Research on hunger wins 2021 Eppendorf & Science Prize. The American scientist Amber L. Alhadeff, Ph.D., Principal Investigator at the Monell Chemical Senses Center and the University of Pennsylvania, USA has won the 2021 Eppendorf & Science Prize for Neurobiology for her work on the gut-brain control of hunger circuits. Alhadeff’s research has revealed how hunger-sensitive neurons in the brain receive signals from the gastrointestinal tract, and how they influence food intake and other survival behaviors....
Ubiquigent Limited (Ubiquigent) announces the extension and expansion of its long-term collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb. Under the terms of the agreement, Ubiquigent will provide Bristol Myers Squibb with increased access to its deubiquitylase (DUB) enzyme inhibitor drug discovery platform to provide further support to additional therapeutic areas...
The new Test Labs infection prevention research and test laboratory in Peterborough, which opened officially in January 2021, has achieved prestigious UKAS accreditation in less than twelve months, one of the fastest awards in the history of the accreditation body. Parent company Inivos created the facility after the Covid pandemic redirected government and commercial laboratories’ focus which stretched their capacity....
Sartorius and Waters will partner to implement the BioAccord™ LC-MS System from Waters as a new bioprocess analyzer with data connectivity to Sartorius’ Ambr® multi-parallel bioreactor systems to deliver mass spectral information on drug substances, related analytes and cell culture media. This combination will greatly accelerate and improve the accuracy and speed of tasks from clone selection to bioprocess optimization...
A UK-based aquaculture business aims to remove billions of tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere each year by growing and harvesting floating seaweed in the Atlantic Ocean. Seafields is developing and testing new technologies focused on growing and capturing Sargassum, a seaweed that has escaped its normal environment in the Sargasso Sea and has exploded in growth in the last two decades...
Blood alcohol analysis is one of a variety of headspace methods performed in forensic toxicology laboratories. The Versa was evaluated to determine its suitability to perform an occasional blood alcohol test. Methanol, acetone, ethanol, isopropanol and acetaldehyde along with n-propanol, a typical internal standard, were tested with the Versa headspace instrument....
Centrifugal Partition Chromatography (CPC) or Counter Current Chromatography (CCC), as it is sometimes known, is a cost-effective solution for natural product purification using liquid-liquid phases rather than a solid stationary phase. With no column to replace or silica to recycle, CPC offers low solvent consumption compared with traditional chromatography techniques and requires no extensive pre-treatment of samples....
VectorBuilder Inc., a global leader in vector design, optimization and GMP manufacturing, and Landau Biotechnology Co., a world leader in developing nonhuman primate (NHP) models for clinical research applications, have signed a strategic partnership that will establish the world’s first primate gene therapy R&D center. The center will build advanced vector screening and optimization platforms to provide unique CRO services to the rapidly growing gene and cell therapy industry....
SCION Instruments has recently published its latest Application Note “Analysis of Fusel Alcohols Using HT3 Headspace Sampling”. Fusel alcohols are a common by-product of the fermentation process, but abnormal quantities or types can indicate alcoholic beverage adulteration. Method SSD: TM:200 is a direct injection method for testing these alcohols. The method states that Non-Beverage Alcohol (NBA) products, not miscible with water, cannot be analyzed by this method....
UK-based HydRegen are using a DrySyn OCTO reaction station from Asynt to help develop a next generation biocatalyst system that enables cleaner, safer, and more efficient chemical manufacture. HydRegen spun-out from the Vincent Group in the Dept. of Chemistry at the University of Oxford in March 2021. They are developing novel and sustainable strategies for using the growing toolbox of NADH-dependent redox biocatalysts in chemical synthesis...
Scientists have developed a new machine learning method that can accurately predict which animal virusescould go on to infect humans in the future, using only information encoded in the viral genome. Most emerging infectious diseases of humans are caused by ‘zoonotic’ viruses that originate from other animal species. However, of the many millions of viruses that circulate in animals, only a few are likely able to infect humans....
TESTA Analytical Solutions e.K. announce that their HK Series Differential Refractive Index (DRI) detector is being used to provide accurate and reliable measurement of the absolute concentration and total mass of protein in a sample. Quantifying the amount of protein is highly desirable before processing protein samples for isolation, separation and analysis using chromatographic techniques...
Scientists used artificial intelligence-enhanced tools to successfully propose a new combination of drugs for use against an incurable childhood brain cancer. The approach, which is designed to expand researchers’ capabilities using AI, allowed the scientists to explore ideas on how to target children with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) who have mutations in a gene called ACVR1....
The Eppendorf Award for Young European Investigators, endowed with 20,000 EUR, is granted annually to an early career scientist in Europe for outstanding contributions to biomedical research. It has been awarded, in partnership with Nature, since 1995. Researchers in Europe up to 35 years with an advanced degree in the field of biomedical research can apply online between October 1, 2021, and January 15, 2022....
