February 2009

Welcome to the February 2009 edition of Fertile Minds, your source of everything you need to know.

In this issue, we share with you the trials and tribulations of breaking in our new atomic emission spectrometer. If you've been cursing at our recent delays in returning sample analyses, we have good news for you!

If you have any questions you would like answered in Fertile Minds, please write to info@sesl.com.au. If you have any special requirements, we would be pleased to talk with you and tailor a package and price. Please contact the office on (02) 9980 6554 or write to us at info@sesl.com.au.

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In this issue

• The Loam Ranger – Recycled plasterboard as gypsum
• SESL's new gizmo
• Lessons from Dubai
• Meet the staff – Issy Purwanto, sample receiving
• Did you know ... ? – Locust swarms, serotonin and obesity

The Loam Ranger – Recycled plasterboard as gypsum

Dear Loam Ranger,

One of the sports fields under my control needs gypsum to correct a low calcium:magnesium ratio and a sulphur deficiency. My supplier has offered me recycled plasterboard. It's cheaper, but what are the implications of using this product? Is it going to cause more harm than good?

Plasterboard is made from gypsum sandwiched between two layers of paper. The gypsum (>95%) is mixed with clay, wax, fibre (typically paper), vermiculite and starch. So in theory, recycled plasterboard is almost identical to commercial gypsum. But there are some provisos. The most important concerns compliance with the NSW Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997.

Click here to find out more (300 words, 1 minute)

SESL's new gizmo

Many of our clients have been feeling frustrated for the last few months as delays in returning results have increased. We would like to thank you for your patience, which can now be rewarded. We have finally commissioned our brand-new, state-of-the-art ICP-AES.

The inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer is way faster than our old machines, promising much faster and more accurate results of analyses.

Click here to read about the new gizmo (600 words, 2 minutes)

Lessons from Dubai

At the invitation of Cox Richardson Architects and Context Landscape Design, both of Sydney, Simon Leake visited Dubai in September 2008 to advise on the Dubai Waterfront Islands project, which involves the construction of five offshore island groups by dredging.

Five island groups laid in a crescent offshore and linked to the mainland by causeways are being built. As landscaping these islands is a major challenge, Simon was asked to join the team and advise. He came up with two innovative techniques that should translate into considerable cost and greenhouse gas savings for the project.

Click here to read about the techniques and a bit about Dubai (700 words, 3 minutes)

Meet the staff – Issy Purwanto, sample receiving

This is the first in a series of articles intended to introduce our staff to you while demystifying the process of sample analysis at the laboratory. The articles will track your samples through the lab, and you will meet the staff involved at each step.

When your samples arrive in our Thornleigh lab by courier or post, they have to be entered into our system. Meet Issy Purwanto.

Click here to read about what happens when your samples arrive at the lab (400 words, 2 minutes)

Did you know ... ? – Locust swarms, serotonin and obesity

Until 1921, swarming locusts and solitary locusts were thought to be different species. After all, they look different and behave very differently. Then it was realised that something causes the solitary ones to overcome their mutual aversion and band together to fly long distances. But it was only in 2008 that the full picture emerged.

Professor Steve Simpson, of Sydney University, and collaborators found that a growing shortage of protein in their diet drives the locusts further afield in search of more. All animals need protein, because the nitrogen in it is essential to building the body. Carbohydrates contain none, which explains why Simpson found that locusts would always choose protein-rich foods when offered a choice.

Amazingly, this work has implications for human obesity.

Click here to find out the link between locust swarming, serotonin and obesity (400 words, 2 minutes)