YOU CAN WATCH THE VIDEO TO SEE HOW WE DID IT. First things first, we are going to bring an Erlenmeyer flask of water to 212°F. Yes, we are going to boil it with heat.

We were able to show that the Duran baffled flask exceeds the classical Duran Erlenmeyer flask in oxygentransfer capacity by more than 50%, enabling a better aeration for aerobic cultures. Figure 1.

If we fill up an Erlenmeyer flask, the liquid surface gets smaller the more liquid is underneath. This inverse correlation severely impedes oxygen transfer if the flask is filled too high.

Now, professor Richard Lenski and colleagues document the process in their analysis of 40,000 generations of bacteria grown in Erlenmeyer flasks, published this week in science journal Nature.