Search for: "molecular testing" - 250 articles found

News • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

One step closer to COPD population screening

A multicenter study involving leading hospitals across Spain, has confirmed that people with COPD show altered levels of specific metabolites in their blood.

News • Respiratory viruses wake up cells in the lungs

How Covid-19 and flu infections revive dormant breast cancer

Common respiratory infections such as influenza and Covid-19 can awaken dormant breast cancer cells that have spread to the lungs, setting the stage for new metastatic tumors, new research finds.

News • Weakened defenses

Antibiotics are not the only meds disrupting the gut microbiome

Antibiotics are known for disrupting the microbiome in the gut and thus paving the way for diseases. However, many common non-antibiotics also have this effect, a new study shows.

News • Proteomic-based score

AI measures tumor ‘stemness’ to predict cancer aggressiveness

A new AI-based tool measures cancer aggressiveness by analyzing the ‘stemness’ of tumors – their similarity to pluripotent stem cells. This could pave the way for new therapies.

Article • Medical Taiwan 2025: Company and product showcase

Transformative health solutions on display in Taipei

At Medical Taiwan 2025, manufacturers attracted attendees with a wide range of innovations. We took a closer look at some of the most exciting companies and their products on display at the medical, health and care expo.

News • Potential diagnostic medium

Saliva analysis could reveal risk of cancer, heart disease or Parkinson’s

Molecular markers in saliva could reveal the risk of a person developing major diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases, new research finds.

News • Mycobacteroides abscessus

New PET technique detects hard-to-diagnose lung infections

A new PET imaging technique can accurately detect and monitor Mycobacteroides abscessus lung infections—one of the most difficult-to-diagnose conditions in patients with lung diseases.

News • Precision medicine

Melanoma: with 43,000 data points to tailored treatments

Using nine different molecular biological technologies, researchers were able to precisely measure the properties of a melanoma tumor in four weeks and enable a precise treatment decision.

News • Machine learning analysis

Cancer genomics: new ML tool weeds out false positives

A major challenge in cancer genomics is separating meaningful mutations from false positives. A new tool uses machine learning to significantly reduce these errors.

News • Promising protein analysis tool

New blood test to enable rapid diagnosis of rare genetic diseases

An Australian research team has developed a blood-based method of analysing thousands of proteins in a single, untargeted test. This potentially enables rapid diagnosis of many rare genetic diseases.

News • Exploring the role of colibactin

Research links bacterial toxin to colorectal cancer

The incidence of colorectal cancer in young adults has doubled over the last 20 years, with no known reason. Now, a new study links this mysterious trend to childhood exposure to a bacterial toxin.

News • Post-transplant care

Improving heart transplant monitoring with molecular tests

Molecular testing provides a more convenient, personalized way of monitoring of heart transplant recipients, according to insights shared at the Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions of the ISHLT.

Article • Insights and perspectives presented at ECR 2025

Nuclear medicine: Innovations, challenges, and new horizons

Nuclear medicine (NM), one of the more mature technologies of diagnostic imaging, has been experiencing a rebirth in innovation and interest. The increasing prevalence of cancer,, an aging global population, and greater longevity, has created a robust demand for nuclear medicine. At ECR in Vienna, presenters explored market perspectives, but also safety and sustainability challenges.

News • Sputum-free, rapid alternative for TB detection

POCT AI-guided lung ultrasound boosts tuberculosis diagnosis

Despite previous global declines, pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is on the rise again. A new AI-powered lung ultrasound shows promise in improving diagnostic performance of TB.

News • Pulsed infrared light to enhance diagnostics

Finding the ‘fingerprints’ of cancer

New research reveals a method that uses pulsed infrared light to identify molecular profiles in blood plasma that could indicate the presence of certain common cancers.

Article • Digital pathology discussion panel

The AI tools pathologists want and need

The evolving role of AI tools in digital pathology was explored at an open discussion during the annual Digital Pathology and AI Congress in London with a high-level panel of practitioners looking at current and future technology options. The panel of pathologists, scientists and academics from Europe and the USA assessed the tools they currently use and are available to them, and those they…

News • LDCT rule-out

AI shows potential for workload reduction in lung cancer screening

A new study reveals that AI can accurately rule out negative low-dose CT (LDCT) scans, potentially reducing the workload of radiologists in lung cancer screening by up to 79%.

Article • Detection of neurodegenerative condition

Developing blood biomarkers to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease

There is no known cure for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), although prescription drug-based treatments that can slow AD progression in some patients are starting to enter clinical use. Biomarkers, quantifiable characteristics of biological processes or pathological conditions of the body, are making it possible to help identify and measure the presence and extent of AD and its degenerative…

Article • Promising, but in need of further validation

Implementation challenges of blood biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease

Blood-based biomarker (BBB) tests may represent the best weapon to combat the soaring rates of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) throughout the world. Existing clinically validated tests are currently deployed to facilitate diagnosis, to monitor disease and effectiveness of treatments, to quantify progression, and to determine if a patient is appropriate for treatment or participation in a clinical…

News • Variations in patient access

Biliary tract cancer: inequalities across Europe

Research on biliary tract cancer is advancing rapidly, ranging from targeted treatments to new drugs. However, the delivery of these advances to patients is lagging behind, new European studies find.

News • Alternative to diagnostic brain imaging

Exploring the potential of blood tests for dementia diagnosis

Molecular changes associated with brain inflammation and dementia can be detected in the blood. Researchers want to use this to establish blood tests as an alternative to more costly brain scans.