ZEISS has unveiled the winners of their ZEISS Microscopy Image Contest 2021. In its 175th anniversary year, ZEISS is celebrating the work of researchers using microscopy in various application fields with an image contest. Microscope systems, analytics and imaging capabilities all play a role in meeting many of our society’s most pressing challenges related to climate change, energy, health and food....
Why is the Delta variant so virulent ? Why did it surpass the Beta variant so quickly? An innovation by a GSA-University of Glasgow Masters graduate is set to help the public understand why certain variants dominate and have the impact they do. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has focussed everyone’s attention on the hidden world of viruses. The emergence of new variants such as Beta and Delta, affects us all: some variants spread more quickly and some are less affected by vaccines. But why?
A new study has revealed key insights into the natural human antiviral defences against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The research, published in the journal Science and led by a team of scientists at the MRC-University of GlasgowCentre for Virus Research, sheds new light on why some people are naturally more resistant to serious SARS-CoV-2 infection – and how, in the future, the coronavirus might overcome this resistance....
Pharmacopoeias are collections of recognized and binding quality regulations that specify, among other things, test requirements and methods for the analysis of drugs. Both the European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.) and the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) contain specific chapters that deal with the use of laboratory balances. The chapters emphasize the criticality of weighing samples accurately in pharmaceutical analytical processes...
A unique type of tiny antibody produced by llamas could provide a new frontline treatment against Covid-19 that can be taken by patients as a simple nasal spray. Research led by scientists at the Rosalind Franklin Institute has shown that nanobodies – a smaller, simple form of antibody generated by llamas and camels – can effectively target the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19....
With the emergence of quality by design in the pharmaceutical industry, it becomes imperative to gain a deeper mechanistic understanding of factors impacting the flow of a formulation into tableting dies. Many flow characterization techniques exist but only a few can mimic the die filling process successfully. One of the challenges in mimicking the die filling process is understanding the rheological powder behaviour and the differences in flow field in the feeding frame...
Agilent Technologies Inc. has announced Dr. David R. Liu has been selected to receive a prestigious Agilent Thought Leader Award. A prominent researcher in the field of genome editing, Dr. Liu is Professor and Director of the Merkin Institute of Transformative Technologies in Healthcare, Vice-Chair of the Faculty at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Professor of Natural Sciences and Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator....
When wanting to transition into biotech startup, it’s important to consider your strategy to succeed. Biotech companies need to address an unmet medical/technological need in the market. Without careful evaluation of market potential, there is a risk of failure. Here, Dr. Khoa Nguyen, freelance biotechnology consultant at freelance platform for scientists, Kolabtree, offers some advice on biotech startup strategy....
Research on hunger wins 2021 Eppendorf & Science Prize. The American scientist Amber L. Alhadeff, Ph.D., Principal Investigator at the Monell Chemical Senses Center and the University of Pennsylvania, USA has won the 2021 Eppendorf & Science Prize for Neurobiology for her work on the gut-brain control of hunger circuits. Alhadeff’s research has revealed how hunger-sensitive neurons in the brain receive signals from the gastrointestinal tract, and how they influence food intake and other survival behaviors....
Ubiquigent Limited (Ubiquigent) announces the extension and expansion of its long-term collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb. Under the terms of the agreement, Ubiquigent will provide Bristol Myers Squibb with increased access to its deubiquitylase (DUB) enzyme inhibitor drug discovery platform to provide further support to additional therapeutic areas...
The new Test Labs infection prevention research and test laboratory in Peterborough, which opened officially in January 2021, has achieved prestigious UKAS accreditation in less than twelve months, one of the fastest awards in the history of the accreditation body. Parent company Inivos created the facility after the Covid pandemic redirected government and commercial laboratories’ focus which stretched their capacity....
Sartorius and Waters will partner to implement the BioAccord™ LC-MS System from Waters as a new bioprocess analyzer with data connectivity to Sartorius’ Ambr® multi-parallel bioreactor systems to deliver mass spectral information on drug substances, related analytes and cell culture media. This combination will greatly accelerate and improve the accuracy and speed of tasks from clone selection to bioprocess optimization...
A UK-based aquaculture business aims to remove billions of tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere each year by growing and harvesting floating seaweed in the Atlantic Ocean. Seafields is developing and testing new technologies focused on growing and capturing Sargassum, a seaweed that has escaped its normal environment in the Sargasso Sea and has exploded in growth in the last two decades...
Blood alcohol analysis is one of a variety of headspace methods performed in forensic toxicology laboratories. The Versa was evaluated to determine its suitability to perform an occasional blood alcohol test. Methanol, acetone, ethanol, isopropanol and acetaldehyde along with n-propanol, a typical internal standard, were tested with the Versa headspace instrument....
Centrifugal Partition Chromatography (CPC) or Counter Current Chromatography (CCC), as it is sometimes known, is a cost-effective solution for natural product purification using liquid-liquid phases rather than a solid stationary phase. With no column to replace or silica to recycle, CPC offers low solvent consumption compared with traditional chromatography techniques and requires no extensive pre-treatment of samples....
