Dopamine - The Molecule of Love and Pleasure

Dopamine helps us feel love and pleasure. It's part of our drive and reward pathway. Without it, life would be very bland. In fact, we may not even be alive since we would have no desire to eat or meet people or do anything. Dopamine gives us an intensely pleasurable feeling. When we are in love, we are flooded with dopamine. It's a wonderful little molecule!

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dopaminelove from the molecule and meaning series by molecularmuse

Source: Etsy


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PathPedia - A global online medical laboratory and pathology resource.

Pathpedia.com is a comprehensive web-based resource on human anatomical, clinical, and experimental pathology. The site serves a target audience including pathologists, pathologists-in-training, laboratory professionals, clinicians, medical scientists, and medical students. The site can also be useful to general public who want to learn about human pathology and medical laboratory tests.

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Pathology by PathPedia.com: A global online pathology resource.

Source: ParhPedia.com


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This Labcoat Fits Perfectly

Saturday joke from Brasil
Gif animation by Biomedicina Padrão

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Quando você coloca o jaleco pela primeira vez...

 



Source: Biomedicina Padrão

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Crochet Bacteriophage Virus

Something fun for your summer vacation.
Get the pattern and make your own bacteriophage.

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Bacteriophage Virus Pattern

Source: Etsy


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Haematology Case for Weekend

Peripheral blood cell morphology.
What are the findings and your suggestion for the diagnosis.

70 years old male from India.

Correct answer and more information:
Abnormal Red Blood Cell Morphology in an Elderly Male

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Laboratory test results

Hematology

• WBC count 16.5 (4.0-11.0) x 106/μL
• Hemoglobin 11.7 (12.0-16.0) g/dL
• Platelet count 300 (150-400) x 106/μL
• MCV 55 (76-96) fL
• MCH 16.5 (29.5 ± 2.5) pg
• MCHC 29.8 (33.0 ± 2) g/L
• RDW 18.7 (11.5-15.0)
• Differential: Neutrophils 80 (40-80)%
• Lymphocytes 17 (20-40)%
• Metamyelocytes 3
• Reticulocyte count 3.2 (0.2-2.0)%

Chemistry

• Bilirubin, total 0.8 (0.5-1.4) mg/dL
• Bilirubin, direct 0.4 (0.0-0.4) mg/dL
• AST 51 (5-50) U/L
• ALT 51 (5-50) U/L
• ALP 136 (70-230) U/L
• Total protein 6.5 (6.0-8.4) g/dL
• Albumin 3.6 (3.5-5.0) g/dL
• BUN 21 (15-45) mg/dL
• Creatinine 5.4 (0.7-1.5) mg/dL

Source: Lab Medicine, ASCP


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Preventing Pre-analytical Errors

Laboratory data influence 70% of medical diagnoses. This fact indicates that the laboratory is a major aid to the clinicians who have requested the tests. Furthermore, it means that the laboratory must try to reach the goal of zero defects.

The testing process has been divided into three major parts (pre-, intra- and post-analytical), each with a few aspects that can be identified and, in many cases, quantified. Thus, the testing process lends itself to designing a systematic approach to error detection and correction, hopefully before data are reported. While some schemes include "choosing the test" as part of the pre-analytical phase, this article will not include it.

Read more:
Preventing Pre-analytical Errors

Source: Advanced


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Microbiology Is My First Love And Lasts Forever

I love microbiology

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Clinical Laboratories in USA Face Deadline to Comply with New Standard for Bar Code Labels on Specimens

Clinical Laboratory Professionals Developed Bar Code Label Standard

AUTO12-A, the CLSI standard for bar code specimen labels, was developed by advisors from the clinical laboratory industry and is published by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) in Wayne, Pennsylvania. Labs that have already complied with this standard report that compliance has significantly improved specimen tracking.

Clinical laboratories in USA have about nine months to comply with a new standard for bar code labels. The deadline for compliance to AUTO12-A, Specimen Labels: Content and Location, Fonts, and Label Orientation, is April 29, 2014.