News • A closer look at the GI microbiome

“Gut-on-a-chip” predicts immunotherapy efficacy against melanoma

The gastrointestinal microbiome holds valuable information that can help predict whether immunotherapy will be successful against melanoma. A new “gut-on-a-chip” is designed to do exactly that.

News • Research on RAD51 biomarker

Next-generation sequencing for personalizing prostate cancer treatment

Certain gene alterations can serve as a prognostic and predictive biomarker for prostate cancer. Now, researchers confirm the feasibility of using NGS on this marker for precise patient stratification and treatment selection.

News • Promising imaging agents

Alzheimer's disease: New radiotracers for better detection

Two new radiotracers outperform the current FDA-approved tracer for detecting Alzheimer's disease, showing higher binding to affected tissue and greater selectivity for identifying tau tangles.

News • Paediatric research

Molecular ‘fingerprint’ of long Covid in children's blood discovered

A new study has shown that the molecular signature of long Covid can be found in blood samples of children. Using an AI tool, the researchers were capable of diagnosing the condition with 93% accuracy.

News • Research on MRD in tongue cancer

Understanding chemotherapy resistance in oral cancers using organoids

Tongue cancer cells can become resistant to chemotherapy under certain circumstances. Investigating these mechanisms, researchers shed light on promising avenues toward new treatments for this cancer.

Article • Keynote on integrated diagnostics

Predicting – and shaping – the future of modern pathology

Complex diseases could require complex biomarkers for accurate diagnosis in the years ahead, according to a leading pathologist. In a keynote address to the 36th European Congress of Pathology in Florence, Italy, Professor Manuel Salto-Tellez highlighted this as one of the major future challenges for the discipline. However, he also believes pathologists will sit at the core of modern medicine.

News • Tackling bacterial infections

Personalised phage therapy as alternative to antibiotics

The current rise in antibiotic resistance is once again sparking interest in phage therapy. Now, scientists developed a new tool that recommends the best possible phage cocktail for a given patient.

Article • Between good practice and financial pitfalls

Delivering molecular pathology at lower costs

Molecular pathology should become centralised in fewer labs to improve efficiencies and affordability, according to leading European experts.

Article • Molecular meets digital

Single-cell multiplex imaging: a powerful tool for digital pathology

Multiplex imaging can play a critical role in unravelling the tumour microenvironment. The potential and benefits of the emerging approach – a way to extract information from human tissue samples by visualising many more biomarkers than traditional microscopy – was highlighted in presentations during the 36th European Congress of Pathology in Florence, Italy. Speakers also discussed novel…

Article • Transformative technology

Debating the case for AI in pathology

Artificial Intelligence (AI) remains a divisive topic within the discipline of pathology with a range of opinions over its current value and applicability in clinical settings. While most experts agree that the technology will not replace pathologists, it might still spell bad news for those who do not embrace AI in their daily practice. On the other hand, reservations persist about whether…

News • Cancer treatment advances

USC study findings: early blood test forecasts survival rates in patients with metastatic prostate cancer

A new study found that measuring circulating tumor cells (CTCs), rare cancer cells shed from tumors into the blood, is a reliable way to predict later treatment response and survival prospects with metastatic prostate cancer.

News • DNA damage response

New insights into the DNA damage response

The study findings of a team from Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) in Bavaria, Germany help to broaden the conceptual view on the DNA damage response and to link it more closely with RNA metabolism.

Article • Oxford debate at senology congress

DCIS: pros and cons of radiotherapy

Radiologists and gynaecologists entered a veritable bout during the Oxford debate at the 43rd annual congress of the German Senologic Society in Dresden. Controversy was sparked by the question of whether all patients with a ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) should undergo radiotherapy.

News • High-resolution cell scans

AI spots cancer and viral infections at nanoscale precision

Researchers have developed an artificial intelligence which can differentiate cancer cells from normal cells, as well as detect the very early stages of viral infection inside cells.

News • Macrocyclic hybrid probe

New dual PET/MRI contrast agent to enhance kidney diagnostics

A new type of contrast agent for use in both MRI and PET imaging has the potential to significantly enhance diagnosis and subsequent treatment, particularly for kidney diseases and tumors.

News • Bioactive polymer scaffold

New biomaterial regrows damaged cartilage in joints

A crucial component in joints, cartilage is notoriously difficult to repair. Now, US researchers have developed a promising bioactive material to regenerate cartilage in knee joints.

News • Promising study results

Cancer of Unknown Primary: on the way to targeted therapies

Metastases, but no sign of the original tumor: A large international study shows how this phantom cancer can nevertheless be treated.

News • Sticky, yet promising research

3D printing lung tissue from mucus-based bioink

Researchers have created a mucus-based bioink which can be used for 3D printing lung tissue. This advance could one day help study and treat chronic lung conditions.

News • Synthetic nanofibers

Repairing cartilage damage with ‘dancing’ molecules

US researchers applied an injectable new therapy, which harnesses fast-moving “dancing molecules,” to repair damaged human cartilage cells within just 4 hours.

News • Damage in vascular organoids

Lab-grown diabetic vessels give new insights

Using vascular organoids derived from stem cells, researchers gain new insights into how diabetes damages blood vessels. This could lead to to the development of new treatments.

News • Hydrogel solution

Breakthrough in fridge-free storage of medicines

Many medicines require cold storage, which is a challenge for infrastructure and sustainability. Now, researchers designed a hydrogel protecting therapeutics at temperatures as high as 50°C.

News • Research on physical conditions

Exploring the link between obesity and cancer risk

Why does obesity increase the risk of cancer and possibly metastasis? Researchers in Spain are currently investigating this very question.

