When I want to autoclave pipette tip boxes, I would place these boxes at higher level during autoclave. Placing these boxes (or other materials) near to the perforated platform just above the autoclave water would invite the "dirty" autoclave water (sometimes we tend to change the water once every two days or more) from seeping into the tip boxes. The brownish (probably due to spilt media) water will seep into the boxes and when dried, the tips will have a yellowish to brown stain covering them later.
The dirty water might contain impurities that will inhibit sensitive reactions or worst, contaminate stock solutions, enzymes, and expensive reagents.
Not all labs would use commercially packed filtered tips and we do use sterilized tips for dispensing expensive reagents. It is very important to properly autoclave tip boxes so that no contamination from the autoclave water will occur.
I had my fair share of dirty tips due to the above type of autoclave machine.
Just to share.
Monday, February 16, 2015
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Inspiring story about Robert Langer
This is a story about Robert Langer, "Engineer of Change" by TheScientist.
At times, it's so challenging to stay in Science. If you don't publish, it's difficult to stay on to do research, as you might get penalized during job application or interview (for not having enough publications). I'm struggling with that now and it's demoralizing to get no rejection (no news).
I have to remind myself that it's all about having the right attitude (to get through the day). If indeed there is genuine love and passion for Science and the believe that our contribution will benefit mankind, environment and future, I guess going at different callings (opportunity that came knocking during the downs) will eventually lead us back to Science. For now, I'm applying for more options than just relying on research.
This article helped
DIY Brine shrimp (or Artemia) hatchery
Introduction
Brine shrimp (or Artemia salina) is a crustacean used as a food source for fry and fish. In a zebrafish facility, brine shrimp is used as a intermittent feed for the fry and adults. Shrimp hatchlings at less than two days old contain yolky reserve rich in nutrients for fry and adult fish (feeding them artemia increases better egg production in females).
Materials
For commercial hatchery, you can search for them from eBay. Just key in brine shrimp hatchery and you will get returns.
Notes
Brine shrimp (or Artemia salina) is a crustacean used as a food source for fry and fish. In a zebrafish facility, brine shrimp is used as a intermittent feed for the fry and adults. Shrimp hatchlings at less than two days old contain yolky reserve rich in nutrients for fry and adult fish (feeding them artemia increases better egg production in females).
Materials
- Brine shrimp eggs. Don't get those decapsulated eggs that will not hatch BUT used directly to feed fish instead. For bulk order, you can visit BrineShrimpDirect (I have not dealt with them so any question do contact them directly). In eBay, the cost is about SGD 2.20 per 10 g of eggs. Normally, I will use 2 tbsp per 1 litre sea salt water and allow it to hatch overnight with aeration.
Brine shrimp eggs from eBay seller fishmanofrobertsbridge. |
- Aquarium sea salt mixture (weighing 1.36 kg) available at eBay from timholliday at approx. SGD 36.00 (inclusive of shipment). About 20 to 30 g salt per liter of water is required to hatch brine shrimp (but best would be to follow the instruction from shrimp egg producer).
Sea salt from eBay seller timholliday. |
- Shrimp hatchery set. You can DIY by using a Coca Cola 2 liter bottle, aquarium tubing, and plastic hollow balloon sticks (see fig below).
For commercial hatchery, you can search for them from eBay. Just key in brine shrimp hatchery and you will get returns.
Notes
- Hatching the eggs is good for maximum three days. After that, the shrimp will lose its yolk reserve and would also have lost their nutritious value. If you need to keep shrimp for more than three days, it is best to feed the brine shrimp in order to keep them alive.
- Don't feed too much shrimp to your fish because this food is considered fatty. Feed the fish once per day and add in dry food for the other two feeding per day (total 3 feeding).
- Fish will always be hungry. So, don't allow demand feeding because there will always be demand. Fish will die of obesity-related complications!
Hollow balloon sticks (get white ones if preferred). Fig from www.balloonsandweights.com. |
Muslin cloth or cloth coffee filter (you can get this from Aliexpress or shops) |
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
In vitro cell culture changes epigenetic marks
This study demonstrates that cell culture could change the epigenetic mark of cells taken from tissues. In this paper, the 5hmC marks reduced drastically after plating mouse fibroblast taken from mice. The factors involved are reduced Tet protein expression (important for modifying 5- methylcytosine to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine), which is responsive to environmental changes and loss of cofactors important for Tet activity.
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