VectorBuilder Inc., a global leader in vector design, optimization and GMP manufacturing, and Landau Biotechnology Co., a world leader in developing nonhuman primate (NHP) models for clinical research applications, have signed a strategic partnership that will establish the world’s first primate gene therapy R&D center. The center will build advanced vector screening and optimization platforms to provide unique CRO services to the rapidly growing gene and cell therapy industry....
SCION Instruments has recently published its latest Application Note “Analysis of Fusel Alcohols Using HT3 Headspace Sampling”. Fusel alcohols are a common by-product of the fermentation process, but abnormal quantities or types can indicate alcoholic beverage adulteration. Method SSD: TM:200 is a direct injection method for testing these alcohols. The method states that Non-Beverage Alcohol (NBA) products, not miscible with water, cannot be analyzed by this method....
UK-based HydRegen are using a DrySyn OCTO reaction station from Asynt to help develop a next generation biocatalyst system that enables cleaner, safer, and more efficient chemical manufacture. HydRegen spun-out from the Vincent Group in the Dept. of Chemistry at the University of Oxford in March 2021. They are developing novel and sustainable strategies for using the growing toolbox of NADH-dependent redox biocatalysts in chemical synthesis...
Scientists have developed a new machine learning method that can accurately predict which animal virusescould go on to infect humans in the future, using only information encoded in the viral genome. Most emerging infectious diseases of humans are caused by ‘zoonotic’ viruses that originate from other animal species. However, of the many millions of viruses that circulate in animals, only a few are likely able to infect humans....
TESTA Analytical Solutions e.K. announce that their HK Series Differential Refractive Index (DRI) detector is being used to provide accurate and reliable measurement of the absolute concentration and total mass of protein in a sample. Quantifying the amount of protein is highly desirable before processing protein samples for isolation, separation and analysis using chromatographic techniques...
Scientists used artificial intelligence-enhanced tools to successfully propose a new combination of drugs for use against an incurable childhood brain cancer. The approach, which is designed to expand researchers’ capabilities using AI, allowed the scientists to explore ideas on how to target children with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) who have mutations in a gene called ACVR1....
The Eppendorf Award for Young European Investigators, endowed with 20,000 EUR, is granted annually to an early career scientist in Europe for outstanding contributions to biomedical research. It has been awarded, in partnership with Nature, since 1995. Researchers in Europe up to 35 years with an advanced degree in the field of biomedical research can apply online between October 1, 2021, and January 15, 2022....
ZEISS has unveiled the winners of their ZEISS Microscopy Image Contest 2021. In its 175th anniversary year, ZEISS is celebrating the work of researchers using microscopy in various application fields with an image contest. Microscope systems, analytics and imaging capabilities all play a role in meeting many of our society’s most pressing challenges related to climate change, energy, health and food....
Why is the Delta variant so virulent ? Why did it surpass the Beta variant so quickly? An innovation by a GSA-University of Glasgow Masters graduate is set to help the public understand why certain variants dominate and have the impact they do. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has focussed everyone’s attention on the hidden world of viruses. The emergence of new variants such as Beta and Delta, affects us all: some variants spread more quickly and some are less affected by vaccines. But why?
A new study has revealed key insights into the natural human antiviral defences against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The research, published in the journal Science and led by a team of scientists at the MRC-University of GlasgowCentre for Virus Research, sheds new light on why some people are naturally more resistant to serious SARS-CoV-2 infection – and how, in the future, the coronavirus might overcome this resistance....
Pharmacopoeias are collections of recognized and binding quality regulations that specify, among other things, test requirements and methods for the analysis of drugs. Both the European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.) and the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) contain specific chapters that deal with the use of laboratory balances. The chapters emphasize the criticality of weighing samples accurately in pharmaceutical analytical processes...
A unique type of tiny antibody produced by llamas could provide a new frontline treatment against Covid-19 that can be taken by patients as a simple nasal spray. Research led by scientists at the Rosalind Franklin Institute has shown that nanobodies – a smaller, simple form of antibody generated by llamas and camels – can effectively target the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19....
With the emergence of quality by design in the pharmaceutical industry, it becomes imperative to gain a deeper mechanistic understanding of factors impacting the flow of a formulation into tableting dies. Many flow characterization techniques exist but only a few can mimic the die filling process successfully. One of the challenges in mimicking the die filling process is understanding the rheological powder behaviour and the differences in flow field in the feeding frame...
Agilent Technologies Inc. has announced Dr. David R. Liu has been selected to receive a prestigious Agilent Thought Leader Award. A prominent researcher in the field of genome editing, Dr. Liu is Professor and Director of the Merkin Institute of Transformative Technologies in Healthcare, Vice-Chair of the Faculty at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Professor of Natural Sciences and Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator....
When wanting to transition into biotech startup, it’s important to consider your strategy to succeed. Biotech companies need to address an unmet medical/technological need in the market. Without careful evaluation of market potential, there is a risk of failure. Here, Dr. Khoa Nguyen, freelance biotechnology consultant at freelance platform for scientists, Kolabtree, offers some advice on biotech startup strategy....