News • 3D printed device

Finding paraplegia treatments with spinal cord organoids

A new research project focuses on creating a 3D printed device to grow a human spinal cord organoid for the study of spinal cord injury and subsequent drug testing.

Article • Challenges and opportunities

Molecular pathology in Europe: in search of standardization

Tackling standardization of molecular pathology at a European level remains a major challenge, according to speakers at the 35th European Congress of Pathology in Dublin. One leading expert warned it would be ‘very difficult’ to achieve, though the session also heard about potential solutions such as educational steps to consistently train future pathologists at a high and consistent level.

News • Reducing common post-surgical complications

Electrospinning and 3D printing stent grafts to improve CVD surgery outcomes

A new 3D graft printing technique offers a potential solution to reduce thrombosis and restrain aneurysmal dilatation post-surgery, with potential for improving cardiovascular disease treatments.

News • Infectious disease diagnostics

POCT for remote areas: Portable pathology passes the test

When point-of-care testing (POCT) models for diagnosing infectious disease are effective, the quality of pathology results can be equivalent to laboratory tests, new research shows.

Article • Pros and cons of diagnostic techniques

Liquid biopsy vs. tissue biopsy: Getting the best of both worlds

Tissue biopsy and liquid biopsy can increasingly be used as complementary or alternative approaches, with advantages and limitations to each. While speakers at the recent 35th European Congress of Pathology in Dublin were quick to highlight that liquid biopsy was not about to replace tissue biopsy, the focus looked at the benefits and challenges of each through the lens of four expert speakers.

Article • E-skin patches

How “intelligent” skin could highlight cardiac conditions

Two companies are combining their unique expertise to develop intelligent e-skin patches to “self-sense” cardiac events in patients. The flexible patch platform will deliver a comprehensive understanding of both electrical and mechanical heart activities and has the potential to enable cardiologists to better monitor their patients.

News • Clear cell renal cell cancer

Same-day imaging for ccRCC kidney cancer with new PET agent

A new study suggests superiority of the novel investigational PET imaging agent ⁶⁸Ga-DPI-4452 (Debio 0328) to standard CT imaging in the context of clear cell renal cell cancer (ccRCC).

News • MRSA and other infections

Researchers develop vaccine to fight antibiotic resistance

Antimicrobial-resistant infections have become a global threat, with an annual death toll of over 1 million. Now, reseachers created a promising vaccine candidate for antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

News • Proof of Concept funding

New research to starve resistant bacteria

Researchers are developing novel active substances designed to cut off the nutrient supply of resistant bacteria, effectively starving them to death.

News • Tissue analysis tool

'Smart scalpel' to help remove brain tumours

Researchers have developed the 'iKnife', a smart scalpel that is able to recognise healthy tissue from brain tumour in seconds as it cuts, with more than 98% accuracy.

Article • Proof-of-concept study

First test for the early detection of head and neck cancer being developed

Most head and neck tumours are discovered in late due in part to the fact that there is no established method for early detection. To close this gap, a team at oncgnostics, a biotechnology company based in Jena, Germany, is participating in a study which aims to develop an early detection test.

News • Research on Sars-CoV-2 antibody response

Study: Coronavirus infections last a long time (but so does vaccine protection)

New study results explore the long-term effects of infection with Sars-CoV-2, and challenge the idea that vaccine immunity fades quickly.

Interview • Interview with ESR President Carlo Catalano

ECR 2024: Focus on technologies and research – surprises guaranteed

‘Next Generation Radiology: Embracing the future and redefining the field of radiology’: In the run-up to the European Congress of Radiology 2024, we spoke with ESR President Professor Carlo Catalano from Rome, Italy, about the meeting’s content and its intriguing theme.

News • Explanation for neurological symptoms

Coronavirus does not infect the brain, but...

How does a coronavirus infection cause neurological symptoms such as headaches, memory problems, and fatigue? A new study points to a different reason than previously assumed.

News • Appeal for better approval conditions

AI in personalised cancer medicine: “A fundamental change is needed”

AI technology holds promise for personalised cancer therapies. However, rigid and slow approval requirements impede its introduction, say experts – and point out how this might be changed.

News • Increasing cell visibility

Making cancer easier to find and destroy for the immune system

Researchers in Japan and the US have developed technology to robustly augment the amount of MHC class I molecules in cancer cells. This makes them easier to find and destroy for the immune system.

News • Molecular machines

Killing cancer cells: the 'jackhammer' approach

Using a unique new technique, US researchers hope to offer a safer and more effective alternative to current cancer treatments, reporting promising first results in mice.

News • Rapid, non-invasive test

Detecting chronic liver disease with targeted MRI

A research team has developed a nanoparticle-based contrast agent with the properties necessary to successfully use MRI for targeted diagnosis of liver fibrosis.

Reagents

PurePrep TL+

Highlights:Offering the combination of the safe transfer of viruses and lysis in one tube, the PurePrep TL+ buffer optimizes research.Compatible with most liquid handling systemsDecreases prep timeImproves workflows as it breaks down viscous samples within the tubeThe PurePrep TL+ buffer is suitable for diagnostic tests and molecular biology techniques, facilitating processes like nucleic acid…

Clinical Chemistry

Acusera Quality Control

Highlights:Randox specialises in Quality Control, crafting high-quality materials that streamline procedures and save labs time and resources, no matter their size or budget. Our diverse products include third-party quality controls & calibrators, interlaboratory data management, external quality assessment, calibration verifi cation, and molecular IQC/EQA for infectious disease testing.…

Saliva Collection

COVID-19 virus diagnostics products

Highlights:Validated containers for saliva collection for virus diagnostics: Monovette® VD, V-Monovette® VD and Salivette® VD.Saliva testing has become particularly important and is ideal for screening for SARS-CoV-2. Saliva collection using gargling and/or the Salivette® offers the key advantage that the user can collect the saliva themselves under supervision.Both the gargling…

News • Point-of-care neurodiagnosis

Eye-safe laser technology to diagnose traumatic brain injury

Researchers from the University of Birmingham have designed and developed a novel diagnostic device to detect traumatic brain injury (TBI) by shining a safe laser into the eye.

