Persistent contaminants may be present in very low concentrations in the environ-ment and yet exert considerable effects on living organisms via bioaccumulation. Current environmental engineering sample collection, preparation, and analysis practices may under- or overestimate the actual concentrations to which aquatic or sedimentary biota are exposed....

There is growing concern about groundwater contamination and the impact of such contamination on health, agriculture, and water supplies. Because of this, it is becoming increasingly important to demonstrate the effectiveness of environmental remediation processes. One of the best ways to do this is to obtain a set of time-discrete samples from...

Phenylurea compounds are mass-produced, toxic compounds that find use as pesticides and include triclocarban, an antimicrobial used in disinfectants, soaps and other household products. These compounds persist during normal wastewater treatment schemes and largely become sequestered in sewage sludge. From both wastewater and sludge reclamation,...

Biofuel production from photoautotrophic biomass is a promising energy solution; also attractive is the carbon-neutral nature of resulting biofuels made with CO2 fixation. Strains of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. are promising candidates, with high biomass yield and robustness over a wide range of temperatures, salinity, and pH. For highest...

The accurate measurement of potassium ion levels in biological samples is essential given the impact such ion levels have on many aspects of homeo-stasis. Normal potassium levels are important for the maintenance of heart and nervous system function. Traditionally, potassium ions have been measured in plasma or serum using ion-selective electrodes,...

Cell culture is an indispensible tool in many fields including cell biology, immunology, microbiology, cancer and infectious disease research. However, conventional two-dimensional culture, which involves growing cells as monolayers on solid, impermeable surfaces, may lead to the loss of key phenotypic and functional cell characteristics, and often...

The availability of aviation fuel is subject to potentially unstable oil markets. Oil rich crops and algae are promising biological systems for cost-effective and sustainable production of biodiesel, but biodiesel produced from currently available oil crop-based feedstock is not suitable for aviation fuel because of its lower energy density and...

Many sites with ground and/or surface water pollution have been identified across the United States. For site characterization, exposure and risk assessment as well as remediation monitoring, it is important to analyze the environment for toxic contaminants at trace levels. However, this sensing is often expensive, especially when attempting to...

A single biomarker is often insufficient to identify a given disease with both sensitivity and specificity. In such cases, one or more additional tests for other biomarkers are used in order to accurately diagnose the disease. The disadvantage of this process is that multiple sensors, wells, platforms, and/or labels are frequently required to measure...

Cheap renewable energy is a major goal of many countries. Although wind, solar, and hydro power are supplements to the power grid, they cannot be efficiently converted into the liquid biofuels needed for cars, ships, and planes. In contrast, photosynthetic microbes are not only the most efficient organisms for solar energy conversion, but they have...