Tekmar Talk Blog

Do Smartwatches Have a Place in the Lab?

According to analyst firm IDC, smartwatch sales will jump 500% in 2015[i] led in large part to the interest of Apple Watch. Now, Apple Watch was not the first smartwatch on the market. Companies such as Pebble and Samsung had products on the market years ago. The hype behind Apple Watch however, has had a dramatic impact on the attention for the wrist-wear market. The success of the market ultimately will come down to applications and use cases. People who purchase smartwatches are looking for more than something that can keep time. If they are going to spend $200 to $10,000 on a digital smartphone companion, it better have a positive impact on their lives.

A recent study published in Environmental Science and Technology found “elevated levels of numerous metals and chemical compounds” from 550 groundwater samples collected from private and public supply water wells in Texas. The wells draw their water from aquifers throughout the 5,000 square miles Barnett shale formation of Texas. While the University of Texas Arlington (UTA) study did not directly attribute the contamination from hydraulic fracturing activities taking place in the area, the authors did conclude, “It is more likely that it (fracturing) has had an effect on water quality.[i]

Early in 2015, entomologists in Michigan were concerned about the possible threat of the spotted wing drosophila (SWD) on tart cherries. The same pest had wreaked havoc on soft fruits and berries, so producers in the nation’s largest tart cherry production area had the right to be worried.

According to SpottedWing.org, the SWD is “an insect pest of economically valuable small fruit and tree fruit crops.” The specie is particularly well known in the Pacific Northwest, but has spread to established fruit growing regions across the country. It was discovered in 2014, that “insecticides that are effective against cherry fruit fly are not effective against SWD. So presence of the insect could result in the growers having to apply from 1.5 to 3 more sprays per season… using different materials.”[i] Experts consider the SWD a “game changer for tart cherry growers.”[ii]

In previous posts, we talked about the growth of the social networks and the role that they can play in helping researchers and lab managers with their jobs. While Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are common most users of the Internet and mobile devices, less familiar are the specialized social-networking sites that target specific user groups and professionals. Among these is ResearchGate, a free social site for academics founded in Berlin in 2008 by two virologists and an IT specialists. ResearchGate recently celebrated seven years in business by surpassing seven million members.

While debate over the legalization of marijuana continues, states that have legalized the plant for recreational and medical use are facing a challenge that may have been overlooked. Most farmers use federally approved pesticides to help control bugs and mold, but marijuana, while legal in some states, has no oversight by the Federal government. This means that no one is regulating what pesticides can be used to keep bugs away and prevent other damage to the crops. Nonetheless, the crops are valuable, and to protect their investment, many growers have started to use chemicals, which may or may not be safe for the plant or consumers. 

The UK-based Chemistry teacher behind Compound Interest, a blog that takes a closer look at the chemical compounds we come across every day, asked the question “Why does bacon smell so good?” He came across a study that “tried to discover the compounds that give frying bacon its aroma, by comparing it with the aromas released when cooking pork loin. They did this by frying the meat, mincing it, then passing nitrogen gas over it to collect any volatile organic compounds that were being released. The collected volatile compounds were then passed through a gas chromatograph and mass spectrometer in order for identification to be carried out.”

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]