News • WSI-based analysis

AI-driven classification of diffuse gliomas skips molecular testing

Research from Shenzhen proposes an integrated diagnosis model for automatic classification of adult-type diffuse gliomas directly from annotation-free standard whole-slide pathological images.

Article • Infection control

The strain typing technologies of tomorrow

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, a non-profit hospital and medical research institution in Los Angeles, is setting new standards for quality and innovation in patient care by successfully introducing typing of Candida auris species – a procedure that could prove crucial in protecting patients from infection outbreaks caused by these microbes in healthcare settings.

News • Nuclear medicine

Prostate cancer: staging issues in bone scans compared with PSMA PET

Bone scans have been found to overstage prostate cancer at initial staging compared to prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET, according to new research.

Article • Latest advances

Lab-on-a-chip systems in 2023: The micro-lab revolution

Faster, more accurate and cost-effective testing: Experts outline the beginnings and evolution of “lab-on-a-chip” technology, and its benefits for advanced and next-gen operational platforms.

News • Researchers look into mammoplasty aftereffects

Immune system disorders after silicone breast implant surgery

Russian scientists have conducted a comprehensive examination of why some women present with autoimmune conditions after silicone augmentation mammoplasty.

News • Preparing for the next pandemic

New rapid electronic diagnostic test for infectious diseases

A new molecular test for bacteria and viruses, including Sars-CoV-2, has been developed at the University of Surrey, as they warn that the world needs to be prepared for the next pandemic.

News • MEDICA Labmed Forum

Hot issues, current trends and innovations in lab medicine

From cancer to AI, from management to new medication: this year's Labmed Forum at MEDICA 2023 in Düsseldorf (November 13-16) once again features an exciting scientific programme.

News • Intratumoral approach for hard-to-treat glioma

Microdevices implanted into tumor to help treat brain cancer

A new type of microdevice could offer new ways to treat brain cancer. The shape and size of a grain of rice, it is implanted into a tumor to study the effects of ongoing therapies.

News • Biomarker-based predictions

AI drives precision oncology for colorectal cancer

For the first time, researchers show that AI-based predictions can deliver comparable results to clinical tests on biopsies of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC).

News • Tissue identification

Mass spectrometry pen put to good use in thyroid surgery

In thyroid removal surgery, reliable discrimination between different tissues is crucial. US surgeons have evaluated how a new handheld device using mass spectrometry can assist them.

News • Biopharmaceutical business

Precision approach to significantly reduce R&D costs for cancer drugs

A new analysis exploring the finances of bringing new cancer drugs to market has found that precision oncology drugs could be $1 billion cheaper to develop than non-precision drugs.

News • Advanced biosensor

Researchers engineer tumor-detecting bacteria

Scientists from the University of California San Diego and their colleagues in Australia have engineered bacteria that can detect the presence of tumor DNA in a live organism.

News • Promising application of "gene scissors"

Using CRISPR-Cas9 to treat anaemia

ETH Zurich molecular biologist Mandy Boontanrart is researching gene therapies that could be used to cure two of the most common types of inherited anaemia: beta thalassaemia and sickle cell anaemia.

News • Dermatology prototype

3D skin bioprinting shows potential for eczema treatment

Researchers at Mayo Clinic have developed a 3D prototype of human skin bioprinted to model inflammatory skin disease such as atopic dermatitis — more commonly known as eczema.

News • Real-time tumor profiling

AI tool decodes brain cancer’s genome during surgery

Scientists have designed an AI tool that can rapidly decode a brain tumor’s DNA to determine its molecular identity during surgery — critical information that can guide treatment decisions.

Taiwan goes “beyond healthcare”

Post-pandemic problems, ageing societies, the impact of climate change on human health: To find solutions for new and ongoing healthcare challenges, thinking outside the box is crucial. This year’s Medical Taiwan Health & Care Expo took this approach to heart: True to its motto “beyond healthcare”, the event showcased a wide range of innovative products, promising start-up presentations…

News • Molecular and immunofluorescence imaging

Orion: A new tool for diagnosing cancer

Researchers at Harvard Medical School developed a new tool that promises to improve the way pathologists see and evaluate a tumor by providing detailed clues about the cancer.

News • Precision oncology

Genomic sequencing benefits only 5% of cancer patients

Genomic sequencing panels as part of personalised cancer treatment have been found to only benefit one in 20 patients they are currently used for, according to a study by CNIO.

Innovative solutions for constantly changing laboratory requirements

Today, a large part of all further medical treatments is based on the results of laboratory analyses. The demand for complex test procedures remains high and the challenges for laboratories are growing.

Article • Progress, limitations, and opportunities

Precision oncology: incredible potential, but not a miracle cure

Unanswered questions are hampering clinicians in their efforts to get the best out of a precision medicine approach for their patients. Speaking at the Genomics and Precision Medicine Expo in London at the end of May, cancer educator Dr Elaine Vickers said the benefits of being matched to an investigational drug remain questionable for most people with advanced cancer.

