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a culture of service...
August, 2016
© 2016, Hardy Diagnostics,
all rights reserved
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Spending too much time with stool cultures?
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Hardy's unique chromogenic plate will readily differentiate Proteus from Salmonella and Shigella. Your day is busy enough...stop wasting time needlessly working up Proteus!
View more information on HardyCHROM SS NoPRO.
Send me samples so I can see for myself.
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The GramPRO 1
Gram Stains...
Consistent
and Fast
Hardy's GramPRO 1 will rapidly stain your smears and get it right every time! Our patented technology judges the thickness of the smear and adjusts the decolorization step to perfection. Not only that, there are no messy clean-up or maintenance procedures. The GramPRO 1 will produce a perfect slide every time in about 4 minutes.
Watch a brief video on GramPRO 1
View the brochure on all of Hardy's automated stainers.
Please contact me to discuss automated slide stainers.
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New Culture Media Catalog
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Hardy is proud to annouce its new catalog of all culture media offerings.
This 85 page booklet contains descriptions of the 2,700 products that Hardy manufactures for the microbiologist.
Please have an account rep contact me about a price quote.
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Hardy offers a complete line of contact plates for your surface monitoring program. Whether you need irradiated or non-irradiated, single or triple bagged, Hardy has it in a variety of formulas.
View a short video on EM.
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Origins...
Percy Spencer is credited with being the somewhat accidental inventor of the microwave oven. He began his career working on radar equipment and microwave radio signals during WWII.
One day, while building microwave producing magnetrons, Spencer was standing in front of an active radar set when he noticed the candy bar he had in his pocket had melted. Spencer was not the first to notice this phenomenon, but he was the first to investigate it. He decided to experiment using food, including popcorn kernels, which became the world's first microwaved popcorn. In another experiment, an egg was placed in a tea kettle, and the magnetron was placed directly above it. The result was that the egg exploded in the face of one of his co-workers, who was looking in the kettle to observe. Spencer then created the first true microwave oven by attaching a high density electromagnetic field generator to an enclosed metal box. The magnetron emitted microwaves into the metal box blocking any escape, allowing for controlled and safe experimentation. He then placed various food items in the box, while observing effects and monitoring temperatures. Raytheon filed a patent on October 8, 1945, for a microwave cooking oven, eventually named the Radarange. In 1947, the first commercially produced microwave oven was about 6 feet tall, weighed about 750 pounds, and cost about $2,000.
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Brainteasers
Studies show that exercising your brain prevents Alzheimer's.
Have you had your workout today?
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For better specimen collection..
TransPRO
 Hardy's TransPRO Swab utilizes the new HydraFlock technology for better absorption of the specimen and better elution and release.
The patented HydraFlock features microfibers of unequal length to produce increased surface area to pick up more of the specimen and quickly release it into the transport media or broth.
Hardy offers the HydraFlock in Amies Transport media (standard tip, urethral, or nasopharyngeal) or with CVM for Chlamydia, Viruses, and Mycoplasma.
Learn more...
Request a sample.
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"Do one thing every day
that scares you."
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All formats available...
Control
Organisms
Hardy offers a complete selection of microorganisms for your QC program. These MBL organisms are licensed derivatives from ATCC. They are available in the swab or pellet format; qualitative or quantitative. Order from Hardy for immediate service and delivery.
View the entire microorganism catalog online.
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Think about it...
* Is it true that cannibals don't eat clowns because they taste funny?
* If it's tourist season, why can't we shoot them?
* Isn't Disney World a people trap operated by a mouse?
* Do Roman paramedics refer to "IV's" as "4's"?
* Since light travels faster than sound, isn't that why some people appear bright until you hear them speak?
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Wisdom to Ponder...
Marie Curie
1867 ~ 1934
Polish born and French naturalized chemist and physicist; she was a pioneer in the discovery and use of radioactivity and was the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize and the first person to be awarded two.
"Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas."
"All my life through, the new sights of Nature made me rejoice like a child."
