By Bob Fagaly, Ph.D. One thing about roller coasters is that you go up and down and up and down, but at the finish, you are in the same place you started. One of the more intriguing “discoveries” in science happened a little over two decades ago. In March of 1989, Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann at the University of Utah announced that they had measured what they believed to be the byproducts of a nuclear fusion reaction. Rather than the traditional plasma physics experiments using vacuum chambers larger than your house and temperatures approaching the sun’s core (more than [...]

Marvin Minsky Did you know that one of the world’s foremost thinkers on the subject of artificial intelligence (AI) also invented the confocal microscope? Mathematician by training, visionary thinker by nature, Marvin Minsky has made lasting contributions to disciplines as diverse as cognitive psychology, robotics, optics, and computational linguistics. Currently professor of Media Arts and Sciences at MIT, Minsky wrote the seminal work Perceptrons, with colleague Seymour Papert, delineating the foundation for artificial neural networks.  His more recent book, The Emotion Machine, critiques popular theories on the function of the human mind. But in 1955 Marvin Minsky had a problem. [...]

The Scientist Behind Photograph 51 and Her Place in the DNA Sequencing Technology Revolution.   First appeared in the BayBio.org newsletter. We’ve made some amazing technological advances in DNA-related laboratory equipment in recent years.  Here at BioSurplus we have the opportunity to witness many of these first-hand:  local companies Complete Genomics, Pacific Biosciences and Illumina, along with a core of Bay Area genomics-focused businesses, have been key players in the development of groundbreaking DNA sequencing technologies. We also see this progress here in the BioSurplus showrooms where we sell pre-owned DNA sequencers, thermal cyclers, DNA synthesizers and purification systems to a growing [...]

Here at BioSurplus we spend hours each day surrounded by an amazing collection of laboratory equipment, dedicated to helping our customers find just the right instrument to meet their needs.  From bioreactors to benchtop centrifuges, HPLCs to automated liquid handlers, our showrooms and warehouses are filled with concrete examples of the power of human curiosity, ingenuity and perseverance. Lately I’ve found myself standing in front of various pieces of equipment and wondering.  Where did this instrument come from?  What series of events led to its invention and evolution over the years? What are the stories behind the equipment we sell? [...]