computer connection: USB 1.1 or 2.0 compliant, single connection for keyboard and touchpad
UVC lamps: 2 x 25W custom T8 germicidal lamps
Input power: Universal input, 100-240 VAC, 50-60 Hz, power factor corrected
Power consumption: 80W during disinfection, 3W standby
Lamp cycle life: 40,000 disinfection cycles
Mechanism life: 300,000 disinfection cycles
Disinfection time: 65-95 seconds with factory setting

The self-sanitizing keyboard is also waterproof, which allows users to clean it with other sanitizing solutions without worrying it will damage.

The cost for this keyboard is not known yet, but you can contact Vioguard to know the details.  If you happen to know the price, please leave a comment to let me know.

Malaysian readers with microbiology background listen up, MicroGreen is offering a position for microbiologist.

Microbiologist
(Selangor – Petaling Jaya)

Responsibilities:

* Responsible for microbial research, product development, product field application research;
* Conduct agronomic field and laboratory research and;
* Provide customer support services.

Requirements:

* Possess at least a Bachelor’s Degree, Post Graduate Diploma, Professional Degree or Master’s Degree in Agriculture, Microbiology, or equivalent with few years working experience in the related field.
* Preferably executives specializing in Science & Technology, Laboratory work or equivalent.
* Mature with self-motivated personality, able to work independently and interact well with all levels.
* Good communication & interpersonal skills in Bahasa Malaysia & English.
* Ability to interact well with various level of management staff, customers and scientific community
* Required to travel for sample collection, trials and etc.
* Possess own transport

The application closing date for this position is 3rd March 2009.  If you are interested or want more details about this job, please visit JobStreet.

Inspired by all the valentines cards created last year, I created the following MacConkey agar plate culturing the love colonies.

The image is modified and edited from this and this.  I’m not good with picture editing, so it doesn’t look real and the love shape is misshapen.  Let’s spread the love to the bacteria!

Saprolegnia is a fungus that is a normal component of freshwater aquarium environments. It feeds on dead and decaying matter helping to rid the aquarium of waste. When an aquarium is properly maintained, Saprolegnia is harmless to healthy fish. However, when the water of an aquarium becomes overly littered with decaying matter, or when fish become sick or develop wounds, Saprolegnia can harm fish.

Saprolegnia spores are present in most all freshwater aquariums. The spores are not visible and will circulate silently until a suitable substrate is present for its attachment. Saprolegnia spores target dead fish that have not been removed from the tank, uneaten fish food, infertile fish eggs, and wounds that may be present on live fish. Saprolegnia presents as white to gray patches on the skin of fish that become more hair-like, and cottony as the disease progresses. If left untreated, Saprolegnia can erode into deeper tissues of the fish and disrupt internal body fluids leading to death of the fish.

Treatment of Saprolegnia in aquarium fish involves removing infected fish from the tank, placing them in a separate tank or bowl, and adding an agent to the water of this tank to disrupt the growth process of the fungus. Success of treatment depends on the extent of the body of the fish that is covered with the fungus. Some agents that can be added to the treatment tank include, salt, malachite green, potassium permanganate, methylene blue, antifungal medications, and copper. Each agent should be used under certain conditions and directions should be followed carefully to avoid causing further damage to infected fish.

Though there are many treatments that can be effective when Saprolegnia attacks aquarium fish, preventative measures are easy and necessary to ensure aquarium fish remain free of Saprolegnia infections. Preventing Saprolegnia outbreaks in an aquarium begins by maintaining healthy water. Fostering healthy aquarium water includes, small and frequent water changes, removing dead fish, vacuuming excessive decaying food, keeping the pH of the water in certain parameters, maintaining minerals, such as calcium at proper levels, preventing the buildup of ammonia and nitrites in the tank, not overfeeding fish, and adding live plants to the aquarium.

Water change is essential in removing waste products, nitrates, phosphates, ammonia and nitrites and also for replacing trace elements in the tank. Monitoring the levels of ammonia, nitrites, and pH of the water is also very important. High levels of ammonia and extremes of pH can cause burns to fish resulting in wounds to which Saprolegnia can attach and proliferate. High nitrite levels are toxic to fish and should also be monitored.

In addition to maintaining clean, healthy water, monitoring fish for wounds that may be caused by attacks from aggressive fish, sharp surfaces in the tank, or from rough netting and fish handling technique is helpful in prevention. Removing these hazards and handling fish carefully can help prevent wounds that become surfaces for Saprolegnia attachment and infection.

