Caltech engineers show how to make cost-effective, ultra-high-performance microscopes
Engineers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have devised a method to convert a relatively inexpensive conventional microscope into a billion-pixel imaging system that significantly outperforms the best available standard microscope. Such a system could greatly improve the efficiency of digital pathology, in which specialists need to review large numbers of tissue samples. By making it possible to produce robust microscopes at low cost, the approach also has the potential to bring high-performance microscopy capabilities to medical clinics in developing countries....
The IDT newsletter DECODED features the latest research to rescue the CFTR functionality
Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT), the world leader in oligonucleotide synthesis, offers insight into recent research that has unearthed an miRNA-regulated network implicated in the pathogenesis of Cystic Fibrosis (CF). Described in the April edition of DECODED, the international IDT customer newsletter, optimized DIG-labeled DsiRNAs (IDT) were used to develop a novel, enhanced approach for oligonucleotide delivery....
New Anti-Toxoplasma Performance Panel from SeraCare Provides Broad Sample of New, Challenging Material
SeraCare Life Sciences, a provider of high quality biological materials that help optimize diagnostic performance, reliability and repeatability across the IVD lifecycle, announced it has introduced a new AccuSet™ anti-Toxoplasma performance panel. This is the newest addition to the SeraCare line of performance panels designed to help IVD manufacturers effectively challenge new assays during development...
NanoSight, world-leading providers of unique nanoparticle characterization technology, announces that more than 800 third party publications citing their Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA) methodology have been published, and reflect on the significance of this powerful third party endorsement.
May 2013 saw publication of the 800th peer-reviewed paper citing NTA. It was written by Mark Davis and his group at Caltech: "Transcytosis and brain uptake of transferrin-containing nanoparticles by tuning avidity to transferrin receptor." It was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America....
World’s largest supplier of custom nucleic acids opens SGD 6 million manufacturing facility in Singapore
Already the world’s leader in custom nucleic acid synthesis, Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT) has expanded its manufacturing capabilities to Singapore. IDT is now able to provide locally-manufactured oligonucleotides to researchers in Singapore and throughout the region from the company’s first synthesis facility in Asia. In January of 2012, IDT acquired the oligo business of Singapore’s top supplier, 1st BASE Pte. Ltd. Shortly thereafter, IDT began work to create a state-of-the art hub for oligo manufacturing and support dedicated to the Asian market. IDT completed the nearly SGD 6 million project in spring of 2013, and the Singapore company’s synthesis and other processes are now fully integrated with IDT’s operations in the US and Europe...
Ocean Optics STS spectrometers measure vegetation from the ground and the air
A pair of super-lightweight miniature spectrometers from Ocean Optics is helping researchers investigate plant parameters in a verdant patch of New Zealand grassland. The compact STS model spectrometers, one deployed as a ground unit and the other aboard an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), are making synchronized hyperspectral measurements of barley and sugar beet crops to assess plant characteristics for more effective crop management...
Thermo Fisher Scientific is pleased to announce a new technical note on fast separations in a carbonated beverage using increased flow rates on our high-pressure capillary Ion Chromatography (IC) system, the Thermo Scientific Dionex ICS-5000+ Reagent Free HPIC system.
Technical Note 118: Fast Separations of Anions and Organic Acids in a Carbonated Beverage Using High-Pressure Capillary IC describes the determinations of organic acids in these carbonated beverages. The beverage industry uses these acidulants and flavoring agents to maintain beverage freshness, to minimize microbiological growth and to add a characteristic flavor...
Multi-ion beam platform from ZEISS enables new solutions for the challenges faced in nanofabrication
At the Microscopy & Microanalysis trade show in Indianapolis, ZEISS ORION NanoFab received the 2013 Microscopy Today Innovation Award. Microscopy Today magazine annually presents this award to techniques and instruments that play a major role in progressing the field of microscopy. ORION NanoFab is a nanofabrication tool that integrates helium, neon, and gallium focused ion beams on a single platform. The helium and neon ion beams are based on the gas field ion source (GFIS) technology...
HORIBA Jobin Yvon S.A.S. (Palaiseau, France), operating worldwide under the name of HORIBA Scientific, is pleased to announce its recent agreement with AIST-NT (Novato, CA, USA) to distribute their Scanning Probe Microscope (SPM) product line in most of Europe, China and South America.
AIST-NT is a manufacturer of advanced SPM systems designed specifically for integration with optical spectroscopy, and has been a partner of HORIBA Scientific for AFM-Raman and Tip Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (TERS) system integration for several years. HORIBA Scientific is a leading spectroscopy equipment manufacturer, and is the leader in Raman microscopy. With the growing interest for nano-spectroscopy and TERS, HORIBA Scientific has collaborated with several SPM manufacturers to deliver a wide range of combined solutions...
Rapidly identify meaningful results with OGT’s Genefficiency™ NGS Report
Oxford Gene Technology (OGT), provider of innovative genetics research and biomarker solutions to advance molecular medicine, is offering the research community a snapshot of its user-friendly Genefficiency™ NGS Variant Analysis Report software, with the release of a free-to-download demo version. The interactive report efficiently manages the complete data analysis process for NGS workflows and delivers fully annotated data, allowing the identification of meaningful results in just a few simple mouse clicks...