"One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done."
"Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less."
"I was taught that the way of progress was neither swift nor easy."
"You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end, each of us must work for his own improvement and, at the same time, share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful."
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Want to receive the MicroBytes
Newsletter at home?
Want to view past issues
of MicroBytes?
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Did you know?
Hardy Diagnostics... - Is celebrating its 36th year of serving microbiologists.
- Manufactures from three ISO certified factories; one in California, Ohio, and Texas.
- Is ISO 13485 certified for the manufacture of medical devices to give you confidence in our products.
- Services over 10,000 labs and maintains a worldwide network of over 65 distributors.
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QUICK LINKS...
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Bacteria in unexpected places....
The Breast Microbiome
In recent years, greater appreciation for microbes inhabiting human body sites has emerged. In the female mammary gland, milk has been shown to contain bacterial species, reaching the ducts from the skin. Researchers have also discovered a diverse population of bacteria within tissue collected from sites all around the breast in women ages 18 to 90, not all of whom had a history of lactation.
Fig 1: Locations within the breast of tissue samples were collected for bacterial analysis. (A and B) Locations of tissue collected from women undergoing lumpectomies or mastectomies for either malignant (A) or benign (B) tumors. (C) Locations of tissue collected from women undergoing lumpectomies or mastectomies for malignant tumors. Blue ovals represent the location of a tumor, and purple squares represent the location of the specimen obtained for bacterial analysis. (D) Locations of tissue collected from women undergoing breast reduction surgery. All specimens were obtained from a variety of locations within the breast. Research shows that breast tissue is not sterile but contains a diverse community of bacteria. It has been proposed that the breast microbiome contributes to maintenance of healthy breast tissue by stimulating resident immune cells, but the type of bacteria and their metabolic activity, such as the ability to degrade carcinogens, may also contribute.
Urbaniak cultured breast tissue from women aged 18 to 90 in Canada and Ireland. The most abundant taxa in the Canadian samples were Bacillus (11.4%), Acinetobacter (10.0%), Enterobacteriaceae (8.3%), Pseudomonas (6.5%), Staphylococcus (6.5%), Propionibacterium (5.8%), Comamonadaceae (5.7%), Gamma-proteobacteria (5.0%), and Prevotella (5.0%). In the Irish samples, the most abundant taxa were Enterobacteriaceae (30.8%), Staphylococcus (12.7%), Listeria welshimeri (12.1%), Propionibacterium (10.1%), and Pseudomonas (5.3%). None of the subjects had signs or symptoms of infection, but the presence of viable bacteria was confirmed in some samples by culture. The extent to which these organisms play a role in health or disease remains to be determined.
However, scientists have uncovered a potential role of bacteria found within breast tissue in the prevention and progression of breast cancer. Studies show that healthy breast tissue has a higher abundance of beneficial bacteria, while women with breast cancer have a higher relative abundance of Enterobacteriaceae, Staphylococcus, and Bacillus. This suggests that the microbiome may shift as a result of disease. Furthermore, certain bacteria found to be linked to a higher level of DNA damage in vitro could be detected among the samples from breast cancer patients compared with those from healthy patients. The extent to which these organisms play a role in health or disease remains to be determined.
Further work confirms the existence of significant differences in the microbial composition of the breast tissue micro-environment in patients with benign versus malignant disease. While it is unclear whether small shifts in microbial communities or the presence of a virulent pathogenic strain or absence of a beneficial one might be responsible for promoting carcinogenesis, these findings support further investigations. Differences in the microbiome have been implicated in cancer development at a variety of body sites, including the stomach, colon, liver, lung and skin. There is mounting evidence that changes in the breast microbiome may be implicated in cancer development.
Further studies are warranted to determine how the breast microbiome is established, why colonization may change with disease, what impact these organisms have on the host, and whether external factors such as diet, antibiotics, and illness affect this bacterial community and the subsequent consequences for women.
