INTEGRA has published a new customer video from the Institute of Clinical Chemistry research group at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), in which researcher Christina Thomas reviews how the VOYAGER multichannel pipette has accelerated their sample screening and genotyping assays.

As laboratories need to process more and more samples per day, they are facing the challenge to increase their throughput in the most efficient and economical way. Especially screening applications require handling and manipulating many samples between different formats.  Traditionally this process often involved the use of single channel pipettes which is slow, inefficient and prone to errors. Using INTEGRA’s VOYAGER handheld pipette, with...

Cresset, innovative provider of computational chemistry software and services, is pleased to announce that F2G, a UK biotech focusing on the discovery and development of novel compounds to treat life threatening fungal diseases, has chosen to license Cresset’s Forge software to help them develop the next generation of antifungal agents.

Forge is a powerful ligand focused workbench for molecular design, SAR analysis, QSAR and more; Forge enables users to better understand the properties and activities of their existing molecules, and to design improved compounds. “F2G have used Cresset’s consulting services for over two years,” says Dr Graham Sibley, Head of Chemistry at F2G. “Through the work presented to us I was particularly impressed with the data management and...

In a recent DECODED Online entry, Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT), the world leader in oligonucleotide synthesis, provides an overview of the CRISPR/Cas9 system to scientists looking to enhance their genome modification strategy in model organisms or cell lines.

The CRISPR/Cas9 system has rapidly become a leading method for genome editing. Faster and more efficient than other methods, the system is continually being improved. This entry informs researchers on the latest developments and highlight the potential of this evolving technology. Bringing together the latest information on CRISPR/Cas9, the piece links through to resources that cover the many advantages over other methods such as...

Enhanced NMR screening efficiency designed to save time and cost

Researchers engaged in drug discovery can now benefit from a new library of fluorinated compounds with superior drug-like characteristics designed to maximize the efficiency of fluorine Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and X-ray crystallography screening, saving both time and cost in the process. The new Maybridge Fluorine Labeled Fragment Library is a diverse fragment library of 480 fluorinated compounds that has been...

A new treatment for liver cancer developed by the University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht has received the European CE mark for quality and safety.

This implies that hospitals throughout Europe can now start using this innovative treatment that uses radioactive holmium microspheres to attack liver tumors. The treatment is being marketed by Quirem Medical, a spin-off company of the UMC Utrecht. It involves injecting radioactive beads into the hepatic artery, which then join the blood flow and become trapped in the tiniest blood vessels, located in and around the liver tumors.....

Renishaw, a world leader in metrology and spectroscopy technologies, reports on the use of Raman spectroscopy in the study of graphene by the Casiraghi Group located at the University of Manchester's Nanoscience and Spectroscopy Laboratory. 

Dr Cinzia Casiraghi is a Reader in Graphene and Carbon Nanostructures, in the School of Chemistry, at the University of Manchester, UK. She runs a research group, the Casiraghi Group, which uses Raman spectroscopy to derive quantitative information on the properties and structure of carbon nanostructures. Examples include measuring the diameter of carbon nanotubes, the width of graphene nanoribbons and the amount...

The unrivalled performance of OMNISEC, Malvern Instruments’ new gel permeation chromatography/size exclusion chromatography (GPC/SEC) system, is demonstrated in a series of recently released application notes which highlight the sensitivity of the system in synthetic polymer analysis. 

The OMNISEC platform brings together highly efficient and precise sample separation in the OMNISEC RESOLVE module with a fully integrated, high sensitivity multi-detector array in the OMNISEC REVEAL module. A complete OMNISEC system delivers the accurate molecular weight and molecular size measurements and detailed structural information needed to drive synthetic polymer research. The polymer industry is actively engaged in developing...

Syngene, a world-leading manufacturer of image analysis solutions, today announced its G:BOX Chemi XX6 is being used by scientists at Northumbria University for imaging chemiluminescent enzymes and other proteins on Western blots.

This is contributing to rapidly providing researchers with accurate information on changes in protein in chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Researchers in the Department of Applied Sciences at Northumbria University in the UK are using a G:BOX Chemi XX6 multi-application imager to analyse enzymes and other proteins on chemiluminescent Western blots. This is allowing scientists there to accurately quantify the amount of drug metabolising enzymes that are...

The UK is to get its first three Proton Beam Therapy centres, marking a significant breakthrough in the provision of cancer treatment.

Cardiff-based Proton Partners International Ltdis to open the treatment centres in Cardiff, London and Northumberland by 2017 and the first – Cardiff -  will be operational next year. The centres will be available for NHS patients from England, Scotland and Wales, medically-insured private patients and self-paying patients. Proton Partners International has been formed following discussions between Professor Sir Chris Evans, the leading...

Patients with pneumonia can initially be treated with most common antibiotics.

According to research carried out by University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU) in the Netherlands, they are just as effective as the more expensive alternatives. The fact that bacteria are less likely to become resistant to these beta-lactam antibiotics is an additional benefit. The results of this study were published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.  Various types of antibiotics are available to patients who are hospitalized with...

AMSBIO has launched, at the ‘Frontiers in Stem Cells & Cancer' EMBL-EMBO Symposium, a guide that illustrates a variety of organoids grown from different tissues by leading international research groups using BME 2 reduced growth factor extracellular matrix that is available from the company.

