#microdroplets

[catswilleatyou]

microdroplets

[trylonandperisphere]

This video shows how microdroplets from sneezing, coughing, and talking can spread and disperse through the air.

Stay safe, everyone.

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Collecting tiny droplets for biomedical analysis and beyond

In a single sneeze or a cough, as many as 40,000 tiny droplets are forcibly propelled from the mouth and nose into the air. Researchers from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) have recently developed a method to collect micro-droplets such as these, which may contribute to applications in detecting disease-causing bacteria and preventing the spread of disease.

The study, titled "Directional pumping of water and oil microdroplets on slippery surface," led by Dr. Yao Xi, Assistant Professor of the Department of Biomedical Sciences at CityU, was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Moving oil and water-based micro-droplets without external force in a controlled fashion can be very useful in water harvesting and biomedical analysis. But it is quite difficult with micro-droplets. "Droplets at micrometre scale (one millionth of a metre) have very different properties than larger counterparts such as teardrops. Their tiny size and light weight means that the normal pull of gravity is insignificant in moving them," Dr. Yao explains.

There had been other efforts to collect micro-droplets. However, to do it in a controlled manner, or to move a single droplet in a specific direction, has remained a challenge for scientists.

Read more.

[dr-afsaeed]

Charged microdroplets enable mineralization of persistent PFAS pollutants - New Study/Science Updates

Anthropogenic perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are widespread and persistent pollutants that are increasingly subject to stringent regulatory thresholds in water resources. Current nonthermal defluorination strategies have limitations including incomplete mineralization, leaving behind short-chain PFAS byproducts and residual fluoride ions, thereby posing challenges to meeting…

[sakuraswordly]

Micro-sparks between water droplets may have started life on Earth

This micro-lightning can drive chemical reactions that produce compounds needed for the natural formation of life on Earth, experiments show

[sachwlang]

The system can separate different cell types within microdroplets. — ScienceDaily To develop effective therapeutics against pathogens, scientists need to first uncover how they attack host cells. An efficient way to conduct these investigations on an extensive scale is through high-speed screening tests called assays.

[manuelsblogposts]

Open-Letter from 239 Experts, Forces WHO to Revise Position On COVID-19 Airborne Risks - Impact For Healthcare Workers?

World Health Organization has jumped on the bandwagon after 239 scientists publish an open-letter confirming that coronavirus microscopic respiratory airborne particles can remain in the air of indoor areas and pose a risk of exposure at distances beyond 1 to 2 m from an infected individual. Photo: cottonbro / Pexels Thursday, the World Health Organization acknowledged the possibility that coronavirus microscopic respiratory airborne particles can remain in the air of crowded indoor areas, spreading the virus from one person to the next at distances beyond 1 to 2 m from an infected individual. The announcement followed after 239 scientists in 32 countries published an open letter addressed to the W.H.O. outlining data confirming the potential airborne spread of COVID-19 at distances beyond 1 to 2 meter (3 to 6 feet) standard social distancing recommendations. Scientists beckoned the WHO to revise its coronavirus guidance. The international organization has long maintained that COVID-19 was mainly transmitted by large respiratory droplets, which fall quickly to the ground when expelled in coughs and sneezes by infected people. During a June 29 update, the WHO said airborne transmission of the disease is possible only after medical procedures that produce aerosols or droplets smaller than 5 microns. Read the full article

[nkhealth]

Research Highlight

Technology for culturing gut microorganisms developed by NOSTER

Source: Noster Inc

It is said that more 1000 types, totaling 100 trillion microorganisms coexist in the human gut, and as most of them live in an oxygen-free environment it is difficult to culture them in natural environments.

To overcome this problem NOSTER has developed innovative microdroplet technology to separate live intestinal bacteria from the fecal suspension in a droplet approximately 50 micrometers n diameter and culture them under conditions suitable for each intestinal microorganism. NOSTER is using this culturing technology to construct a library of over 1000 strains of intestinal microorganisms.