News • Chronic myeloid leukaemia

CML therapy response predicted by AI "crystal ball"

AI could find critical biomarkers that predict non-response to conventional treatment in patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) more quickly, researchers in Singapore find.

News • Molecular test for bacteria response

New method rapidly reveals antibiotic resistance

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a molecular method able to detect whether or not bacteria respond to antibiotics within minutes.

News • Bias in datasets

Diversity is a challenge for rare disease-detecting AI, study finds

Most AI techniques for rare disease diagnosis use anthropometric measurements of European origins, ignoring the genetic and morphological diversity of humans, a new study finds.

News • Reducing the carbon footprint

How to achieve 'greener' heart healthcare

A new review has shown how medical professionals in cardiology can help reduce healthcare's carbon footprint, by making small, low-cost changes in how they work.

News • Oncology & Immunology

Study shows mechanism of PTEN-deficient breast cancer

A group of researchers has illustrated the mechanistic pathway for PTEN-deficient breast cancer and successfully tested a method of countering the downstream effects of immune system evasion by tumors.

News • Genetics & Neuroscience

Improvement of stroke diagnosis and treatment through specific genes

Genes are full of clues about a person's health and might also show the way for stroke recovery.

News • Promising biomarker found

Who will develop long Covid? It's in the blood

New research has found molecular signature differences in the blood of patients who fully recover from Covid-19 and those who develop long Covid.

News • Visualization of radiopharmaceutical distribution

A low-cost lensless radiomicroscope for nuclear medicine imaging

A novel imaging modality that can visualize the distribution of medical radiopharmaceuticals with very fine resolution has been developed and successfully tested.

News • Fluorescence-guided surgery

"Lighting up" brain tumours for better surgical removal

A new real-time imaging technique that uses a type of infrared light has, for the first time, been used during surgery to differentiate between cancerous tumours and healthy tissue.

News • Up to 12 year in advance

Urine gene test can predict bladder cancer years before diagnosis

Testing for genetic mutations in urine can detect bladder cancer years before the disease shows clinical symptoms, new research has shown - reaching more than a decade for the most common cancer type.

News • A chatbot to replace GPs?

ChatGPT does a surprisingly solid job at prescribing the right meds, but...

Researchers from the University of Liverpool have tested whether the AI-powered chatbot ChatGPT could be used to make decisions about prescribing patients with antibiotics.

News • High-throughput chemical imaging

Acceleration brings Raman spectroscopy within reach of clinical application

Researchers have developed a Raman microscope that can acquire information hundreds of times faster than the conventional method. This could help expand its usefulness in biomedical applications.

News • Strand-seq

AI analysis of cancer mutations: a promising step towards new therapies

Combining single-cell data with a self-learning algorithm reveals how structural changes in chromosomes can trigger cancer. This could pave the way for personalized cancer treatments.

Video • Mini-bones from the lab

Toward a personalized approach of bone cancer research and therapy

Researchers generated human mini bones in the lab which mirror the composition and function of human bone - a step toward the development of future patient-tailored models of bone cancers and tumors.

News • Regenerative medicine

Tapping into a tumor's power to heal non-healing wounds

Scientists have discovered a way to train healthy immune cells to acquire the skills of some tumor cells for a good purpose: to accelerate diabetic wound healing.

News • Patient-derived whole-tumor cell culture model

Breast cancer: New method finds the right therapy

Swedish researchers have developed a method that should be able to predict whether a patient with breast cancer will benefit from a particular treatment or not.

News • Pacemaker cells in glioblastoma

How brain tumours keep the beat

Glioblastomas march to the beat of a different drum: researchers discovered a type of cells that act as pacemakers, driving the growth of the brain tumour and increasing its resistance.

News • Machine learning approach for screening

AI model predicts results of Covid-19 tests

A new study demonstrates that AI models, using symptom and demographic features, can help predict Covid-19 infections, providing a way for rapid screening and cost-effective infection detection.

Multiplex Testing: A Solution to Manage Surge in Respiratory Illnesses as Concerns over “Multi-demic” Rise

Eunsin Bae, M.D. specializes in laboratory medicine and leads the Institute of Clinical Research at Seegene Inc. Her research focuses on microbiology, molecular biology, and hematology. Dr. Bae is currently working toward implementing a global clinical study and establishing an international network of clinical investigations.

News • Deadly heart inflammation

Hope for first blood test to detect myocarditis

The first blood test to diagnose inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis) could be in use in as little as a year, following the discovery of a molecular signal in the blood.

Article • Regulatory challenges for AI-based diagnostics

Further IVDR changes: a step in the right direction, but…

New changes made to the timetable for the In vitro Diagnostic Medical Device Regulation (IVDR) across Europe could have a significant impact on manufacturers and users, an expert points out. While the extension of the transition period was a welcome step, other changes which were hoped for remain painfully absent.

Article • Don't miss:

Talks and panel discussion at the Labmed forum

At this year's Medica tradefair, laboratory medicine, medical technology and life sciences give new impulses to the entire healthcare market - especially in times of the corona pandemic. An overview.

News • Tumor location as important growth factor

New molecular microscopy uncovers breast cancer spread

Researchers have created a tool that maps how breast cancer grows in previously unseen detail, and highlights how the cells around the tumour may be the key to controlling the spread of disease.

News • Immune systems timulation

Using senescent cells as anti-cancer vaccines

Researchers from Barcelona report that vaccination with senescent cells shows promise in experimental models of melanoma and pancreatic cancer.

