Bioreactor contamination monitoring using off-gassed volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Metabolically active cells emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can be used in real time to non-invasively monitor the health of cell cultures. We utilized these naturally occurring VOCs in an adapted culture method to detect differences in culturing Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells with and without Staphylococcus epidermidis and Aspergillus fumigatus contaminations. The VOC emissions from the cell cultures were extracted and measured from the culture flask headspace using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-coated Twisters, which were subjected to thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS) analysis.

What Happens When Undergraduate Biology Students Meet with Professional Scientists to Discuss Research? An Exploratory Investigation into Scientific Discourse, Motivation, and Sense of Belonging.

Engagement in scientific discourse is an essential part of becoming a scientist. In this exploratory study, we aim to examine the scientific discourse (and resulting benefits) between undergraduate biology students and professional scientists. We developed a novel method for engaging in scientific discourse, grounded in the theory of legitimate peripheral participation, where undergraduate biology students participate in communities of practice within their own departments.

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Editors' selections from the current scientific literature.

Formation of Twin-Free Single Phase β-InSe Layers via Selenium Diffusion into InP(111)B Substrate.

Indium selenide, InSe, has recently attracted growing interest due to its remarkable properties, including room temperature ferroelectricity, outstanding photoresponsivity, and exotic in-plane ferroelectricity, which open up new regimes for next generation electronics. InSe also provides the important advantage of tuning the electrical properties of ultrathin layers with an external electrical and magnetic field, making it a potential platform to study novel two-dimensional physics. Yet, InSe has many different polymorphs, and it has been challenging to synthesize a single phase material, especially using scalable growth methods, as needed for technological applications.

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Editors' selections from the current scientific literature.