Monthly Archives: August 2015

Upgraded microbiology lab = faster better research

Before

Before: Able to test 4 samples at a time, and very limited information besides how much bacteria was killed.

I’ve upgraded the microbiology lab, and it’s a big upgrade!  So, when you make filters you need to know how good they are at killing bacteria.  I have my own microbiology lab built for just that purpose.  Every material that I make is tested in this lab, and It tells me exactly the effectiveness of the filter versus live bacteria.

Before I was only able to test 4 samples each week. That setup was excellent for understanding the bactericidal effects, but I couldn’t take any other complimentary data.  And it was so few samples per month! On top of all that had to frequently throw away the samples to be able to re-use the testing holders, and thus couldn’t go back if I had later questions.

Now I can run 22 samples at a time with my new setup!  I can also run more water through and take data on more variables while I run the bacteria through the filter.  The whole reason for the upgrade is to run Statistical Experimental Design experiments, which are awesome.  Basically they use statistical magic to help you tease out differences between the filters.  This all means faster research, and much more data.  This is what your donations are supporting.

Bottom line: Now I can do about 5 weeks of work in 1week!

IMG_0980

After: The new testing setup can take 22 samples while being much much more accurate, and giving more data in addition to bacteria killed.