(Artel: Los Angeles) -- At Death Valley for Mission No.3 of the Extreme Pipetting Expedition, Artel found that pipettes underdeliver by up to 35 percent in dry and hot environments. While volume delivery errors were partially reduced by prewetting pipette tips, underdelivery still persisted, and the pipettes were found to operate out of specification in most instances.

A 3.3 million acre desert, Death Valley was selected by the precision pipette manufacturer as the site for Mission No.3 because of its iconic hot and dry climate. Surrounded by mountains, the valley captures and retains extreme amounts of heat to create one of the hottest environments on earth, commonly exceeding 49° C (120°°F). Death Valley is also the driest locale in the United States, receiving less than two inches of rain annually.

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