Organoids are organ-like structures that can be formed by 3D cell culture and differentiation of stem cells or organ progenitors. Organoids are capable of recapitulating aspects of organ function in in vitro. The current research and therapeutic potential of organoids include organogenesis models, drug testing, tumor / disease models, toxicity screening, personalised medicine and regenerative medicine / organ replacement. BME 2 reduced growth...

A new customer survey published early in 2015 by Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) specialist, Autoscribe, has shown an across-the-board increase in customer satisfaction levels compared to a similar survey carried out in 2013.

In addition response levels to the survey, which was conducted in both the USA and UK, was up nearly fourfold. The survey contains a number of questions which allow customers to rate some aspect of the Matrix LIMS products or the service provided by Autoscribe on a scale of 1-10. Every survey question with this metric showed an improvement. Autoscribe Managing Director, John Boother, said: “We are absolutely delighted with...

A test for a wide range of genetic risk factors could improve doctors’ ability to work out which women are at increased risk of developing breast cancer, a major study of more than 65,000 women has shown.

Improving the accuracy of risk analysis using genetic screening could guide breast cancer prevention in several ways – for instance by offering high-risk women increased monitoring, personalised advice and preventative therapies. The research, a collaboration of hundreds of research institutions led by The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The University of Cambridge, showed that a test for differences in 77 separate letters...

Greg Clark MP, Minister for Universities, Science and Cities, has announced today that The N8 Research Partnership has secured multi-million pound funding for a programme which is set to transform food security research in the UK.

The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has awarded The N8 Research Partnership – a partnership of the eight research-intensive universities in the North of England (Durham, Lancaster, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield and York) – a grant of £7,999,254 through its Catalyst Fund to develop its Agri-Food Resilience programme. This will be matched equally by the N8 universities. A multi-disciplinary initiative...

Cresset, innovative provider of computational chemistry software and services, is pleased to announce that Mercachem, a leading European contract research organization, has chosen Cresset’s Torch and Spark software to support their growing medicinal chemistry service business.

Torch is a molecular design and SAR analysis application. Spark is a powerful bioisosteric replacement tool which is excellent for generating new chemical ideas for your project. “Mercachem delivers outstanding discovery and medicinal chemistry on a contract basis to global clients,” says Dr Gerhard Müller, Senior Vice President Medicinal Chemistry at Mercachem. “Computational tools are an essential part of our workflow and...

Freeman Technology, a global leader in powder characterisation, has published ‘The Value of Powder Testing’, the third in the company’s series of educational guides on powder characterisation for industrial applications.

The new booklet focuses on how to assess the economic benefits that a powder tester can deliver and explains how these may vary considerably depending on the instrumentation selected.  All three guides, including, ‘An Introduction to Powders’ and ‘Choosing a Powder Tester’, are written in an easy to understand, straightforward style and are now available for download at http://www.freemantech.co.uk/_ebook/. The new guide addresses...

Application guide for Tecan plate washers offers an easy route to optimized results 

Structures of human P2Y₁ receptor bring new excitement to GPCR research

A team of Chinese and US scientists has determined the atomic structure of a cell-surface receptor that plays a critical role in thrombosis formation. This research unexpectedly discloses many new structural features, which challenge the conventional concepts of drug action at G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and open a new door for future drug discovery. In a paper published in Nature on March 30, the researchers at Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica (SIMM), Chinese Academy of Sciences, collaborating with research groups from National Institutes of...

Scientists have revealed a brand new function for one of the first cancer genes ever discovered – the retinoblastoma gene – in a finding that could open up exciting new approaches to treatment.

The retinoblastoma gene is so called because mutations to it cause a rare children’s eye cancer of the same name, and is known to play a central role in stopping healthy cells from dividing uncontrollably. Now the new study – jointly led by scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and UCL (University College London) – has found that the gene also has another important function, in helping to ‘glue’ severed strands of DNA back...

Renishaw, a world leader in metrology and spectroscopy technologies, reports on the use of Raman spectroscopy in the CEMHTI laboratory of CNRS, Orléans, France.

Materials are studied under extreme conditions such as at elevated temperatures and irradiated with particle beams. Dr Patrick Simon works with materials under extreme conditions of high temperature and irradiation. His lab, known as Conditions Extrêmes et Matériaux: Haute Température et Irradiation (CEMHTI), is located at the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Orléans, around 110 km southwest of Paris. His team, and...

The modular Asia system from Syrris is providing researchers at the Romanian National Institute for Research and Development for Chemistry and Petrochemistry (ICECHIM) with the ability to explore a range of flow chemistry applications.

Florin Oancea, Scientific Director at ICECHIM, explained: “Like many chemistry research groups, we are increasingly focusing on biochemistry and biorefinery applications, as fossil fuel-derived products will become more and more expensive in the future. Flow chemistry is the ideal solution to explore this approach, offering the flexibility to develop numerous applications and providing easy scale-up for process commercialization, particularly...

A blood test that measures the number of cells shed from prostate tumours into the bloodstream can act as an early warning sign that treatment is not working, a major new study shows.

Researchers showed that measuring the numbers of circulating tumour cells in the blood predicted which men were benefitting least from a prostate cancer drug after as little as 12 weeks of treatment. They hope their work will allow doctors to switch patients to alternative treatments earlier than is currently possible, if these results are confirmed by further studies. The research could also hasten the development of cancer treatments...