Read more:
Clinical Laboratories Face Deadline to Comply with New Standard for Bar Code Labels on Specimens  

Source: Dark Daily


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Lovely erythrocyte

Love is all around, even in erythrocytes.
Isabel Bolz took this image and wanted to share with you.

Source: Isabel Bolz

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What is Wrong With My Microscope?

Why can´t she see anything?

Set up your microscope correctly

Koehler illumination is a microscope technique that provides superior control over the light rays during brightfield microscopy by aligning and focusing the microscope, ensuring the best resolution and contrast, as well as a bright, evenly illuminated background for your images. Koehler illumination is critical for the following advanced contrasting techniques: Phase contrast, Varel contrast, Hoffman Modulation, PlasDIC and DIC. Prior to setting up and aligning the advanced contrasting components, the microscope's Koehler illumination must be aligned.

View Instructions:
How to Set Koehler Illumination


Source: Spot Imaging Solutions
Image: Trust me I am biologist


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Scots scientists to trial synthetic human blood

Scottish scientists have been given the go-ahead for the world’s first trials in humans of synthetic blood, The Scotsman can reveal.
Researchers based at the Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine (SCRM) in Edinburgh hope to use stem cells to manufacture blood on an industrial scale to help end shortages and prevent infections being passed on in donations.

Read more:
Scots scientists to trial synthetic human blood - Health

Source: Scotsman.com

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The size of a microscope slide holds 1,200 individual cultures of fungi or bacteria

"Maybe a few cells will do" - New palm-sized microarray grows 1,200 individual cultures.

Microarray developed by Srinivasan et al. and it could enable faster, more efficient drug discovery, say the authors who created the technology in their paper in mBio this week. Scientists at the University of Texas at San Antonio and the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research at Fort Sam Houston have developed a microarray platform for culturing fungal biofilms, and validated one potential application of the technology to identify new drugs effective against Candida albicans biofilms. The nano-scale platform technology could one day be used for rapid drug discovery for treatment of any number of fungal or bacterial infections, according to the authors, or even as a rapid clinical test to identify antibiotic drugs that will be effective against a particular infection.

Read more:
"Maybe a few cells will do" - New palm-sized microarray grows 1,200 individual cultures

Source: mBiosphere

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DNA's shape controls genes

 Scientists from Australia and the United States bring new insights to our understanding of the three-dimensional structure of the genome, one of the biggest challenges currently facing the fields of genomics and genetics. Their findings are published in Nature Genetics online.
Roughly 3 metres of DNA is tightly folded into the nucleus of every cell in our body. This folding allows some genes to be ‘expressed’, or activated, while excluding others.

Read more:
DNA's shape controls genes

Source: Science alert


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Molecule that reduces fats in blood identified

In their Nature Medicine article, Dr. Hussain and colleagues note that "overproduction of lipoproteins, a process that is dependent on microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTP), can contribute to hyperlipidemia." They demonstrate that microRNA-30c (miR-30c), a genetic regulator, interacts with MTP and induces its degradation, leading to reductions in MTP activity, the production of lipoproteins, plasma lipids, and atherosclerosis. This molecule also reduces lipid synthesis independently of MTP thereby avoiding complications associated with drug therapies aimed at lowering lipoprotein production.

Read more:
Molecule that reduces fats in blood identified

Source: Science Daily


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Two diabetes-related autoantibodies were found to be the strongest indicators of diabetes risk

Two diabetes-related autoantibodies were found to be the strongest indicators of diabetes risk. The authors said that type 1 diabetes usually has a "preclinical phase that can be identified by the presence of autoantibodies to antigens of the pancreatic beta cells." Data gathered from three different studies, which included a total of 13377 children, were used in the analysis. At the 10-year follow-up, an overwhelming 70 percent of the children with multiple islet autoantibodies developed type 1 diabetes, compared to 15 percent among those with just one autoantibody. 

