Ultraviolet light is commonly used to maintain a sterile environment in the cell culture hood. The shorter wavelength light breaks down harmful microorganisms that may linger on pipettes, dishes, and other labware used for work with cells. The danger lies in human exposure to the ultraviolet rays. Fume hoods warn us humans to avoid exposure – resulting in instant and severe sunburns on the skin and burning of the whites of the eyes (both true stories of lab mishaps).
1) If you want to sound smart, throw these words into your conversation: “germicidal”, “sterilization”, “mutagen”, “thymine dimers”.
2) To help you out, try this sentence on your friends next time this hot topic comes up in conversation: “I tell you what’s wrong with genetically modified crops. Too many germicidal maniacs messing with our food. I think sterilization is the only option to prevent those little thymine dimers from taking over the process of natural selection. We don’t want to end up with something like them Teenage Mutagen Ninja Turtles in our sewer systems, creeping into our farming fields.”
In honor of this topic, I’ve picked out two songs for you. The first, called “Blind”, is what will happen to you if you stare at an ultraviolet light without eye protection (again, partially learned from experience). The second song, titled “In the Sun”, has ’sun’ in the title, and as a source of ultraviolet light, I thought the song was apropos. That, and the fact that She & Him is quickly becoming one of my favorite bands. Enjoy!
| Blind – The Brother’s Movement |
In the Sun – She & Him |
The UV always gets the best of me at the beach. Maybe I should build one of these UV light meters: http://lifehacker.com/5572310/build-a-diy-electronic-sunburn-alarm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+lifehacker/full+(Lifehacker)