Dr. Summerbell on mould in DISCOVER MAGAZINE
Published: April 18th, 2012
Revised: April 26th, 2012
ASPERGILLUS NIGER is a common environmental fungus with a very interesting story. This black mold, “could probably be found on every table-top in the world,” says Richard Summerbell, research director of biotech Sporometrics in Toronto. It can cause everything from black fuzz on onion bulbs, to toenail infections, to painful and itchy swelling and discharge from the ears of children who stick dirty toys inside.
But A. niger, Summerbell points out, is also a workhorse of industry. For example, it can turn sugars into citric acid, the white powder that’s ubiquitous in foods, beverages, detergents, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. The fungus can also produce useful enzymes, such as alpha-galactosidase, the main ingredient in the anti-flatulence pill Beano
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Sporometrics receives CDC ELITE certification in Legionella testing
Published: March 14th, 2012
Revised: February 25th, 2015
Sporometrics is pleased to announce certification in the analysis of Legionella bacteria by the prestigious Environmental Legionella Isolation Techniques Evaluation (ELITE) program of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Sporometrics is the first Canadian independent laboratory to receive this industry-leading certification. While many organizations engaged in Legionella testing services also provide consulting and remediation services, at Sporometrics, we have long viewed that this practice is encumbered by conflict of interest, and as such, we are proud to offer our clients with a laboratory testing alternative that is fully independent.
Culture and enumeration of Legionella from environmental sources involves several steps including concentration of the bacteria, resuspension, selective pre-treatments, and the use of complex media. Use of a suitable isolation protocol is critical for determining whether Legionella are present in a sample and at what concentration. The ELITE Program was created as a way for laboratories to test Legionella isolation techniques against standardized samples. Certification in the ELITE program provides the highest level of confidence the Sporometrics Legionella testing services are highly accurate and defensible, meeting the highest international industry standards.
Legionella testing services
We provide culture-based testing services that meet the industry gold-standard with three service options: 1) presence/ absence of Legionella species; 2) quantification of Legionella pneumophila; and 3) Quantification and serogroup characterization of Legionella pneumophila and identification of Legionella species. All culture-based tests have a turn-around time of 14 days or less. For rapid screening for water and swab samples, we also offer a molecular genetic test for Legionella pneumophila by qPCR. Although this test cannot distinguish living from non-living legionellae, it is both highly sensitive and accurate, and can reliably rule-out the presence of L. pneumophila on a rapid basis, normally within 24 hr. Please contact us to discuss your Legionella testing needs.
Culture-based Legionella tests
Molecular genetic Legionella tests
Boing Boing Baudoinia
Published: January 10th, 2012
Revised: January 10th, 2012
Popular technogeekzine Boing Boing recently picked up on the growing interest in our work on the warehouse staining fungus, Baudoinia compniacensis. This nifty black fungus grows in places where small amounts of alcohol vapour are emitted, like spirit aging warehouses and bakeries. The fungus is interesting because it turns out to be extremely tolerant of periods of very hot and dry conditions. This resistance appears to be triggered by brief exposure to alcohol vapours.
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Spor-Mo-Metrics – Our Movember Team
Published: December 12th, 2011
Revised: December 12th, 2011
This year three of our staff joined the international ranks of Mo Bros and Mo Sistas to raise money and awareness for men’s health. Our Spor-Mo-Metrics team consisting of A ”mean stache” Maharaj; Mike “the handle-bar” Saleh, and “Yor-de-cutest Mo Sista” Guardiola raised over $1000 for Prostate Canada. Congratulations to all the Movember participants and supporters across the globe who raised over $110 million of vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer. A special congratulations to our client Stantec, lead by Steve Fulford, who by raising over $122k climbed the team leader board to #3 in Canada.
WIRED whisky fungus story wins prestigious Kavli Science Journalism Award
Published: November 17th, 2011
Revised: November 17th, 2011
We congratulate Adam Rogers, senior science editor at WIRED magazine, for receiving the 2011 AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award for best magazine article for “The Angel’s Share”, in which he recounted Dr. Scott’s work on the whisky fungus, Baudoinia compniacensis. The Kavli awards are administered by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), which publishes Science, the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world, along with numerous other publications and programs that raise the bar of understanding for science worldwide. The AAAS has administered these awards to professional journalists for distinguished reporting for a general audience since their inception in 1945.
”The [Angel’s Share] story skillfully slips the spinach of science into the reader as smoothly as a shot of fine whiskey,” said science reporter Dan Vergano of USA Today. Laura Helmuth, a senior editor for Smithsonian magazine, called it “a charming story—unexpected, vivid, dramatic.” She added that Rogers “deftly explains the relevant history, chemistry, evolutionary biology, taxonomy, and mycology. ”Rogers said he became fascinated with what makes a fungus grow outside distillery warehouses. “And then it turned out that a scientist-detective was looking into the mystery, and he was in love with it,” Rogers said. “I think that kind of passion always makes for a good story.”
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