Read more:
Blood Test Predicts Type 1 Diabetes Risk

Source: Medilexicon



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Acantocyte Pins - Blood Jewelry

BLOOD JEWELRY  by Rob Wynne
Small Pin: approximately .75 in. diameter Large Pin: approximately 1.25 in. diameter Blood Links: approximately 1.25 in. diameter.
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Grey Area | BLOOD JEWELRY

Source: Grey area


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Researchers Identify New Mechanism of TB Drug Resistance

Pyrazinamide (PZA) -- a frontline tuberculosis (TB) drug -- kills dormant persister bacteria and plays a critical role in shortening TB therapy. PZA is used for treating both drug-susceptible and multi-drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) but resistance to PZA occurs frequently and can compromise treatment.

A recent study, led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, has identified a new mechanism for PZA-resistance, which provides new insight into the how this mysterious drug works. The study is available online June 12 in the journal Emerging Microbes and Infections.


Read more: 
Researchers Identify New Mechanism of TB Drug Resistance

Source: Advanced


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A Dog of A Laboratorian

I am not a Labratorian, but maybe I can be a laboratorian.

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A Musical Granulocyte

It seems that even blood cells can be musical.

Thanks to Jessica Govoni, who took this wonderful image and wanted to share it with us.

Source: Jessica Govoni


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Bacterial DNA in Human Genomes

A team of scientists from the University of Maryland School of Medicine has found the strongest evidence yet that bacteria occasionally transfer their genes into human genomes, finding bacterial DNA sequences in about a third of healthy human genomes and in a far greater percentage of cancer cells. The results, published today (20 June) in PLOS Computational Biology, suggest that gene transfer from bacteria to humans is not only possible, but also somehow linked to over-proliferation: either cancer cells are prone to these intrusions or the incoming bacterial genes help to kick-start the transformation from healthy cells into cancerous ones.
Read more: 
Bacterial DNA in Human Genomes

















Source: The Scientist Magazine


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New Eppendorf Tube 5.0 mL

When working with samples between 2 and 5 mL, researchers often have no choice but to use tubes that are really designed for larger volumes, typically 15 mL conical screw cap tubes. The new Eppendorf Tube 5.0 mL now provides the "missing link" for such samples, delivering a high-quality solution for volumes up to 5 mL.

Read more:
New Eppendorf Tube 5.0 mL System Fills Volume Gap in Sample Prep

Source: Advanced


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Microbial Art

Microbial Art is a collection of unique artworks created using living bacteria, fungi, and protists. We are pleased to present this site as an example of the exciting interface between art and science. We also consider this an excellent opportunity to showcase the beauty of organisms that usually go unseen and therefore are often feared (sometimes rightly so) or ignored. We invite you to browse the image galleries and to find out more about the creators of these works — both human and microbial.

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Microbial Art

Source: Microbial Art


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Saudi MERS outbreak showed SARS-like features

A long-awaited report on a large and possibly still ongoing outbreak of MERS coronavirus in Saudi Arabia reveals the virus spreads easily within hospitals, at one point passing in a person-to-person chain that encompassed at least five generations of spread.
The study, co-written by Toronto SARS expert Dr. Allison McGeer, also hints there may have been a superspreader in this outbreak, with one person infecting at least seven others.
 
Read more:
Saudi MERS outbreak showed SARS-like features, including possible superspreader

Source: 680 News

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Silver helps antibiotics work better

Silver has been shown to make bacteria more susceptible to antibiotics. Silver weakens bacterial cell membranes and induces a chain reaction which makes them vulnerable to other chemicals.

Silver has been known to have antimicrobial properties for centuries. Foe example, the the Phonecians stored water and other liquids in silver coated bottles to discourage contamination by microbes; and silver became commonly used in medical treatments, such as those of wounded soldiers in World War I, to deter microbial growth.

Read more:
Silver helps antibiotics work better

Source:  Digital Journal


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A Smiling Neutrophil

 Don´t worry, be happy.

