What is exactly causing the decline in bee colonies across North America remains a hot topic for debate. In our September 2014 blog, we addressed the concern of neonicotinoid pesticides, which according to some reports affect the nervous system of insects resulting in paralysis and death. Approved in 1994 in the United States, neonicotinoid pesticides have quickly become the target of environmentalists who claim that it was at the same time that the beekeepers began to notice severe colony loss, upwards of 30-90%.

According to Statista, LinkedIn is the 7^th ranked[i] social media network with more than 360 million registered users. It is considered the world’s largest professional network with two people joining the site every second. More than 200 countries are represented in LinkedIn and 40 percent of users check in every day.

Unlike Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn is centered on the professional profile, both for people and businesses. While lab professionals are not considered the most social of creatures, there are a number of reasons why you should develop a LinkedIn profile, and one of them is not because you’re looking for a new job. Here are six reasons why LinkedIn is for lab professionals too.

It’s no secret that eating fruits and vegetables is important to a healthy diet. Studies show that eating high levels of produce is associated with lower risks of chronic diseases, including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity. It’s probably no secret either that Americans don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables. In the March 2014 issue of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health researchers found that 80 percent of Americans don’t eat the daily recommend 1.5 to 2.5 cups of fruit while 90 percent don’t eat the daily recommended 2-3.5 cups of vegetables. . In other words, we are a long way off from where we need to be.

So why are we talking about eating more fruits and vegetables?

During the past several years, Lab Manager magazine has written several articles addressing scientist and social media, the most recent in November 2014. In 2011, the author of “Scientist & the Social Media” started his article stating, “Laboratories are at the forefront of research and analysis. But when it comes to communication, they are followers rather than leaders and can be very slow to adopt innovations.”[i]

The article cited time and fear as the key reasons why industry professionals avoid social media, but also stated it was only a matter of time before social media became as important in the office and lab as the telephone and the Internet. In the same breath, the article quoted a study of lab managers that found “almost 100 percent admit to never having used flickr and over 80 percent had yet to open a Facebook account. Twitter is virgin territory to over 60 percent of respondents, while around half have never used Hyves.1 Only LinkedIn achieved a more creditable rating by being unfamiliar to only 4 percent.”[ii]

A 57-acre site along the Mohawk River near Schenectady, N.Y., is the future home of a new casino, hotels, apartments and shopping centers. Renderings of the project include elegant glass buildings and plush green lawns. Unfortunately, the site’s history of manufacturing train parts and turbine engines dating back to the 1800s has brought the construction project to a halt. The site is now in the middle of a multi-million dollar cleanup to remove a number of harmful substances, including arsenic, mercury, lead, petroleum byproducts and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In Niskayuna, N.Y., a landfill on GE Global Research’s 525-acre campus contains more than 112 tons of hazardous waste, including VOCs. From the 1940s to the 1970s, metals, ash residue and VOCs were dumped in the landfill. State environmental agencies are recommending monitoring and excavating the site to prevent any further contamination.

What would you do if someone gave you a glass of Roundup weed killer and said, “Go ahead, drink it?” If you are like most people, you might look around for the cameras to see who’s in on the practical joke and/or question the request and the person offering it to you. Recently, a proponent of genetically modified foods, went on French TV Canal+ to defend Monsanto, the manufacturer of Roundup and to downplay recent reports that glysophate, the active ingredient in the weed killer, is responsible for the growing rates of cancer in Argentina. Scientists in Argentina have detected it in the air, water and food, although the levels have been low.

A recent study published in the March 2015 issue of Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health, suggests that house cleaning products labeled as “organic,” non-toxic” and “all natural” may not be as green as they suggest. The study conducted by the University of Melbourne reviewed the ingredients of 37 different fragranced and fragrance-free air fresheners, cleaning products, laundry supplies and personal care products (i.e. soap, shampoo and sunscreen). Researches found 156 different volatile organic compounds emitted from the commonly used products; 42 of which are classified as toxic or hazardous. There was an average of 15 VOCs per product.

A recent report published in the San Francisco Chronicle, has found that for the past 30 years California state regulators have allowed oil companies to dispose of billions of gallons wastewater into clean groundwater resources. While early tests of drinking wells don’t show any contamination, the Environmental Protection Agency is “threatening to seize control of regulating the waste-injection wells”[i] that the oil companies use to dispose of “produced water” into the aquifers.

Using Chromatography to analyze Art and Bed Bugs

Artists use eggs, glue and vegetable oils in their paints. Bed Bugs have three volatile compounds in their feces that have been combined to create a lure that makes them easier to catch; two completely different topics, and not exactly things that you read every day. They are however important to art conservationists and scientists, and we wouldn’t know about either if it weren’t for modern analytical techniques, including gas chromatography.

Hydraulic Fracking - Is Drinking Water at Risk?

In the December 2014 issue of Water Online a white paper written by an associate professor and a graduate student from the University of Saskatchewan asks the following question about hyrdraulic fracturing or fracking, “Is drinking water at risk?”

There has been significant debate about the environmental impact of fracking, from erosion to earthquakes. The authors of the white paper describe fracking as a “double-edged sword.” On one side, the process permits the extraction of oil and natural gas reserves from low permeable organic shale formations and tight sand beds. On the other side, fracking carries environmental risks, including “groundwater and surface water contamination, land destruction, air pollution, geologic disruption, greenhouse emissions, and radiation.”