Pluslife Biotech – Mini Dock POC Molecular System

The Pluslife Mini Dock System is a Next-Generation POC molecular diagnostic tool that can be used in different application scenarios, which aims to help the decentralization of MDx in diagnosing facilities.

Article • Renal carcinoma differentiation

SPECT/CT improves diagnosis of indeterminate kidney tumours

99mTc-Sestamibi SPECT/CT can aid in the diagnosis of solid renal lesions, especially in cases where contrast enhanced CT findings are inconclusive, according to researchers from the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri.

Article • Detecting several different diseases

Multiplex diagnostics: next-generation techniques for new challenges

With the rise of syndrome-style infections, co-infections and the current antimicrobial resistance challenges, the need for multiplexed diagnostics is now more important than ever.

The Global Alliance for Diagnostics Sets Next-Generation POC Molecular Testing Collaboration

The coronavirus pandemic is a huge challenge for global public health and welfare. Decentralized, affordable POC MDx platforms would allow more effective control of SARS-CoV-2 and other infections.

News • CSCC study finds distinct subgroups

Cervical cancer: major new clue to understanding aggressiveness

Scientists have discovered that cervical cancer can be divided into 2 distinct molecular subgroups – one far more aggressive than the other – as part of the largest ‘omics’ study of its kind.

News • Children’s cancer

Rhabdomyosarcoma: Blood tests could offer smarter treatment

A simple 'liquid biopsy' blood test could help guide the treatment of children with the cancer rhabdomyosarcoma, a new study reports.

Supervised learning approach

A new deep learning-based algorithm to predict relapse-free survival in papillary thyroid carcinoma

The tall cell variant (TCV) is an aggressive subtype of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Sebastian Stenman, researcher from the Institute for Molecular Medicine, and the Department of Pathology at the University of Helsinki, Finland, is developing and training a deep learning algorithm using supervised learning to detect and quantify the proportion of tall cells in PTC.

Article • Patient care

Molecular Tumour Board for better decision-making

As more genomic alterations become targets for therapy, health institutions and hospitals are creating specialist Molecular Tumour Boards to support better decision-making for patient care. This evolving team, and its role, was highlighted in a presentation at the 34th European Congress of Pathology in Basel, Switzerland.

News • Model system shows tumor grwoth

Novel organoid model for pancreatic cancer

Researchers in Munich have developed a novel model system that can be used to precisely track the growth steps and three-dimensional arrangement of pancreatic cancer cells.

News • Disrupted neurogenesis

Covid-19 delirium: new study reveals possible brain mechanisms

Researchers have shown that when brain cells are directly exposed to blood taken from Covid-19 patients with delirium, there is an increase in cell death and a decrease in the generation of new brain cells.

News • Neurological disease marker

Promising new radiotracer for demyelination

US researchers have developed a test to detect loss of myelin - a key contributor to many neurological diseases including multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, stroke, and dementia.

News • Precision oncology

What's new in cancer therapy?

Researchers from the University of Bern and Inselspital provide an overview of the latest technologies in precision oncology. Translating these into clinical application is still a major challenge.

News • Blood-brain barrier simulation

Artificial brain vessels advance drug testing

German researchers present a novel method for testing chemical agents that could help in the development of drugs against neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's.

News • Desperate cancer cells

How tumors mutate their way out of a crisis (and become drug-resistant)

Researchers discovered that cancer cells mobilize a SOS response when they are desperate to resist anticancer drugs. The team also came up with an anti-SOS approach that blocked the mechanism in mice.

Article • Modelling systems for human biology

Organoid technology: new opportunities for drug discovery

Two-dimensional (2D) cultured cell lines and animal models have been the principal research tools for the past decade, but have several shortcomings. Three-dimensional cell cultures, or organoids, show great promise here.

Article • Preventing clinical errors

Supporting transgender health in the clinical laboratory

Clinical laboratories need to be proactive to attract transgender patients for testing and to ensure that they are comfortable with the services provided. This issue is of great importance to the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC), which conducted a scientific session on transgender health at its recent annual meeting in Chicago.

News • Early clues in the panceas

Detecting diabetes before first symptoms appear

A team from Geneva has discovered a molecule that can identify the development of diabetes before the first symptoms appear.

News • Spit take

Portable diagnostic detects SARS-CoV-2 RNA and antibodies

The prototype device combines eRapid and SHERLOCK technologies into a single, postcard-sized system that can simultaneously detect the presence of both SARS-CoV-2 RNA and antibodies in a patient’s saliva.

News • Gene therapy in the heart muscle

Targeting heart disease with viral vectors

Researchers have developed adeno-associated virus variants that target heart muscle cells and can thus be used for the precise treatment of heart diseases.

News • Determining aggressiveness

New discovery improves prostate cancer prognosis

Researchers in Sweden have now discovered a faster and easier way to determine who has an aggressive form of prostate cancer, and who has not.

Rapid and robust PCR testing for infectious diseases at Innklinikum Altötting and Mühldorf

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of the fast and accurate diagnosis of infectious diseases in clinical settings. Harald Maier discusses the implementation of rapid molecular diagnostics in the central clinical diagnostics laboratory at Innklinikum Altötting and Mühldorf, highlighting how the use of PCR testing has benefitted the hospital during the Covid-19 pandemic.

News • Protein aggregation

Parkinson's: Why copper could make it worse

Copper exposure in the environment and the protein alpha-synuclein in the human brain could play an important role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease, researchers found.

News • Coronavirus research

How the Omicron variant dodges the immune system

By comparing the neutralisation capacity induced by the different variants of SARS-CoV-2, a team from Geneva reveals the exceptional capacity of Omicron to evade our immunity.

