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Biology/Questions Answered by Expert Chris Bemis

SubjectDate Asked
Biology Help?12/13/2011
  Q: there! I apologize for bothering you again, but I need a little more help on researching a ...
  A: Here are a few sites I found by typing "prokaryote vs eukaryote" into Google: ...
Biology Question?12/11/2011
  Q: How are you? I am sorry to bother you, but I have a quick question, and I hope you can answer it. ...
  A: the following site briefly identifies why we study cell biology as well as gets into the basics of ...
Bacteriophages!!!11/24/2011
  Q: I am Mr Washington. Well, I have a pretty stupid question that plagues me everytime I read about ...
  A: Both bacterial cells and animal (eukaryotic) cells are capable of both cell division (duplication), ...
Bacteriophages!!!11/24/2011
  Q: I am Mr Washington. Well, I have a pretty stupid question that plagues me everytime I read about ...
  A: Our white blood cells are not self-replicating like bacteria. Rather, they only self-duplicate (by ...
Copper vs bacteria2/8/2011
  Q: I have been reading that copper can kill certain types of bacteria. I have plastic plumbing in my ...
  A: It is true that copper is bacteriostatic for some types of bacteria. This means that copper may ...
Bacteria in dog urine5/6/2010
  Q: I have 2 small dogs (under 12 pounds each). They routinely urinate in the same area outdoors. (The ...
  A: Urine is sterile, unless there is an infection. So unless your dogs have bladder infections, I ...
mold question4/26/2010
  Q: I have recently discovered that I had toxic mold in my home. I'm sure you know what kind of ...
  A: The cleaner, as you state, had been diluted with water. Doing this lowered the concentration of the ...
forensic biology4/5/2010
  Q: My name is Roger S. H. Schulman; I'm a screenwriter (you may look up my credits if you wish) and, by ...
  A: I don't know anyone in the field, but I will ask around. In the mean time, here is a list of books ...
planaria flatworms3/21/2010
  Q: hardware stores and fishing bait shops and they do not carry them. I live in south central ...
  A: Try this: ...
What colour hair and eyes will my unborn child most likly have?3/5/2010
  Q: Ok so! Me: Green eyes black wavy hair My Mum: green eyes dark brown straight hair My Dad: green ...
  A: You have blue eyes, which are recessive. This means you do not carry any genes for brown eyes, and ...
Differentiating Colonial Morphology between B. cereus and B. thuringensis2/24/2010
  Q: How can I differentiate Bacillus cereus from Bacillus thuringenesis on a blood agar plate based on ...
  A: I cannot find a reliable way of distinguishing B. cereus from B. thuringiensis based on their ...
genetics2/22/2010
  Q: I am having a debate between me and a couple buddies of mine. If i am an average sized male and i ...
  A: No matter how much you exercise, it will not change your genes. Your genetic material is basically ...
DNA1/27/2010
  Q: Why is DNA shaped like a double helix?
  A: DNA is usually made up of two complimentary strands of subunits. Each strand is made up of a chain ...
Gram staining positive/negative12/15/2009
  Q: What significance does the positive or negative result of gram staining actually tell us besides ...
  A: Knowing whether an organism is Gram positive or Gram negative tells you more about the organism than ...
Microbiology11/23/2009
  Q: I'm taking Microbiology 1 lab and I'm trying to ID some unknown organisms. I think one of them might ...
  A: I looked into this a little and found only the following: Bacillus circulans is gram positive, ...
mitosis and meiosis11/21/2009
  Q: What's the difference between mitosis and meiosis?
  A: Here are a couple of websites with some good information that will help you better understand the ...
Bacteria11/13/2009
  Q: I am going to be doing a experiment on the effect of domestic disenfectants on bacteria, I am ...
  A: There are many different types of bacteria that would fit the description of being ubiquitous (found ...
Do bacteria cause nasal mucus to smell bad?9/3/2009
  Q: Are there any bacteria that feed on nasal mucus? If so, do they produce any colors and odors as a ...
  A: While I may not be the best expert at answering your question, I appreciate your curiosity, so I ...
marine biologiy7/28/2009
  Q: i want to be a marine biologist for my fucher job.I want to spend my time gitting ready at a young ...
  A: While living near the coast might make it easier to get involved with local marine activites, it is ...
EYE COLOR6/22/2009
  Q: My mother has green eyes, my father has hazel (brown/green) eyes. I have hazel (brown/green) eyes ...
  A: You are correct, the genes for brown eyes are dominant, but quite often two brown eyed parents will ...
well water worms5/26/2009
  Q: I FOUND LITTLE WORMS IN THE BATH AFTER LETTING THE WATER OUT, I RAN NEW WATER TO CHECK AND THERE IN ...
  A: I am no expert on worms, but I think the most likely culprit is some type of larva (mosquito or ...
Echinoderms5/21/2009
  Q: what do echinoderms use their tube feet to do
  A: While I am not an expert in the area of echinoderms, I did a little research and found that these ...
creation5/14/2009
  Q: I am an YEC and of course do not believe the Darwinian myth.I realize that evolution has become an ...
  A: While I agree that metamorphosis does present some interesting challenges for evolution, I believe ...
Swine flu5/2/2009
  Q: b we are students from syria doing a search about swine flu can you give us please informations ...
  A: Here is the information you requested: 1. Name of virus: Influenza A virus subtype H1N1 (also ...
Heart Rate4/24/2009
  Q: I have a science project that i need help on. the question is "is our heart rate affected by music" ...
  A: Sounds like an interesting topic for a science project! I would be happy to help you with your ...
adjective form of chromatid4/23/2009
  Q: Does the word "chromatidic" exist, as an adjective for the word "chromatid". I can't find the ...
  A: Laura, This is an interesting question. At first glance, it would seem that the word "chromatid" ...
oak leaf fruit4/18/2009
  Q: Can you tell me what this strange fruit is? it is growing off our oak leaves. last year i noticed ...
  A: What you are describing are called oak tree galls. They are not fruit, but rather an abnormal ...

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Chris Bemis

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Expertise

I will answer questions relating to the identification of bacterial and fungal isolates using phenotypic (macroscopic/microscopic appearance, biochemical bench tests, fatty-acid analysis) as well as genotypic (RiboPrinting) methods. I can also answer questions relating to environmental microbiology, especially those specifically relating to the pharmaceutical industry. I am less familiar with clinical microbiology.

Experience

I have worked within the biotech industry for 9 years, most of that time spent in a Quality Control Microbiology laboratory setting. Within the laboratory, I routinely performed bioburden testing; sterility testing; gel-clot and kinetic LAL testing; biological indicator testing; stability testing; microbial limits testing; media performance/growth promotion testing; microbial identifications testing using API, Vitek, MIDI (GC-MIS) and RiboPrinter identifications systems; total/fecal coliform testing; environmental monitoring; media preparation; stock culture maintenance; qualification of identification test kits and QuantiCult Plus organisms. I executed the QC validation of the DuPont Qualicon RiboPrinter Microbial Characterization System. I also supported sites internationally with the fungal/microbial identification process, the RiboPrinter assay, stock culture maintenance and the microbial identification process flow.

Organizations
Nationally Registered Microbiologist, American Society of Microbiology (2005)

Publications
Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Education/Credentials
B.S. in Microbiology (2000)

Awards and Honors
Received my company's 'Best Practice Award' for the Validation of the RiboPrinter Microbial Characterization System, 2004

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