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See Microbiology At Work: From Sheep’s Blood To A Mass Spectromer, Inside An Orlando Health Lab

by (WMFE)
SLIDESHOW: Her majesty would be proud of this microbiology lab: There's a mass spectrometer.
A lab worker is streaking: You disburse the germs so you can get a pure strain of microorganism. The technique is a very quick movement.
These specimens are all positive for some form of bacteria. Now they have to figure out what kind of germ.
Laham shows us a biosafety cabinet. Air gets sucked out the back, which allow you to work on a specimen without getting sick.
These freezers can cool down to 70 degrees below zero – Celsius. As Laham put it, it'll freeze a Coke in about two minutes.
Dr. Federico Laham opens up an automatic incubator. Blood samples are stored and incubated here. Bacteria make gases that can be picked up by the machine, which alert the lab workers.
It wouldn't be a lab without a microscope.
And here it is: the mass spectrometer. Eat your heart out, CSI.
These are agar culture plates, made with sheep's blood. Think of it as the soil where germs are grown.

Have you ever wondered what happens after someone draws a vial of your blood?

We stopped by the Anthony F. Walsh Memorial Microbiology Laboratory at Orlando Regional Medical Center for the novice tour. Between the mass spectrometer and all the blood, the tour did not disappoint.

Hit the slideshow to peek around.

An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the mass spectrometer.

Health Nerd Check Here for More


WMFE is a partner with Health News Florida, a statewide collaborative reporting on health care.

Health reporting on WMFE is supported in part by AdventHealth.

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Abe Aboraya

About Abe Aboraya

Health Reporter

Abe Aboraya started writing for newspapers in High School. After graduating from the University of Central Florida in 2007, he spent a year traveling and working as a freelance reporter for the Seattle Times and the Seattle Weekly, and working for local news websites in the San Francisco Bay area. Most recently Abe ... Read Full Bio »

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