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This Friday- cleaning plant chamber #19
by Guevarra,Paige July 20, 2026

July 20, 2026

Dear MPL plant users, I will be taking over Paula Helfenbein's position in VBCF Plants and would like to introduce myself: I have been in GMI for the last 4 years and am looking forward to my new role and hope to meet many of you soon. Paula will still be here through July. In addition, chamber #19 needs professional cleaning, and the entire process would be possible in one day (moving your plants out of the chamber and into the plant working room, cleaning the chamber, and moving your plants back in the chamber). The cleaning day will be this week, Friday, July 24. The cleaning process would start around 10AM and end around 3PM. Please let us know if that would be a problem. Best, Paige

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Outage chamber #21
by Helfenbein,Paula July 1, 2026

July 1, 2026

Dear all, unfortunately due to the heat the cooling system of chamber #21 is down and the chamber is out of order. Therefore we need to move out all plants immediately. If you have any plants in chamber #21 please come to the chamber now so we can move them to the adjacent chambers. The repair will happen as soon as possible but we don't know exactly how long it will take. Thank you very much! Paula [signatureImage] Paula Helfenbein Core Technician, Plant Sciences Facility M +43 664 80847 7980 paula.helfenbein(a)vbcf.ac.at<mailto:paula.helfenbein@vbcf.ac.at> Vienna BioCenter Core Facilities GmbH Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3 1030 Vienna Austria www.vbcf.ac.at<https://www.vbcf.ac.at/>

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Reminder: Don't fill waste bags too full!
by Helfenbein,Paula June 23, 2026

June 23, 2026

Dear all, last week extremely heavy bags with trashed plants were placed at the autoclave waste bins. This is a reminder, that the autoclave waste bins and bags should NEVER be filled too heavily, as they cannot be transported to autoclaving! During autoclaving the bags get even heavier, which poses a health threat to people in our facility as well as the waste management facility transporting these bags. Please split up any waste to several bins, or use the provided transparent waste bags, especially when discarding heavy or wet waste material. If you cannot lift a bag easily with one hand, it is definitely too heavy for autoclaving! Thank you very much, best Paula [cid:c9a36b58-263e-47a6-9dfd-bfee14e58bb3] [VBC Logo] Paula Helfenbein Core Technician, Plant Sciences Facility M +43 664 80847 7980 paula.helfenbein(a)vbcf.ac.at<mailto:paula.helfenbein@vbcf.ac.at> Vienna BioCenter Core Facilities GmbH Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3 1030 Vienna Austria www.vbcf.ac.at<https://www.vbcf.ac.at/>

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LED light maintenance: all chambers 10.6.!
by Helfenbein,Paula June 8, 2026

June 8, 2026

Dear all, this Wednesday, 10th of June, the lights in all growth chambers will be inspected and broken LEDs will be replaced. For this some plants might have to be moved out of the shelf units for a max of 30 minutes, but will of course be placed back into the correct shelf unit right after. If there are any plants that should not be touched, moved or taken out of the shelves, please contact me till Wednesday morning! Thank you very much, best Paula [VBC Logo] Paula Helfenbein Core Technician, Plant Sciences Facility M +43 664 80847 7980 paula.helfenbein(a)vbcf.ac.at<mailto:paula.helfenbein@vbcf.ac.at> Vienna BioCenter Core Facilities GmbH Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3 1030 Vienna Austria www.vbcf.ac.at<https://www.vbcf.ac.at/>

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Light repairs: next Tue 21st!
by Helfenbein,Paula April 14, 2026

April 14, 2026

Dear all, next week Tuesday, 21st of April, the LED lights in all chambers will be inspected and any broken LEDs will be replaced. For this some plants might have to be moved out of the shelf units for a max of 30 minutes, but will of course be placed back into the correct shelf unit right after. If there are any plants that should not be touched, moved or taken out of the shelves, please contact me till next Monday! Thank you very much, best Paula [signatureImage] Paula Helfenbein Core Technician, Plant Sciences Facility M +43 664 80847 7980 paula.helfenbein(a)vbcf.ac.at<mailto:paula.helfenbein@vbcf.ac.at> Vienna BioCenter Core Facilities GmbH Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3 1030 Vienna Austria www.vbcf.ac.at<https://www.vbcf.ac.at/>