Saprolegnia is a normal part of clean, healthy, freshwater aquariums. Healthy fish are generally safe from infection by Saprolegnia. Clean water, vigilant monitoring, and removal of waste products from the aquarium will promote healthy fish. Prevention is the easiest method for controlling Saprolegnia outbreaks. However, when prevention fails, there are treatments available that can be effective in curing infected fish.

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One of the deadliest pandemics in human history is the Black Death a.k.a. Black Plague, which is highly suspected to be caused by Yersinia pestis bacterium.  Although Influenza has been thought to be the next pandemic, scientists found that the next pandemic could be caused by rats.

A paper will be published in the December issue of the Journal of Medical Microbiology suggesting the biggest and most common rats in Europe, the brown rats, may carry bacteria that cause the 21st century plague.

Bartonella bacteria are zoonotic pathogens that can cause serious illness in humans worldwide, such as heart disease, and spleen and nervous system infection.  The new species of Bartonella bacteria, Bartonella rochalimae, was discovered and identified to cause spleen infection led the scientists to study this bacteria species in rodents.  It is discovered that rats carry several pathogenic species of Bartonella, for example B. elizabethae and B. grahamii, and B. tribocorum.  A new strain which is closely related to B. rochalimae was found in rats.  The infections can be transmitted by fleas.

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“Perfume: The Story of a Murderer” (2006) directed by Tom Tykwer was a really nice movie.  The story was about a man born with superior olfactory sense tried to preserve the finest smell as perfume, and ultimately he turned to the dark side to achieve his goal.

In the movie, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille the perfumer source of finest perfume was young females.  Scientists also found a way to create perfume, however it is not from women, but tropical Vetiver grass.  The root bacteria of the tropical grass were found having the ability to promote the production of essential oils in the oil-producing cells.  The bacteria are also able to change the molecular structure of the oil, hence changing oil’s flavours and properties (termicidal, insecticidal, antimicrobial and antioxidant).  The researchers involved in this study were the microbiologists Pietro Alifano and Luigi Del Giudice, the plant biologist Massimo Maffei and their colleagues.

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If you are a vegetarian, the following news might be useless to you.

Scientists from University of Adelaide discovered a bacterium cause disease among meat lovers.  The discovery led by microbiologists Dr Adrienne Paton and Professor James Paton was published in Nature on 30 October.

E. coli bacteria will release Subtilase cytotoxin, a potent bacterial toxin, to target Neu5Gc sugar on cell surface.  This will cause bloody diarrhoea and haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) in humans.  However human does no make Neu5Gc naturally, and we the toxin release by the bateria should do us no harm.  The secret to the triumph of the bacterium is because we eat too much meat and fairy products.  While we are creating more carbon emmission by eating the food we love, we also uptake Neu5Gc sugar which is rich in these food into our body.  Scientist emphasized that it is important to eat well-cooked meat and pasteurised dairy products as the bacteria are killed in these food products.

Other researchers involved in this study included scientists from Monash University, the University of California and Emory University.

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A Syracuse University research team discovered the gene that helps bacteria to suck iron from human host or environment efficiently to survive.  The discovery by the research team led by Robert Doyle, assistant professor of chemistry in The College of Arts and Sciences, was from the study of Streptomyces coelicolor.  Streptomyces coelicolor is closely related to the bacteria that causes tuberculosis.  The discovery of the gene that enables iron uptake from the environment could lead researchers in the battle of tuberculosis.  The research paper will be published in August issue (volume 190, issue 16) of the Journal of Bacteriology.

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If you’re microbiologist or bacteriologist, the following comic strips is a must-read.

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Here’s another microbiology or chemistry lab technician job offered by Sunward Pharmaceutical Sdn. Bhd.

Lab Technician (Microbiology / Chemistry)
(Johor – Johor Bahru)

Requirements:

* Candidate must possess SPM / STPM in Science and above.
* Candidate with certificate & above in Microbiology/Chemistry/Science & Technology or equivalent are encouraged to apply.
* Fresh graduates are encouraged to apply.
* Computer literate.
* Bilingual – English/Bahasa Malaysia/Mandarin.
* Applicants must be willing to work in Johor Bahru.
* Applicants should be Malaysian citizens.

We adopt a 5-day work week.

The closing date is 28th June 2008. For more infomation please visit Jobstreet.