View orginal image:
An email i got today 


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I Am a Medical Laboratory Scientist - Video

Bowling Green State University Medical Laboratory Science students submission for the 2013 ASCLS viral video contest.

View in YouTube:
I Am a Medical Laboratory Scientist''




Source: Youtube


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Happy Midsummer Day Laboratorians

I love Medical Lab

Source: 123RF.com


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Chlamydia promotes gene mutations

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin (MPIIB) now show that Chlamydia infections can cause mutations in the host DNA by overriding the normal mechanisms by which their host prevents unregulated growth of genetically damaged cells that pave the way for the development of cancer.

Read more:
Chlamydia promotes gene mutations

Source: Science Daily

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Mislabeling Hinders Quality

As laboratorians, we are well aware of many horror medical and legal stories regarding mislabeling lab specimens. The American Society for Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM), the College of American Pathologists (CAP), The Joint Commission and other healthcare oversight entities have addressed and provided several solutions (e.g., National Patient Safety Goals) to remedy the problem. Specimen mislabeling is generally thought to occur in cases where the identity label of the donor is being taped to another donor's specimen container. Mislabeling also occurs in cases when the donors' names are mixed up on blood transfusions or drug urinalysis screenings. Other lab specimen mislabels also occur, such as when the wrong word is affixed to the wrong type of specimen (e.g., blood types).  

Read more: 
Mislabeling Hinders Quality

Source:  ADVANCE for Administrators of the Laboratory




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Chip Identifies Bacterial Infection In Minutes, Not Days

Bacterial infections kill tens of thousands of North Americans every year. Addressing the fact it can take days to find out which bacteria are behind the infections and even longer to establish exactly which drugs will work, may offer a way to reduce these deaths. Now according to a new study, a chip that identifies bacteria in minutes promises to slash those timescales. And not only does the chip identify the specific pathogen, it can also tell which drugs it is resistant to, say researchers from the University of Toronto (U of T) in Canada.

Read more:
Chip Identifies Bacterial Infection In Minutes, Not Days

Source: Medical News

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Digital Pathology Systems

Evolving technologies and market forces reveal that digital pathology is poised to radically affect the daily workflow and activities of pathologists and diagnostic laboratories
Attracted by the prospect of improved connectivity and reduced overall healthcare costs, most laboratories are anticipated to switch over to digital pathology systems over the next 7-8 years.
Read more: 
Large-Scale Switch to Digital Pathology Systems

Source: European Hospital



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New Gene Machines Cut Diagnosis Time

Two “gene machines” that have been installed at a children’s hospital will cut the time it takes to scan for rare and inherited genetic disorders from a year to just days, doctors have said.
The £500,000 Next Generation Sequencers at The Children’s Hospital, Sheffield, are different from others around the UK because they are also combined with the latest robotic technology to help spot faulty genes as early as possible.

Read more:
Gene machines' to cut scan time 

Source: Nursing times

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Student questions about multiple myeloma

1. When you talk about monoclonal immunoglobulin, is it always exactly the same antibody for only one antigen? Or is it just the same type ( IgG kappa, IgM kappa, etc..) but not exactly the same same same?
2. Why is this proliferation bad for the body? How does it “kill” it?
3. What is the difference between myeloma and multiple myeloma? Is it the same?
 
View answers and read more:
More student questions about multiple myeloma

Source: Pathology Student

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Blood Collection Tube Tube Jockey

No more twisting and reaching for tubes or losing them in the patient's bed! With Tube Jockey you're free to draw the patient in the safest, most convenient, and most organized position possible. Holds both 13-16mm tubes! Now, no matter where you go to draw, you'll always have a safe place to put your tubes and they'll always be in full view.

Read more:
Tube Jockey: A Spark Success Story

Source: Market Lab


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PML-RARA for Promyelocytic Leukemia

This testing is used to detect the abnormal promyelocytic leukemia/retinoic acid receptor alpha or PML-RARA gene sequence. It is used to help diagnose acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) in which the PML-RARA gene sequence is present, to guide treatment, to monitor response to treatment, and to monitor for disease recurrence.

