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THE OHAUS ADVENTURER™ PRO: “WORKHORSE” BALANCE

labworld_successstoriesoverview_workhorse The OHAUS Adventurer Pro helps enable new discovery of carnivorous plants at Indiana university led by Dr. Doug Darnowski.  Prior to the first finding, there were about 500 known carnivorous plants - a number that hadn't changed in 50 years. With 300 different types of trigger plants in existence, the known number of carnivorous plants jumped from 500 to 800 with this one discovery partially enabled by the OHAUS Adventurer Pro.

"During the summer of 1860, I was surprised by finding how large a number of insects were caught by the leaves of the common sun-dew… I had heard that insects were thus caught, but knew nothing further on the subject." - Charles Darwin, Insectivorous Plants.
How far we've come. As one of eight Indiana University (IU) campuses, IU Southeast prides itself on offering world-class resources for faculty and students. And the biology department is no exception, providing its lab students with the tools and research experience they need to enter the next phase of their lives as well-prepared as possible.

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The Ohaus Adventurer Pro family has all of your
laboratory weighing needs covered

Dr. Doug Darnowski, assistant professor of biology at IU Southeast, and his students have been able to perform studies of carnivorous plants and those they suspect of being carnivorous, by incorporating a key piece of lab equipment - an OHAUS Adventurer™ Pro balance.
Darnowski's plant studies have resulted in confirmation of the carnivorous nature of plants not yet known to be carnivorous (trigger plants), a better understanding of where nutrients obtained from prey are distributed throughout aquatic carnivorous plants, and the development of methods for re-establishment of carnivorous plants close to extinction (known as tuberous sundews). Prior to the first finding, there were about 500 known carnivorous plants - a number that hadn't changed in 50 years. With 300 different types of trigger plants in existence, the known number of carnivorous plants jumped from 500 to 800 with this one discovery.
Working with a population consisting primarily of undergraduates, Darnowski recognizes the importance of a balance that is capable of providing fine measurements, is easy to use and can withstand constant abuse. That's why he chose two OHAUS Adventurer Pro balances - one to serve as his lab students' "workhorse," and one for personal use.

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The OHAUS Adventurer is the perfect lab workhorse

The OHAUS Adventurer Pro family of top-loading analytical balances offers more standard features than any other balance in its class, with simplicity, reliability and accuracy being among the most popular.

"I like the fact that it's as rugged as it is and as simple as it is, because my undergraduates - some of whom are only freshmen - can use it. It's very intuitive, it stands up to the abuse, and fine scale measurements still work," said Darnowski. "

The fact that we went to it as our workhorse - even for measurements to one decimal place - shows how well it has held up under use by my undergraduates. In five years, we haven't yet had to have it serviced."
In the lab's metabolic research projects, plants were fed either prey insects or mock insects infused with carbon or nitrogen and were given a few days to allow the carbon or nitrogen to transport throughout the plant. The plants were then subdivided (into flowers, flower stems, stems, leaves, roots, soils around the roots) and all parts were freeze dried. Using the lab's OHAUS balance, each part was carefully weighed and reduced to a 2 mg sample, which was then sent off to a specialized facility to determine how much extra carbon or nitrogen was present in each part of the plant as a result of the feeding.
In the re-establishment research projects, the team developed tissue culture mediums that allowed them to produce large numbers of the plants at will. The OHAUS balance played a key role in weighing critical amounts of plant hormones and weighing plants post-culture.

"The accuracy, precision and ease-of-use of our OHAUS balance has been critical since our plants start out small and get even smaller when dried," said Darnowski.

 

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Adventurer Pro reads accurately all the way down to 0.1mg!

And with the increasing need to do more work from his home lab, Darnowski has discovered an added bonus in using the OHAUS balances.

"The balance is rugged enough that I can take it home and use it there and then bring it back to school, and back and forth as I need to, which has been very helpful."

Due to the success Darnowski and his students have had with the OHAUS Adventurer Pro, the department is already making plans to incorporate other OHAUS products into its research. "I have used a number of scales in my time - from when I was an undergrad on forward - and my general impression has been I've always liked and trusted OHAUS as a name," said Darnowski. "Some OHAUS balances have the ability to be plugged into a laptop, and that's something that, as we increase our metabolic research, we'll likely end up using. It will be great to have sample data dumped directly into a spreadsheet."

Indiana University Southeast is one of eight campuses of Indiana University. Offering more than 50 degree programs, the scenic 177-acre campus is located less than 15 minutes from downtown Louisville. Visit their website for more information www.ius.edu

Recent studies of carnivorous plants reveal surprising results

The OHAUS Adventurer Pro helps enable new discovery of carnivorous plants at Indiana university led by Dr. Doug Darnowski.  Prior to the first finding, there were about 500 known carnivorous plants - a number that hadn't changed in 50 years.