A presentation by technology specialist Dr Richard Tweedie, given as part of the recent UK Formulation Showcase at NanoFormulation 2013 (18-21 June 2013, University of Manchester, UK), illustrated the mutual benefits of an ‘open innovation’ approach to product development.
His talk focused on the ‘open innovation’ pathway adopted by Malvern Instruments in collaboration with The University of Leeds in the UK to develop the Aero S, one of the key sample dispersion systems for Malvern’s Mastersizer 3000 laser diffraction particle size analyzer. The Aero S dry powder disperser was launched alongside the Mastersizer 3000 in September 2011 and immediately delivered new capabilities to laser diffraction users, extending dry powder dispersion to even the most fragile materials...
The European commission has awarded a grant of 1.7 million Euros to fund the data centre industry's first major government-funded research and development program. The project will be led by the Data Centre Alliance (DCA) and the University of East London (UEL) supported by a European consortium of academics, regional governments and industry.
The program, called PEDCA, the Pan-European DCA project, came about as a result of industry body DCA identifying with its members that the data centre sector had never had the benefits enjoyed by most major industries of government funded research. Said DCA executive director Simon Campbell-Whyte, “It seems incredible that a sector as important to the European economy as data centres – which every other sector now relies upon for its operations – has never had any independent government funded research into best practice, sustainability, energy reduction or training needs...
Get 50% off BioStack™ when purchased with a Synergy™ Neo Multi-Mode Microplate Reader
Super-fast walkaway automation at a super-low price! Synergy Neo HTS Multi-Mode Microplate Reader is designed specifically for today’s screening and core laboratories. Synergy Neo has all the features you would expect from an HTS instrument, including multiple parallel detectors for ultra-fast measurements, laser-based excitation, super-fast plate stacker and high sensitivity on low volume assays. With a transfer time of about 6 seconds per plate, Synergy Neo’s BioStack plate stacker is the fastest on the market, allowing walk-away automation for short- or long-term assays...
Xylem’s YSI Integrated Systems and Services (ISS) has been awarded a contract for five marine monitoring buoys by The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC). The buoys will collect high-quality data for researchers studying climate change in the Caribbean Sea, including the waters of Barbados, Belize, Dominican Republic, St. Lucia, and Trinidad & Tobago.
“The Caribbean is a unique part of the world. Our waters are the ‘bread basket’ for the region, and we must be diligent in protecting and sustaining them,” says Dr. Kenrick Leslie, CCCCC executive director. “We are very excited to build our education and research infrastructure with the addition of this important technology project for addressing the impacts of climate change on the Caribbean ecosystem....
Anasys Instruments reports on the announcement from the University of Illinois which describes the effect of nanometer-scale heating on semiconductor plasmonic microparticles which reveal surface plasmon resonance. The work is described in a paper published in Applied Physics Letters.
Recent progress in the engineering of plasmonic structures has enabled new kinds of nanometer-scale optoelectronic devices as well as high-resolution optical sensing. But until now, there has been a lack of tools for measuring nanometer-scale behavior in plasmonic structures which are needed to understand device performance and to confirm theoretical models...
HORIBA UK Ltd, Medical Division, has announced that Doctors from the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, have successfully used its Plateletworks point-of-care (POC) platelet function test to rapidly characterise platelet function in a scientific study on antiplatelet therapy.
Results of the study were recently presented at the Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery (SCTS) Annual Meeting in a poster entitled: ‘Should post-operative antiplatelet therapy differ for on and off-pump surgery?’. Antiplatelet therapy reduces early vein graft occlusion post Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) and it is known that patients may vary in response to antiplatelet agents. The Middlesbrough researchers aimed to characterise platelet function post CABG with Aspirin therapy and determine whether a difference exists between on and off-pump surgery....
NanoSight reports on how Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis, NTA, is being used at the University of Wyoming in the characterization of the physical and interfacial properties of manufactured nano materials.
Dr Jonathan Brant is leader of the group, "Interfaces in the Environment: membranes, particles and nanotechnology" in the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Wyoming. The group focuses on problems associated with physicochemical processes in engineered and natural environmental systems. Understanding and ultimately controlling the many complex mechanisms that occur at environmental interfaces may resolve many of these problems...
Agar Scientific, a leading supplier of microscopy accessories and consumables, has launched a new web site. As well as providing the latest microscopy news about accessories and consumables, the site now offers customers full eCommerce capability – a site that delivers useful, current content digitally online.
Agar Scientific's new website presents visitors with comprehensive and current information on all products together with availability, delivery options and prices to enable straightforward online ordering of materials for their laboratory. Visitors can now request online quotations. This has been specifically tailored for education/research departments where detailed purchase requisitions are frequently required prior to ordering. As would be expected, the new site brings visitors the latest news about new products, special offers including end of line bargains. It also offers sign-up for Agar news and electronic newsletters, particularly for exclusive offers...