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Passing the torch: Core Technician position open!
by Helfenbein,Paula April 14, 2026

April 14, 2026

Dear all, after some amazing years here, I’ve decided it’s time for a new chapter for me - I’ll be leaving my role as Core Technician this summer to dedicate myself fully to finishing my Master’s degree. Working at the institute has been an incredible experience, and I’m walking away with so many great memories! To ensure everything stays on track, my colleagues at the VBCF Plant Sciences Facility and I are working closely to manage a smooth transition and we are currently on the lookout for a new, motivated Core Technician to join the team! Please find the job description attached, feel free to forward it to anyone who might be interested! I’ve truly enjoyed my time here and will miss the amazing environment. I’ll be around and available as always until end of July, so feel free to reach out! Best, Paula [VBC Logo] Paula Helfenbein Core Technician, Plant Sciences Facility M +43 664 80847 7980 paula.helfenbein(a)vbcf.ac.at<mailto:paula.helfenbein@vbcf.ac.at> Vienna BioCenter Core Facilities GmbH Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3 1030 Vienna Austria www.vbcf.ac.at<https://www.vbcf.ac.at/>

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Reminder for cleanliness at the MPL
by Rozanek,Solvejg March 24, 2026

March 24, 2026

Dear all, lately the sink was left dirty more often, which is why we would like to remind you to keep the soil room (and especially the sink; see attached picture) and other working rooms clean, so that the cleaning staff and other users can use them as well. Leave the rooms as you would like to find them! Thank you for your understanding and your help! Best the VBCF Plant Sciences Team

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Plants moved in chamber #19 #21
by Helfenbein,Paula March 2, 2026

March 2, 2026

Dear all, due to an emergency in chamber #20 this morning we had to move the plants into the adjacent chambers. We moved some of the plants in chamber #19 and #21 slightly within the chamber to make sure we have enough space to fit everything, but all plants stayed in the correct temp, light and humidity conditions and with the right light intensity. We apologise for this inconvenience, if you should have any questions please feel free to reach out to me any time. Thank you very much for your understanding, Paula [VBC Logo] Paula Helfenbein Core Technician, Plant Sciences Facility M +43 664 80847 7980 paula.helfenbein(a)vbcf.ac.at<mailto:paula.helfenbein@vbcf.ac.at> Vienna BioCenter Core Facilities GmbH Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3 1030 Vienna Austria www.vbcf.ac.at<https://www.vbcf.ac.at/>

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Power outage plant growth chambers
by Helfenbein,Paula Feb. 12, 2026

Feb. 12, 2026

Dear all, we had a short power outage today at the chambers, around 2pm the lights were off for about 5 minutes. Everything is running now as usual with the correct program for each chamber. If you need more detailed records for the interruption please let me know! We apologise very much for this, best regards Paula [VBC Logo] Paula Helfenbein Core Technician, Plant Sciences Facility M +43 664 80847 7980 paula.helfenbein(a)vbcf.ac.at<mailto:paula.helfenbein@vbcf.ac.at> Vienna BioCenter Core Facilities GmbH Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3 1030 Vienna Austria www.vbcf.ac.at<https://www.vbcf.ac.at/>

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Reminder: Waste and cleanliness in plant growth chambers at the MPL
by Rozanek,Solvejg Nov. 27, 2025

Nov. 27, 2025

Dear all, lately it was more often the case that freshly watered pots with plants have been trashed and that the trash cans were completely full. Since the bags should not get too heavy (also because they become even heavier after autoclaving), we would be grateful if you could trash your plants only when they are dry or not completely wet. Watering takes place every Monday morning and Thursday afternoon. If that is not possible, we would ask you to only fill the trash cans half full. If no empty trash cans are available, please take one of the transparent bags and place them next to trash cans, where they will be picked up for autoclaving. This procedure saves time and resources. Further we would like to remind you to keep the soil room (and especially the sink) and other working rooms clean so that the cleaning staff and other users can use them in the same way. Trays ready to be cleaned must be stacked upright instead of sideward to use the space in the box as efficient as possible. Thank you for your understanding and your help! Best, Solvejg for the VBCF Plant Sciences Team

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