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Harnessing Bioluminescence for Responsible Alcohol Consumption

“O thou invisible spirit of wine, if thou hast no name to be known by, let us call thee devil! … [T]hat men should put an enemy in their mouths to steal away their brains!”—William Shakespeare

Alcohol is a double threat: It not only impairs reaction times and cognitive abilities, but also judgement. In other words, it contributes to poor decision making while making it harder for you to see that you are making poor decisions.  Even worse, research has shown that motor skills recover more quickly than cognitive skills as blood alcohol levels decrease.  All of which is to say, if you’ve been drinking, you are almost certainly drunker than you think you are.

Bioscience Improves Our World

 

The RXN wristband is a battery-free, environmentally sound bracelet that glows when your blood alcohol level reaches 0.08 percent (a level at which cognitive and motor skills are definitely impaired).  The biosensors in the bracelet are made from enzymes that react to alcohol evaporating off your skin.  The wristband was developed by Jenny Filipetti, Andrew Henderson, Steve Lewis, and Alex Swanson, representing the University of Colorado Denver (a Priorclave customer) in the 2017 Biodesign Challenge.  The RXN is affordable to make, ecologically responsible to use, and presents an opportunity for bars and festivals to promote safety among celebrants–and for those celebrants to have an added, unambiguous cue that they should proceed with caution.

Research Autoclave Reliability

All research facilities need good lab equipment to keep testing and inquiry chugging along.  A quality research-grade autoclave is especially important for sterilizing media in a bioscience research lab to prevent cross contamination and get reliable results more quickly.  We\’re always pleased to work with innovators like these, and to help researchers find the right autoclave for their work (and their budget)—whether you’re headed to market soon, or have more questions than answers in the years to come.