News • AI approach to colorectal tumors

Deep learning identifies molecular patterns of cancer

A new AI platform can analyze genomic data extremely quickly, picking out key patterns to classify different types of colorectal tumors and improve the drug discovery process.

Veros™ COVID-19 test now available in Europe

Handheld, instrument-free test delivers lab-quality molecular results – 97.9% accuracy – in about 15 minutes, right at the point of care.

News • New treatment approach

'Self-destructing' parasite: The solution for drug-resistant malaria?

Over the last 50 years, malaria parasites have developed resistance to seven drugs, but a new way to identify future antimalarials holds promise.

News • MetaboliQs

Hyperpolarized nuclear MR: more precise diagnoses

Hyperpolarized nuclear magnetic resonance enables major medical advances in molecular diagnostics, for example for cardiovascular diseases or cancer therapy.

News • Viral gateway found

3D analysis gives insights into how Hepatitis enters the liver

Scientists from France and Belgium gained insights into the structure and function of a central liver protein: NTCP, a cellular-entry pathway for bile salts – but also for certain hepatitis viruses.

Article • Detection and diagnosis of cancer

The ‘smart’ future of cytology

A combination of digital pathology and quantitative biomarker analysis in the emerging concept of ‘smart’ cytology has a potential role in the detection and diagnosis of cancer.

New test with simplified preanalytics for simultaneous detection of GDH and toxins of Clostridioides difficile in compliance with recommendations

Sofia 2 C. difficile FIA is a new solution to provide reliable and rapid test results with high clinical relevance before empiric therapy decisions are implemented.

News • mhealth

Smartphone-powered microchip for at-home diagnostic testing

Researchers developed a new microfluidic chip with broad applications for detecting viruses, pathogens, bacteria and other biomarkers in liquid samples.

News • Elusive variants

Rare genetic markers of drug-resistant tuberculosis identified

The search for rare mutations in bacterial genome could lead to better diagnostics and treatments – reducing morbidity caused by the deadly disease.

News • Customized to the patient

Organ-on-a-chip systems go 'plug and play'

A major advance demonstrates first multi-organ chip made of engineered human tissues linked by vascular flow for improved modeling of systemic diseases like cancer.

Article • Antimicrobial resistance development

AMR and climate change: a worrying dual threat to global health

Climate change and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are forming an alarming alliance: Global warming creates new breeding grounds for resistant bacteria. A serious and very real threat to public health – but not quite the doomsday scenario some might make it out to be, says Prof Sabiha Essack from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa.

News • Tumour plasticity

Why breast cancer metastases spread to the bone

A protein vital in determining the organs affected by metastasis has been identified by Swiss researchers. This could lead to the development of therapeutic approaches to suppress metastasis.

Article • UHPLC-MS/MS analysis

Predicting Covid-19 infection severity with mass spec

Using mass spectrometry and chromatography techniques, UK researchers have developed an approach to predict infection severity among Covid-19 patients, as well as potential outcomes.

News • Identifying antimicrobials

Automated CAST-R system helps to fight blood infections

When treating acute infections, health care providers must quickly identify the best antibiotics for fighting the infection. An automated system provides swift, accurate results for determining the best antibiotics at the right dose.

News • Aspergillosis monitoring

Chip-based model to observe fungal spread in the lung

A chip-based infection model developed by Jena researchers enables live microscopic observation of damage to lung tissue caused by the invasive fungal infection aspergillosis.

Article • Standardisation in drug monitoring

How traceability eliminates lab-to-lab variability

The advantages and limitations of the value of traceability chains in therapeutic drug monitoring will be explored during a key session at the EuroMedLab event.

MolGen introduces high quality DNA/RNA extraction kits for efficient high throughput testing

SARS-CoV-2 has heavily impacted global society with high pressure on public health and economics. MolGen is proud to assist in relieving some of the pressure and support the testing framework.

News • miR-634 vs. OSCC

Anti-cancer "dream cream" to shrink oral tumors

Modern medicine offers “peel and stick” solutions like nicotine or contraceptive patches to put right on the skin without needing to visit a doctor for an injection or procedure. Now, researchers have found that applying a topical ointment containing anti-tumor factor can increase the effectiveness of cancer treatment.

News • ATLL therapy approach

New gene targets for treating adult blood cancer

Scientists from Hokkaido University have identified new targets for treating Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL), an aggressive form of blood cancer with existing drugs.

Article • Cancer diagnostics

Bringing liquid profiling to the clinic

Liquid profiling is offering clear benefits in terms of cancer diagnostics and targeted therapy, but challenges remain in bringing it into the clinic.

MD-Bio BCC19 - Your alternative or addition to conventional RT-PCR Covid-19 testing

The MD-Bio BCC19 Coronavirus test utilizes RT-LAMP technology to provide accurate results in just 30 minutes.

News • Genetic dystrophy repair

Using mRNA to improve muscle strength

An ECRC research team has introduced CRISPR-Cas9 into human muscle stem cells for the first time using mRNA, thus discovering a method suitable for therapeutic applications.

Article • AI introduction into clinical workflows

The rocky (but worthwhile) road to digital pathology

Close liaison between pathologists and data scientists is pivotal in the successful introduction of digital pathology and artificial intelligence (AI) into clinical workflows, according to one of France’s leading pioneers in the field.

Revolutionising Molecular Diagnostics With PurePrep TTR

With micro-organisms and viruses constantly developing, mutating, and evolving, diagnostics must adapt just as rapidly. Advanced laboratory technology and instruments are undeniably a prerequisite for best practice in life sciences and biotechnology.

