Karen Steward PhD

Science Writer

Writes for:

Seeing Is Believing – How Benchtop SEMs Are Changing the Imaging Landscape

Imaging techniques, such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), have been instrumental in giving insights into the world beyond the naked eye. Traditional SEM instruments have provided us with unprecedented details, but can be complex to use, and require a large dedicated space. The dawn and advancement of compact and user-friendly benchtop SEMs are changing this picture. We spoke to Donna Guarrera, Assistant Division Director for SM at Jeol, about the Neoscope benchtop SEM.

Chewing on the Fat of Food Analysis and Beyond

To ensure safety and consistency of products within the food industry, continual analysis through the production process is essential. We spoke to Ian Olmsted, from CEM Corporation, about ORACLE, an innovative solution that enables analysts to measure fat in food and much more without the fuss of traditional techniques.

ASMS Introduces… An Overview of What’s New for 2019

The 67th American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS) Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics is currently in full swing in Atlanta, Georgia. Bringing together over 6,500 scientists from across the globe, companies working in the mass spectrometry field also take this opportunity to share their latest developments and innovations. Here we will take a look at some of the release highlights for 2019.

Working to Keep Drinking Water Safe

Official limits are in place regarding the levels of a multitude of substances that are deemed to be safe and acceptable in drinking water, but to fulfill these requirements analysts need the tools to enable them to do this. We spoke to Yan Liu, and Katariina Majamaa from Thermo Fisher Scientific about their new columns designed to enable rapid separations of contaminants prior to analysis using ion chromatography-mass spectrometry (IC-MS).

Innate vs Adaptive Immunity

The immune system is essential to protect us from potentially harmful invaders, and when it weakens or fails it leaves our body vulnerable to attack. Swift responses are essential but equally important are targeted reactions, therefore all aspects of the immune response must be carefully co-ordinated.

The Danger of Dioxins - Solutions to Keep Us Safe

One group of contaminants to the food chain that are getting particular attention are dioxins and related chemicals. We spoke to Fausto Pigozzo, director of workflow development for food and beverage, Thermo Fisher Scientific, about the problems that dioxins pose for consumers and analysts, and how their solutions are improving detection.

How Might Data-centric Software Solutions Impact Analytical Chemistry Labs?

At the heart of most analytical chemistry analyses are data, the essential unit of measuring and monitoring not only your test subject but the analytical equipment itself. We spoke to Shawn Anderson, Senior Director of Marketing, Software and Informatics Division at Agilent about the move to data-centric software solutions and what the future may hold.

Sensitivity vs Specificity

When developing diagnostic tests or evaluating results, it is important to understand how reliable those tests and therefore the results you are obtaining are. By using samples of known disease status, values such as sensitivity and specificity can be calculated that allow you to evaluate just that.

Antimicrobial Resistance: Drivers, Diagnostics and DNA

Combating AMR is going to take coordinated action of different approaches, such as improved public education and national action plans, greater surveillance, improved diagnostics, and the ability to harness advances in genomics and big data.

Arming Brewers With Tools to Ensure Better Beers

For any brewer, ensuring your product is high quality and consistent is imperative to maintaining ongoing success and reputation. We spoke to Manas Sawant, Sr. Product Manager, UV-Vis Spectroscopy at Thermo Fisher Scientific about BeerCraft, their latest software solution aimed at assisting brewers to achieve quality and consistency in their beers.