Department of Biology and Chemistry

Construction on Azusa Pacific University’s new science center continues to progress, and along with the new structure comes new equipment for student and faculty use. Recently, APU’s Department of Biology and Chemistry received a modulus single tube luminometer on behalf of Turner BioSystems’ Instrument Grant Program. This program supplies instruments to deserving institutions that could not otherwise afford them.

The luminometer will be used primarily in the undergraduate departments to detect light waves specific to certain genes.

“Luminometers read light waves similar to those emitted by fireflies. The gene that produces that light in a firefly can be linked to a specific gene. When that modification is made, every time the gene is activated or ‘turned on’, it produces the gene that makes ‘firefly light’ which is then detected,” said Kathleen Tallman, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Biology and Chemistry. “Because scientists can specifically designate which gene the 'firefly' gene is linked to, several scientists can use the same technique to study very different genes.”

For example, faculty and students can differentiate and study genes activated during a viral infection, or learn about the gene activated when bacteria infect a culture, or study a gene unrelated to the immune system.

“This piece of equipment is important because it expands the experiences our students will have,” said Tallman. “Knowledge of this instrument will make our students more competitive as they apply for graduate programs or for jobs working in research labs.”

Turner BioSystems is a life science company that encourages use and increased knowledge of instruments beneficial to scientific research such as fluorometers, luminometers, and multimode readers, instruments that use different types of light waves to detect the presence and amount of a specific molecule in cells or in a solution.