Medical Laboratory and Biomedical Science

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Nikon Small World Competition 2013 Winners

Small World is regarded as the leading forum for showcasing the beauty and complexity of life as seen through the light microscope. The Photomicrography Competition is open to anyone with an interest in microscopy and photography. The video competition, entitled Small World In Motion encompasses any movie or digital time-lapse photography taken through the microscope.

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2013 Photomicrography Competition

Source: Nikon Small World
Image credits: Nikon Small World

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Friday, November 1, 2013

Luxury DNA Ring

This listing is for a polished solid 18k gold available in 4 different colors! Show it off to your friends! DNA on your hands never looked so good. It is a very unique ring you won't find anywhere else!

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18k Gold DNA Strand Ring by ZandersCreations

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Source: Etsy
Image credits: ZandersCreations

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Beauty of Microbiology

Amazing beauty of microbiology laboratory work

Original image:
Sam Khan smile

Source: Pinterest/Sam Khan
Image credits: gatech.edu

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A rapid pregnancy test using whole blood

hCG tests performed on blood samples are generally better than thosed performed on urine, physicians are sometimes tempted to use whole blood (instead of serum) as the sample type for qualitative hCG testing at the point-of-care. An example of this type of use is described here.

That report describes the use of whole blood instead of urine or serum for the qualitative detection of hCG in a patient with a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. This was what I call a VBI: a Very Bad Idea.

Basically, they pointed out that:

Using whole blood instead of serum or urine was a modification of the intended use of an FDA-approved test and as such was against the law without appropriate validation experiments.

The peer-reviewers and journal editors failed to recognize that their report was in conflict with federal and state regulations and the report's publication essentially recommends the promotion of an unauthorized practice with serious patient safety risks.

Involving laboratory professionals to help identify solutions for clinical dilemmas involving laboratory tests is always a smart idea.

Source: The Pregnancy Lab
Image credits: David Grenache

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Medical Laboratory Halloween Pumpkins

Amazing artwork by medical laboratory professionals

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Como um biomédico prepara suas abóboras para o Halloween

Source: Biomedicina Padrao
Image credits: Brunno Câmara

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Glowing Antibiotics

A new fluorescent antibiotic could be used to make dangerous infections around prosthetic limbs and other implants visible at a glance, scientists say. Such infections can be best treated at the early stages of infection, but unfortunately they are rarely detected in time.

The fluorescent antibiotic has so far only been successfully tested on human cadavers, but scientists are already preparing for the first clinical studies on people.
The researchers believe the process could be particularly useful because live images are provided without the need for surgery or radiology.

Read more:
Fluorescent Antibiotic Sniffs Out Bacterial Infection

Source: Sci-Tech Today
Image credits: PNAS

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Fresher blood donations may be better for recipients

Duration of storage is dependent on a number of factors, including the management system, supply and demand, and blood type (less common blood types, such as Type AB negative, tend to be stored longer than more common types, particularly Type O). Currently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) limits storage duration to a maximum of 42 days, depending on the storage system.
“Stored blood undergoes changes, meaning that transfusion of older red blood cells may result in the delivery of high concentrations of red blood cell components such as hemoglobin, free iron, and red blood cell fragments,” said Colleen G. Koch, MD, MS, MBA, from the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. “These components may contribute to adverse clinical events observed in a number of investigations.”