Archive for February, 2010
ASPEX is a company that builds tabletop Scanning Electron Microscopes (tabletop SEMs). To promote their product, they are offering free scanning of samples to the world at large.
Rendering of ASPEX's tabletop scanning electron microscope.
You can see a gallery of some of the scans they have made on their website. My favorite sample is an old stir bar some folks from chemistry-blog.com sent in. The SEM can also use x-ray fluorescence (a byproduct of electron bombardment) from the samples for elemental composition analysis (called EDS or XFR) – in the case of the stir bar, the analysts found a microscopic chunk of Chromium stuck to the surface! Leftovers from some experiments, I guess. Wow.
a microscopic chunk of a Chromium-containing compound on the surface of an old stir-bar.
They emailed us recently inviting us to take advantage of their offer. It sounds pretty cool and I’m going to mail in a sample of one of Paul Stamet’s LifeBoxes.
I CAN HAZ SEM?
I also casually asked if I could possibly borrow on of their tabletop SEMs for a couple of weeks to play with here in Boston, pretty please with sugar on top? They wrote back and said yes!
So sometime this spring they are going to drop off a demo unit for a couple of weeks and we are going to have a scanning electron microscope bonanza. Hopefully it will be so cool that ASPEX will be happy to lend the unit to other local diybio groups too.
DEETS
So to mail a sample to ASPEX, check out their online instructions, print this PDF, and mail your sample to:
ASPEX Corporation Free Sample Submissions 175 Sheffield Dr. Delmont, PA 15626
Note: I’ve been told that they’ve gotten a lot of demand for the service and are a little backlogged, but that samples are scanned about 2-4 weeks after delivery and emailed to the sender (if you get an image back, post a link below).
Hi all,
Thought I would share a DonorsChoose.org biology project that I donated to back in December — Our Ancestors’ DNA Roots
“I teach middle school math science and history for beginning ESL students. My students originate from all parts of the globe including Sudan, Peru, Mexico, Korea, and Japan. 80% of my students receive free or reduced lunches.
Students often see subjects such as history and science as unrelated. In the community where my students live they often do not see the practical application of scientific methods in the work force. Additionally, the rich diversity of cultures makes the idea of interconnectedness especially important.Testing our mitochondrial DNA will allow my students to trace their haplogroups and trace their ancestors migrations out of Africa. We’ll be able to find common ancestors between us and tell the history of the human race. Using the lab equipment (the conical tubes, saline solution, and kit) students will process their own DNA using the same process anthropologists and forensic experts use, giving students a real connection to science in the work force. The DNA models and evolution charts will be used to explain the processes of population shifts and explain how we can use DNA to determine common ancestors.
Your help will fund a project that connects science (through genetics), history, and math. Students will get training in DNA testing that is used by real scientists everyday. This project makes the vital concept of DNA tangible and gives my students the tools needed to access higher science subjects in high school. You will make it possible for my students to describe our common heritage as humans.
My students need 9 pieces of DNA analysis equipment such as conical tubes, saline solution, DNA models, evolution charts, and a DNA Replication and Transcription Set.”
Check out some photos from the project:
http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=341067&pmaId=264576&pmaHash=-507759220
There is a whole range of biology, biotech, and DNA related projects that you can contribute to on the Donors Choose website: http://www.donorschoose.org/
Tito
