How a flow cell works...

Over the next few years I am going to be studying how my bacterium Pseudomonas grows whilst it is attached to surfaces (a biofilm) and the underlying genetics of it all. Flow cells allow us to watch biofilms grow in real time and observe how changes in the bacterium affect it. This may help us devise better treatments for people with infections or prevent bacteria causing problems in the world of industry.

I thought I would introduce you to the flow cell and how it works. This is probably as close as you are going to get to bubbling coloured flasks and test tubes like in the movies. The Flow Cell model we are using is going to be the basis of a lot of my future work and is a very nice system.


These bottles hold a dilute nutrient solution that my bacteria are going to live in and feed off. The tubes are all sterile and lead to....
.... the pump, which slowly draws out the fluid at about 5 millilitres per hour. This leads to....
The flow cell itself. Fluid is being pumped in on the left and out on the right. Lots of acrylic, silicone and PTFE tape ensure there are no leaks through the three channels that are covered by a thin glass coverslip. We can then inject a few bacteria into the flowcell and watch them grow on the glass by putting the whole thing under the microscope. To end the journey, the fluid then flows out of the flow cell and into...

... the waste container. And finally....

This is where the bacteria go to die. Our very own fancy autoclave that heats up under pressure to kill all the bacteria so we can throw them away.

More pictures of my little bacteria under the microscope to follow soon...

Tour of the lab...

For all those interested I will do a few photos of my new workplace so you can imagine me in my labcoat (no photos of that yet) at work. No bubbling flasks of coloured liquid like in the films but that can be arranged and you can be assured I will take pictures and video.


Front Door to our lab. Got to have the appropriate signs to warn people of the dangers inside!


Its only a small lab with one main bench. This is the side with our biofilm flow cell setup.


Close up of the flow cell system.
Our lovely new compound microscope and imaging system.
The other side of the bench. This will be "my space" as there is really no one else working here apart from a couple of undergraduate students.

My empty flat...

Hello all, well its been nearly a week in my new place and I have only just got to doing the blog. Not internet at home until my 24Mbs broadband is activated on the 23rd. As you can see it is clean, neat and EMPTY! Not quite the "Hello" magazine spread of photos that I had originally hoped to publish of my house, but hey, we all got to start somewhere. I will begin the slow process of acquiring a sofa and a table in the near future, and some shelves for the bathroom. I will update my photos in the near future and show you the difference. My TV was my best purchase yet from Ebay. £41 for a 28" widescreen TV with a stand and free freeview box! Perfect! The guy was so keen to get rid of it he even brought it round to my place which was a 60 mile roundtrip for him! What a very nice man. This all meant that within 2 hours of getting the keys I was at least setup with a telly and would only have to contend with sitting on the floor to watch it.

Southampton Water (from the sky)!

Well my adventure down in Southampton has begun. A quick flight from Manchester (only 35 minutes in the air) and you are there for a measly £25 if you book ahead. Only slight hiccup was when I though they lost my suitcase, but thankfully they had just left it on the tarmac on its lonesome. The airport is a bit small compared to what I'm used to so it was a bit unnerving to watch the baggage guys unload their truck one by one until all were collected and mine still wasnt there. Despite their dubious baggage handling skills, it's much nicer not to have to battle through miles of corridors and millions of people to get anywhere.

This is the view from my £15 a night Travelodge window. Very grey today and very wet. I spent Friday afternoon and Saturday morning trudging the streets to find an apartment ASAP. Not knowing anyone down here, or the areas very well this is a fairly daunting task requiring a certain amount of perseverance and a lot of luck.

So initially I checked out all the apartments I could that were in my preferred price range and budget, and soon realised that I needed to reassess the aforementioned budget rather rapidly. As with most things in life you really do get what you pay for. I have no idea why I thought this would be any different in the Southampton property market. I have discovered that the crafty student of Soton come find their accommodation in January that they want to move into in September! Rather more advanced planning and forethought than any student I ever met. Anyway the upshot of that is that estate agents are crammed with scruffy students trying to get a 10 bedroom 1 bathroom house for £20 a week.

To cut a long and boring story short, the only property (out of ten that I saw) that was worth considering living in was the one I put a deposit down on this afternoon. The two big hopefuls I had reserved to see last were snapped up before I even got to see them. The property I liked was close to town, not far from university, and lots of nice little shops, bars and restaurants. It seems too good to be true which makes me nervous, but screwing my courage to its sticking place I marched to the estate agents with my deposit before anyone beat me to it. I will find out on Monday, but all being well I should have the keys next Saturday. The flat is in the picture below and I will be on the top floor on the right hand side. Its 1 bed, furnished with sofas and a bed and wardrobe, washing machine and fridge, so pretty much all I need to start with.




This is the street round the corner with one of my nearest pubs. There are lots of places that look nice to eat, so I will have plenty of options and will not starve or go thirsty.

Apart from the very wet start to my Southampton adventure (my jeans and shoes are currently drying on the radiator) it seems like everything will start out OK and carry on the same. I can now look forward to my first day at work and all the new challenges and exciting opportunities that will present. More updates on that soon... TTFN.

Latest snaps of movie star Maud

After the hustle and bustle of a hectic filming schedule on the run up to Christmas, the movie star Maud (from her recent debut feature movie: Lunch with Maud) has escaped Oslo to her secret UK retreat away from the papps and tabloids. In a strange quirk of life imitating art we managed to get these snaps of Maud gobbling down more bread with pate... we think she must have got a real taste for it after doing so many takes of that scene for the movie.

The food available to Maud's entourage at this UK hideaway is second to none! New Years Day breakfast of a proper bacon and egg breakfast with bucks fizz! (This beverage accompaniment to brunch ties in nicely with Uncle Tim's NY resolution to have more fun).


Bread and pate preparation just as Maud likes it.

Grandma with Maud in one of her many beautiful pink ensembles...






And Maud pulling funny faces at the kitchen door....