Oxford Gene Technology (OGT), provider of innovative genetics research and biomarker solutions to advance molecular medicine, has produced a new, free-to-download whitepaper titled ‘When to use targeted resequencing — Choosing the right NGS method.’ The paper aims to assist researchers when planning NGS strategies by providing a detailed review of the major resequencing methods. Comparing and contrasting method suitability, the paper also examines the significant impact of data analysis, as well as time and cost considerations...
Assessing the Antimicrobial Effectiveness Without the Flavour of Vinegar and Red Wine
Seward Ltd’sStomacher® laboratory paddle blender range has recently been used in a research project to investigate the effectiveness of fish and chip vinegar in preserving fresh catfish fillets using concentrations of vinegar that are effective, but do not over power the flavour1. Stomacher® is often used in preservative evaluations, as it is essential to use an effective benchmark blending process to detect the changes in microorganism recovery that indicate the efficacy of the preservative processes evaluated...
Under a new agreement, Victrix CMCC will use Cresset’s software for their computational chemistry consulting projects. Cresset’s Spark, Forge and Torch software will help Victrix clients to carry out structure based drug design projects and build predictive 3D SAR models for lead identification.
“Victrix is very pleased to be able to offer our clients access to Cresset's software,” says Dr Adam Kallel, CSO of Victrix. “Cresset’s field based software significantly expands our ability to help clients with programmes that have little or no structural information.” Dr Kallel adds, “I have been a believer in field based methodology since I began work in the pharmaceutical industry and I was an early adopter of the Cresset technology. I believe the XED force field that underlies Cresset’s software provides the ability to model molecules and their molecular fields in a way that is as close to high level quantum mechanics as possible, giving valuable insights into structure reactivity relationships...
The Benefits Of Analytical Ultracentrifugation In Nanoparticle Analysis
Join The Free Live Webinar. Join us for our latest webinar in our Education in Laboratory Technologies Series: “Analytical Ultracentrifugation in Nanoparticle Analysis.” Dr. Joshua Robinson will lead an overview of the theory and techniques involved in using Analytical Ultracentrifugation (AUC) in nanoparticle analysis, including: Ways AUC can uniquely identify how various components of a nanomaterial interact...
Engineers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have devised a method to convert a relatively inexpensive conventional microscope into a billion-pixel imaging system that significantly outperforms the best available standard microscope. Such a system could greatly improve the efficiency of digital pathology, in which specialists need to review large numbers of tissue samples. By making it possible to produce robust microscopes at low cost, the approach also has the potential to bring high-performance microscopy capabilities to medical clinics in developing countries....
SeraCare Life Sciences, a provider of high quality biological materials that help optimize diagnostic performance, reliability and repeatability across the IVD lifecycle, announced it has introduced a new AccuSet™ anti-Toxoplasma performance panel. This is the newest addition to the SeraCare line of performance panels designed to help IVD manufacturers effectively challenge new assays during development...
AIST-NT is a manufacturer of advanced SPM systems designed specifically for integration with optical spectroscopy, and has been a partner of HORIBA Scientific for AFM-Raman and Tip Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (TERS) system integration for several years. HORIBA Scientific is a leading spectroscopy equipment manufacturer, and is the leader in Raman microscopy. With the growing interest for nano-spectroscopy and TERS, HORIBA Scientific has collaborated with several SPM manufacturers to deliver a wide range of combined solutions...
His talk focused on the ‘open innovation’ pathway adopted by Malvern Instruments in collaboration with The University of Leeds in the UK to develop the Aero S, one of the key sample dispersion systems for Malvern’s Mastersizer 3000 laser diffraction particle size analyzer. The Aero S dry powder disperser was launched alongside the Mastersizer 3000 in September 2011 and immediately delivered new capabilities to laser diffraction users, extending dry powder dispersion to even the most fragile materials...
The program, called PEDCA, the Pan-European DCA project, came about as a result of industry body DCA identifying with its members that the data centre sector had never had the benefits enjoyed by most major industries of government funded research. Said DCA executive director Simon Campbell-Whyte, “It seems incredible that a sector as important to the European economy as data centres – which every other sector now relies upon for its operations – has never had any independent government funded research into best practice, sustainability, energy reduction or training needs...
Recent progress in the engineering of plasmonic structures has enabled new kinds of nanometer-scale optoelectronic devices as well as high-resolution optical sensing. But until now, there has been a lack of tools for measuring nanometer-scale behavior in plasmonic structures which are needed to understand device performance and to confirm theoretical models...
Results of the study were recently presented at the Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery (SCTS) Annual Meeting in a poster entitled: ‘Should post-operative antiplatelet therapy differ for on and off-pump surgery?’. Antiplatelet therapy reduces early vein graft occlusion post Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) and it is known that patients may vary in response to antiplatelet agents. The Middlesbrough researchers aimed to characterise platelet function post CABG with Aspirin therapy and determine whether a difference exists between on and off-pump surgery....
Dr Jonathan Brant is leader of the group, "Interfaces in the Environment: membranes, particles and nanotechnology" in the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Wyoming. The group focuses on problems associated with physicochemical processes in engineered and natural environmental systems. Understanding and ultimately controlling the many complex mechanisms that occur at environmental interfaces may resolve many of these problems...
