Weekend Warriors

Last weekend, two brave Linkam staff members joined a cycling revolution. Over two days they cycled 180 miles around the perimeter of London taking in such famous sights as Tower Bridge, Windsor Castle and some of the locations for the forthcoming London Olympics. The inaugural London Revolution event had 1,400 participants, an overnight party and gave riders the opportunity to cycle legendary Olympic courses including the Herne Hill Velodrome and Box Hill.

The riders were competing in aid of Bowel Cancer research and have raised over £300 for this great charity. You can donate here

Jim and Ray riding the London Revolution 2012

What an amazing way to spend a weekend.

By Caroline Feltham

Flares of Enterprise

A few weeks ago newspapers were flooded with images of the sun emitting a huge solar flare. How huge? Well, take a look at a short video here

Imagine harnessing that energy.

Size comparison of the solar flare compared to earth. Don't worry, in reality we are not that close.

Solar power often faces criticism as an alternative energy due to its low conversion efficiency, but this doesn't necessarily limit its value. A scienitist called Matthias Loster has produced a solar power map of the world here showing how we don't have to cover the whole earth with ugly solar panels to make every other source of energy obsolete. In fact, the panels just need to be positioned in the sunniest spots on earth.

Solar power truly is a great answer to our power needs. Yes, there are costs involved and solar technologies do still need a lot of work, but to change something from an idea to a usauble product you need to take action.

Some scientists at the Cohen lab at the University of Oregon are doing just this and are aiming to create inexpensive, efficient, thin film solar cells. D.W.Miller, a Graduate Research Fellow with the group, said: "Most of our experiments are built to work on a functioning solar cell".

Using a Linkam LTS350-W-PB4 stage they can take advantage of how a photovoltaic device works to study fundamental properties of the components of the solar device. In order to do their experiment they had to modify the Linkam stage by building an additional contacting system comprising a series of spring loaded flexible steel rod arms with gold pogos at the end. This enterprising set-up gives them a firm, stable electrical contact with their sample at all temperatures.

When asked about the benefits of the Linkam stage, D.W.Miller added: "There are tons. They are  more reliable, they sweep temperature more rapidly and stabilize more quickly at temperature, they provide easier access to the sample, are sturdier and more efficient".

Its always fascinating to find out how our customers use our stages, but in this case it is extra special to see how our original design has been a source of innovation and creation, and is now helping a very industrious group of scientists work towards solving the energy problems of tommorrow.

by Caroline Feltham

The other banking crisis

Sometimes the British are seen as reluctant to talk about intimate matters. The ABA, or Association of Biomedical Andrologists, is one organisation that smashes this stereotype.

As a representative of Linkam I was invited to their AGM meeting and conference last week where dozens of scientists met to talk male fertility. 

Key speaker Dr Allan Pacey, Senior Lecturer in Andrology at the University of Sheffield, spoke about the growing 'banking' crisis. Men facing treatment, such as chemotherapy, are encoraged to store sperm samples in the event that treatment leads to infertility. One consequence of this is that samples are stored in sperm banks indefinitely, as these men are treated, and on some occasions cease contact with the fertility clinic. This leads to an ever growing number of samples which cannot be destroyed without consent.

Dr Allan Pacey addresses the ABA audience

Dr Pacey cited an example of a man in his thirties who had been treated for cancer as a teenager and had banked his sperm before treatment. Nearly twenty years later he has fathered a child after re-establishing contact with the clinic. It is stories like this that help to put a human face on the issue of long term sperm banking and is a poignant reminder that each sample represents a family's future.

Sperm banks provide reassurance for men facing infertility

The Association of Biomedical Andrologists (ABA) is a professional body of Andrology experts providing training and support for their members. The ABA also works towards the regulation of the profession; one of its recommendations is the use of heated stages for all semen analysis. Linkam manufactures a wide range of warm stages specifically for andrology.  

I would like to thank the ABA for such a warm welcome, and a great introduction to their field. We, at Linkam, look forward to working with the ABA on future projects.

By Caroline Feltham

Exploring Vulcan’s Forge

Graduate scientist Vittorio Zanon, from the University of Perugia, has been examining the explosive past of Vulcan’s forge. Contrary to the belief of Trekologists, Vulcan’s Forge is not a canyon on the planet Vulcan.

Vulcan's Forge, the mythical site of the forge of the Roman god Vulcan, can be found on the island of Vulcano, in Italy. This island in the Aeolian archipelago was formed from an active volcano and it is from here we get the word volcano.

Vulcan's Forge: part of Italy's explosive past

The primary objectives of volcanology are to explore the internal structure of active volcanoes and understand their behaviour. Zanon and the team used a Linkam THMS600 heating stage to learn about the journey of the magma from the centre of the earth to the surface and studied nearly 800 samples of erupted material. The team could then learn about the depth, composition and residence time of magma at these different depths in the earth - crucial for monitoring strategies and forecasting eruptions.

Scientists are trying to understand why the magma sometimes halts in reservoirs beneath the surface during its upward journey - prior to eruption - and how the magma behaves while it's there.

With a better understanding how volcanoes work, scientists have a better chance of predicting future eruptions.

Linkam would like to thank Vittorio Zanon for telling us about his fascinating research.    

By Caroline Feltham

Evolution of a Swedish Bird

Researchers are trying to explain the origin of two species of bird on the Swedish Island of Öland. Understanding how a new species evolves is still somewhat of a mystery because it's an immensely slow process and takes place over thousands of years. Despite these limitations scientists are able to study fully formed, closely related species, such as these birds, and try to infer how they evolved.

The gametes of two species of bird: the Collared Flycatcher and Pied Flycatcher are being studied by researchers from the Evolutionary Biology Centre, in Uppsala, using a Linkam TH60-6 warm stage. These two species started to diverge approximately 2 million years ago.

The aim is to learn about how gametes diverge between species. The scientists think a mechanism has evolved to allow the breeding adults to better recognize a member of their own species, however the birds sometimes cross-breed. The resulting hybrid young have reduced fertility; an explanation of this is that the gametes have diverged.

One aspect of the study is to look at the characteristics of the ejaculates of both species, and hybrid males.

TH60-6 Linkam warm stage, and friend, at the Evolutionary Biology Centre

Researcher Murielle Podevin commented: “The warm stage is essential for my work since I need my samples to be kept at 40 degrees exactly so that there is no variation between samples.”

This ongoing research has cross-species implications, and helps scientists understand how other species may have developed. We look forward to finding out more about Murielle’s conclusions. 

By Caroline Feltham