New ideas to help tackle COVID-19 or prepare for future viral outbreaks are set to get a major boost, thanks to a new service from the medical research charity LifeArc. LifeArc has over 25 years’ expertise in translating science into new healthcare treatments or diagnostics for patients. The charity’s new service, ‘Advise & Connect’, creates a simple and accessible route through which any researcher with an eligible project can access LifeArc’s expertise for free....

Gemstones are pieces of mineral crystal cut and polished for use in the gem and jewellery industry. The term gemstone covers a wide variety of gems, roughly over 200 types of natural gemstones exist. Gemstones can be separated into two classifications: precious stones, such as sapphires, and semi-precious, such as garnet. The value of these stones depends on their colour, size, quality, and rarity...

Anion dysregulation is seen in numerous diseases, from cystic fibrosis and chronic pain, to autism and cancer. Researchers at the University of Dallas are investigating anion transport in vivo, developing novel tools to help analyze the effects of both normal and aberrant anion regulation at the molecular level, and are using INTEGRA’s PIPETBOY acu 2 to streamline their cell culture workflows....

Scientific sampling and analysis equipment designed and manufactured by Bridgend headquartered Markes International is being used by Canada’s very first human 'decomposition lab' in Trois-Rivières, Quebec. The REST team (Research in Experimental and Social Thanatology) in Quebec are using several of Markes’ ACTI-VOC™ sampling kits and one of the company’s TD100-xr™ automated analysis instruments to study human decomposition....

The Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia (MRCG), a major center for medical research excellence in West Africa, has chosen Matrix Gemini LIMS to manage data in its laboratories. The LIMS links with the in-house Electronic Medical Records System (EMRS), and multiple equipment and instruments systems in its three major (core) laboratories to improve the efficiency and performance of their operations....

Illumina, Inc. has committed US $60 million in sequencing capabilities to a global pathogen genomics initiative, in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other public and private entities. The initiative expands on the Africa Pathogen Genomics Initiative (Africa PGI) announced in October 2020, and will help create a comprehensive pathogen genomic network around the world, building critical public health capabilities in areas of need....

Panthera has started vaccinating volunteers in Valneva’s double-blind, phase three, COVID prevention trial. The trial will compare Valneva’s inactivated vaccine, VLA2001, with AstraZeneca’s conditionally approved vaccine Vaxzeria. Unlike earlier COVID-19 vaccine trials, which involved a placebo dose, everyone involved in this study will receive two active vaccine doses....

TESTA Analytical Solutions e.K reports how researchers at Lodz University of Technology (Poland) have combined the advanced analytical capabilities of its GPC/SEC triple detection system with a BI-200SM light scattering goniometer to derive in-depth information about an exciting new generation of polymer nanogels. Polymer nanogels with cross-linked structure provide a versatile platform for storage and release of biologically active compounds....

Advanced MRI techniques may provide clues to how MS will progres. Research published in Brain¹ has used new MRI techniques to show what is happening in the brains of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the early stages of their condition. Scientists say these previously unseen changes could have the potential to predict how disabled a person might become in the future....

Greiner Assistec is currently working with Accensors, an innoME GmbH business unit specializing in film sensor technology, on a development project aimed at creating printed sensor systems. The first milestone came in the form of a proof of concept for an intelligent petri dish. In Accensors, Greiner Assistec was able to bring a strong sensor technology partner on board. The aim of this strategic partnership is to offer future customers the option of buying thermoformed plastic parts with printed sensor systems...

It is well known that flow properties of powders are governed by the intrinsic grain properties and forces acting on and between the grains. It is no surprise that the amount of API present in a blend impacts powder processability. To this end, GranuTools has developed, over the past years, a whole range of state-of-the-art equipments to allow characterizing the flow properties of powders and granular materials in many different geometries to match process conditions....

A team of scientists at the University of Glasgow has identified two known cases of human-to-cat COVID-19 transmission in the UK. In the study, led by the University of Glasgow and published in the Veterinary Record, researchers describe two cases of human-to-cat SARS-CoV-2 transmission, found as part of a COVID-19 screening programme of the feline population in the UK....

Researchers have found that a natural molecule can effectively block the binding of a subset of human antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. The discovery may help explain why some COVID-19 patients can become severely ill despite having high levels of antibodies against the virus. In their research, published in Science Advances, teams from the Francis Crick Institute, in collaboration with researchers at Imperial College London, Kings College London and UCL (University College London), found that biliverdin and bilirubin...

Whilst commonly used air displacement pipettes are highly accurate for applications, viscosity, volatility, surface tension and temperature of samples can adversely affect performance. Positive displacement pipettes like Gilson's ergonomic MICROMAN^® E, along with Capillary Pistons (CPs), offer the highest precision and comfort when pipetting non-aqueous liquids such as oils, cosmetics, blood, glycerol, radioactive samples, RNA, DNA and more...

Working closely with researchers at the Centrale Lille Institute in Lille, France - Asynt has developed and supplied two custom high-pressure reactors to assist them in their development of new advanced catalysts for biomass transformation. The Catalysis and Solid State Chemistry Unit in Lille brings together a large group of experienced researchers, technical and administrative support staff, plus doctoral students and post-doctoral researchers....

Do you want more from your GC–MS analyses? Modern labs must constantly adapt to cope with new analytical challenges and ever-increasing workload, all while improving data confidence and reducing cost of ownership. Don't miss this exciting launch webinar where we will reveal how the next generation of BenchTOF mass spectrometers addresses these challenges. Join SepSolve Analytical's virtual event on 6 May 2021 at 08:00 GMT and 16:00 GMT...

Cancer researchers are having to work extremely early in the morning or late into the night to minimise the impact of Covid-19 on their work after the latest lockdown imposed further restrictions on access to labs. One year on from the first lab closures, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, is warning that tightened restrictions in response to new variants have further limited laboratory research time – and slowed the race to find new cancer treatments....

NuNano Ltd. and TESCAN ORSAY HOLDING a.s. announce the successful installation of a TESCAN Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) at NuNano’s Bristol facility, where it will be used for 100-percent automated quality control on atomic force microscope (AFM) probes with some of the tightest dimensional tolerances available today. NuNano, a developer of high-end AFM probes and cantilever-based sensor devices, has customized the TESCAN FESEM software for this highly automated imaging requirement...

INTEGRA Biosciences’ VIAFLO electronic pipettes are helping denovoMATRIX in Dresden, Germany, to produce modular, biomimetic coatings for cell culture plasticware that can be tailored to recreate a large variety of conditions for testing adherent cell cultures. Chief Scientific Officer Dr Richard Wetzel explained: “We have developed a range of pre-coated cell culture plasticware – screenMATRIX and myMATRIX – and use the VIAFLO pipettes to prepare and fix the biomimetic coating onto these products.”...