Testing is ordered when a doctor suspects that a person has APL. Initial testing may be indicated when a person has abnormal findings on a CBC and/or blood smear such as an increased or decreased number of white blood cells, decreased platelets, decreased red blood cells, and abnormal, immature white blood cells called promyelocytes, and nonspecific symptoms that may be related to leukemia such as:

• Fatigue or weakness
• Pale skin (pallor)
• Unexplained weight loss
• Joint or bone pain and/or an enlarged spleen
• Excessive bleeding, bruising, or inappropriate blood clotting

Read more:
PML-RARA: The Test | Promyelocytic Leukemia/Retinoic Acid Receptor Alpha

Source: Lab Test Online


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New genetic marker predicts warfarin dose

A newfound genetic marker promises to better predict warfarin dose in African-Americans, according to a study published online in The Lancet. If confirmed in further studies, the finding may help to avert more of the bleeds and blood clots that come when a patient's starting dose misses the drug's narrow safety window.

Read more:
New genetic marker predicts warfarin dose in African-Americans

Source: News Medical


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Would your lab have caught this error?

For all its ubiquity in the lab, proper QC isn't easy. Even though every laboratory has to perform Quality Control, that hasn't made the task any simpler. It still relies on the right mean, the right SD, the right control limits, the right rules and numbers of control measurements, and the right interpretation of control data points. If you get one part of this system wrong, it can throw off the correct implementation.

Here's an example that was recently published showing the difficulties and challenges of performing proper QC.

Consequences of a missed lab error: Would your lab have caught this?

Read more:
Would your lab have caught this error?  

Source: Westgard QC


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IFCC Awards 2014

As you are aware, the IFCC confers several distinguished awards to scientists and clinicians who work in clinical chemistry and laboratory medicine or related disciplines. These triennial awards are the highest honours that our federation can bestow to colleagues worldwide in recognition of their outstanding achievements, to publicize their exceptional research and other contributions that have improved medical and healthcare, and to stimulate and encourage other scientists to accelerate their efforts in advancing clinical chemistry and laboratory medicine.

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IFCC - 2014 IFCC Awards

Source: IFCC


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New Species of Virus Found in Patients with Brain Infections in Vietnam

The team has identified the novel virus in the fluid around the brain of two patients with brain infections of unknown cause. The virus, named CyCV-VN, was subsequently detected in an additional 26 out of 642 patients with brain infections of known and unknown causes.

The team then sequenced the entire genetic material of CyCV-VN, confirming that it represents a new species that has not been isolated before. They found that it belongs to the viral family Circoviridae, which have previously only been associated with disease in animals, including birds and pigs.
Read more:
New Species of Virus Found in Patients with Brain Infections in Vietnam

Source: Sci-News.com

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Loco Lab Game for Science Kids

Loco Lab is an ipad game designed to kids between 6 - 8 years old. They will discover how to made their own home made experiments with simple elements that we could find on the house.
You will learn how to made experiments with two friends that are two small funny rats who lives in an amazing laboratory.

Available on July 2013. 

Read more:
Loco Lab - taumatropo

Source: Traumatropo

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Haematology - Check That Slide

There may be nothing in the clinical lab that wastes more time and is more poorly implemented and understood than hematology review criteria. Hematology is a strange animal. It doesn't lend itself to sharp black and white rules and distinctions. It's subjective, murky and sometimes frustrating because you must deal with things like: How many atypical lymphs are significant? How atypical must they be to count? Should you look at a slide with a low hemoglobin? Why? Does a pathologist need to look at a slide with macrocytosis? These, and the dozens of questions like them, are the type of nebulous questions you have to deal with daily in hematology. And most labs do a lousy job of addressing them. The result? Too much unneeded work. 

Read more
Check That Slide on ADVANCE for Medical Laboratory Professionals

Source: ADVANCE

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What Happens in The Lab Stays in The Lab

Funny chem gift for your favorite chemist, biochemist, histologist or lab geek. Design shows a lab flask with the text: What happens in the lab stays in the lab. 