1. Hieken, T. et al., The Microbiome of Aseptically Collected Human Breast Tissue in Benign and Malignant Disease, Scientific Reports 6, Article number :30751 (2016). 2. Urbaniak et al., Microbiota of Human Breast Tissue, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, May 2014 vol 80 no 10 3007-3014.
By Corrie Landymore-Dodson
Technical Support Associate at Hardy Diagnostics
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Crystal Diagnostics Can you detect a variety of food pathogens in less than 10 hours?
Now you can with the new Crystal Diagnostics XPress! This highly simplified method, using liquid crystals, will revolutionize the way you detect food pathogens, such as E. coli O157, Salmonella, Listeria, and STEC.
Watch a short video to learn more...
See the web page for details.
Contact us for a demo and price quote.
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anaeroGRO
Could you be missing important anaerobes? Hardy offers pre-reduced culture media in oxygen impermeable bags that are gassed with nitrogen and contain an oxygen scavenger and desiccant.
Learn more about anaeroGRO and the many choices of set-up packs.
Watch a short video explaining the features and benefits of anaeroGRO.
See our complete catalog of supplies for anaerobes.
Try a sample pack of anaeroGRO and see how to get better growth of anaerobes.
Anaerobic tubes with Hungate stoppers are available too! |
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Online Ordering Made Easy!
Watch a short video to learn how easy it is to order from Hardy on-line!
Pick. Click. You're Done!
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Is Mercury Still Used
in Vaccines?
There is no lack of controversy when it comes to the issue of the mercury content in vaccines used today. Thimerosol, a mercury-containing preservative, has been used in vaccines since the 1930s. The mercury content in thimerosol is 50% by weight. Due to the neurotoxicity of mercury, the FDA has been encouraging vaccine manufacturers to discontinue its use. However, some vaccine preparations still contain thimerosol, although most manufacturers have complied with the recommendation of its elimination.
If you would like to know which vaccines contain mercury, the FDA maintains a very informative website that lists all the vaccines and states their mercury concentration if present. Generally speaking, the vials that are intended for multi-use may contain mercury (especially for flu vaccines); those that are for a single dose do not. Visit the website to get an update on the status of the vaccines. Scroll down to Tables 1 and 3 to view the list.
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FDA Action....
Many Antibacterial
Soaps Banned
The FDA has recently banned the use of Triclosan in hand soaps and sanitizers, stating the lack of proven effectivity. Starting in 1972, Triclosan has been a common antibacterial additive to many soaps, toothpaste, and other personal care items.
This substance degrades very slowly and as a result can be found intact in breast milk, umbilical cord plasma, and urine. It has been known to cause disruption of normal hormone and endocrine function and is a worrisome contributor to bacterial resistance.
Best to use ordinary soap, when it comes to hand-washing!
Learn more about the potential dangers of triclosan....
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For your plate counts...
Compact Dry
Hardy now offers a better alternative when it comes to performing plate counts. Not only are Compact Dry plates are stored at room temp, approved by AOAC, but the sample automatically diffuses into the media!
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I once went to the
Air and Space Museum...
 but there was nothing there!
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"People who think they know everything
are a great annoyance
to those of us who do."
Isaac Asimov
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If you could re-hydrate a raisin...
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Warning:
PUN ZONE
AHEAD
*When the cannibal showed up late to the luncheon, they gave him the cold shoulder.
*I was going to look for my missing watch, but I could never find the time. * What did the grape say when it got stepped on? Nothing - but it let out a little whine. *Always trust a glue salesman. They tend to stick to their word. * When the window fell into the incinerato, it was a pane in the ash to retrieve.
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"As Hardy Diagnostics
enters its 36th year of serving microbiologists in the laboratory, I would like to thank each of our customers for their support and loyalty. It truly has been a pleasure to serve you!
If there is any way that we can improve or expand upon our service, would you please let me know?"
Jay Hardy, CLS, SM(NRCM)
President
HARDY DIAGNOSTICS
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Optical Oddities Explained
Now can you see the cow?
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