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In The Lab Poster

Source: Cafe press


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The latest news in Traceability

For those watching the European news these first six months of 2013, there have been rapid developments in the area of traceability. Companies have started adding traceability claims prominently to their advertising, in direct appeal to consumers. And the consumers have responded by preferring products that have established chains of traceability.

Do you think we're talking about the laboratory? Or something else? 
Read more:
The latest news in Traceability

Source: The Westgard Rules



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Platelets Help Tackle Bacteria

Platelets may contribute to protection against bacterial infection, according to new research published today (June 16) in Nature Immunology. Scientists found that in the livers of mice, platelets collaborated with specialized white blood cells to capture and engulf blood-borne bacteria, and this interaction helped protect the animals from bacterial infection.
Read more:
Platelets Help Tackle Bacteria 

Source: The Scientist Magazine

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Canadian scientists use math to kill cancer

Researchers in Canada are pinning their hopes on advanced mathematics in the fight against cancer, using sophisticated models to enhance engineered viruses that home in on and destroy cancerous cells.
Nature Communications has just published a paper authored by Ottawa researchers that deals with the use of oncolytic viruses, a fairly new method that involves the engineering of intentionally infecting and killing tumors in the human body while avoiding harm to healthy tissue.
Read more:
Canadian scientists use math to kill cancer

RT News

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Low Vitamin D Linked to Hepatitis B

Vitamin D deficiency might be a key player in hepatitis B (HBV) replication, researchers reported.
Low levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D predicted high levels of the virus and vice versa, said Christian Lange, MD, and colleagues at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Hospital in Frankfurt, Germany, in a retrospective case-control study.

Read more:
Low Vitamin D Linked to Hepatitis B

Source: Medpage

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Classic microscopy reveals borrelia bacteria

A simple method has been found that tells people who have become seriously ill after a tick bite once and for all whether they have bacteria in their blood.
"We study the behaviour of the bacteria directly through the microscope. We have taken thousands of pictures, and we film their movement pattern in real time or with a time lapse. This allows us to see how the bacteria enter and leave the blood cells and swim around in the blood plasma.

Read more: 
Classic microscopy reveals borrelia bacteria

Source: Phys Org

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Relation between HbA1c and Estimated Average Glucose

Why is relating HbA1c to glucose important?

We are frequently asked about the relationship between HbA1c and plasma glucose levels. Many patients with diabetes mellitus now perform self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) in the home setting, and understanding the relationship between HbA1c and glucose can be useful in setting goals for day-to-day testing.

Read more: 
Biochemistry Class notes: Relation between HbA1c and Estimated Average Glucose (eAG)

Source: Biochemistry class notes

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Blood of Grapes From the Heart of France

Naming and design of the French wine BLOOD OF GRAPES goes from common and quite obvious associations. Wine is blood of grapes, heart is its vessel. Slogan “from the heart of France” supports the whole concept as well.

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BLOOD of GRAPES on Behance

Source: Constantin Bolimont

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Advice to pregnant women to avoid chemicals is criticised as confusing

 A report suggesting pregnant women should "play it safe" and avoid chemicals in many common household products such as food packaging has been criticised as impractical and confusing for mothers-to-be.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) says women should be made aware of the sources of chemicals to minimise the possibility of harm during pregnancy, and urges them to "play it safe", despite uncertainty about chemicals' effects and the surrounding risks.

Read more:
Advice to pregnant women to avoid chemicals is criticised as confusing

Source: The Guardian

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How do immune cells detect infections?

 How do immune cells manage to sort through vast numbers of similar-looking proteins within the body to detect foreign invaders and fight infections.
"For immune cells, singling out foreign proteins is like looking for a needle in a haystack -- where the needle may look very much like a straw, and where some straws may also look very much like a needle," notes McGill University physics professor Paul François.

Read more: 
How do immune cells detect infections?

Source: Science Daily

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