News • Machine learning

Using Raman spectroscopy and AI for SARS-CoV-2 detection

Researchers have developed a noninvasive and reagent-free technique for the efficient detection of COVID-19.

News • Ultrasound

"Sonogenetics" researchers control mammalian cells with sound

Researchers pinpoint a sound-sensitive mammalian protein that lets them activate brain, heart or other cells with ultrasound.

News • Sweating the small stuff

Wearable measures key stress hormone

Researchers have developed a smartwatch that assesses cortisol levels found in sweat. The device opens new possibilities for personal health monitoring.

News • Hard to break down

Hepatitis E: Most common hand infectants no match for HEV

Scientists have investigated the effectiveness of various common hand disinfectants against hepatitis E. They were able to show that most formulations do not completely inactivate the virus.

News • Heart failure and organ fibrosis

RNA therapeutics: potential far beyond Covid-19

RNA has already been making an impact in the context of the vaccine program, but the potential of RNA-based compounds is far from being fully tapped, as RNA allows for entirely new therapeutic approaches.

News • Brain study

Diagnosing neurological diseases before symptoms occur

Cleveland Clinic has launched a landmark study to better understand why millions of people around the world suffer from brain diseases, with the goal of pinpointing disease biomarkers early, well before clinical symptoms present themselves.

Article • Super-resolution miscroscopy

PEAR: setting nano-imaging in motion

Ever since the Abbe diffraction limit of conventional microscopy has been surpassed, super-resolution techniques have been diving ever deeper into the most miniscule details of molecular structures. We spoke with Prof. Dominic Zerulla, whose company PEARlabs is developing an imaging technique that sets out to push the boundaries once more – by looking at in-vivo nano-scale processes in motion.

Article • Precision medicine

Liquid biopsy: the ‘next frontier’ for cancer detection?

Mark Nicholls reports from the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) virtual Festival, with four expert speakers discussing the role of liquid biopsy in cancer detection.

Molecular scalable solutions for laboratories of every size

One size does not fit all when it comes to diagnostics. Different diagnostic locations need solutions that meet their needs, whether for on-demand testing in a healthcare setting or a laboratory managing population screening. Finding the right solution can be a challenge especially when the future may change what a laboratory needs, Hologic Inc. reports.

Fully automated and hematoctrit corrected phosphatidylethanol analysis

The Swiss-based CAMAG DBS Laboratory in collaboration with the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Bern, Switzerland, has developed a novel approach for the fully automated analysis of the direct alcohol marker phosphatidylethanol (PEth) in dried blood spots (DBS). The use of a DBS autosampler with an embedded hematocrit (HCT) scanner combined with an LC-MS system permits analysis of large…

Providing innovative molecular workflows to empower future diagnostics

Founded in 2018 as a DNA extraction chemistry company, Dutch company MolGen entered the market operating within the agricultural sector. At first, the company’s founders, Maarten de Groot, Wim van Haeringen and Niels Kruize, focused solely on this one industry, mainly developing and marketing advanced bulk chemistry kits for DNA/RNA extraction. These testing products and solutions successfully…

News • COVID-19

Chewing gum could reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission

In experiments using saliva samples from COVID-19 patients, the gum, which contains the ACE2 protein, neutralized the virus.

News • Patient immunity

COVID-19 variants: Rapid test identifies antibody effectiveness

Test could measure patient immunity against multiple COVID-19 variants such as Omicron and Delta at once and inform which synthetic monoclonal antibody to use for treatments.

News • Synthetic nucleic acid

New approach could help weak hearts

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction was previously considered largely untreatable. A research team at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC) led by Professor Michael Gotthardt has now succeeded for the first time in improving cardiac function with the help of a synthetic nucleic acid, as the researchers report in the journal Science…

Article • Mass spec, qPCR and more

Newborn screening: early detection – new diagnostic possibilities

Since its introduction around 60 years ago, the screening of newborn babies for immune, hormone and metabolic disorders has prevented many people from experiencing severe disease progression. The scope of systematic early testing has been significantly enhanced through mass spectrometry (MS). In our interview, Professor Uta Ceglarek, one of the driving forces behind the introduction of MS…

News • New AI reveals

What is in our cells?

Artificial intelligence-based technique reveals previously unknown cell components that may provide new clues to human development and disease.

Article • Point-of-care testing

Emerging technologies in POCT

Considerable advances in point-of-care testing (POCT) devices are emerging from lab-on-a-chip platforms, innovations in smartphone-based technology and wearable technology. Cloud-based deep learning systems herald a future revolution.

Article • New EU regulation

Lab tests: Watch out! Conflict ahead

In May 2022 a shortage of several lab tests may come as many manufacturers struggle to comply with EU regulation requirements covering in vitro diagnostic medical devices (IVDR, Regulation (EU) 2017/746). Even modified tests and laboratory-developed tests will present a problem for hospitals and labs as explained by Dr Thomas Streichert.

News • Neurodegeneration

Scientists identify the cause of Alzheimer’s progression in the brain

For the first time, researchers have used human data to quantify the speed of different processes that lead to Alzheimer’s disease and found that it develops in a very different way than previously thought. Their results could have important implications for the development of potential treatments.

News • NGS-based diagnostics

Collaboration on early detection of recurrent breast cancer

Together with Imperial College London (‘Imperial’), molecular diagnostics company DNAe has been awarded a UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) by Innovate UK to support development of its next generation sequencing (NGS)-based diagnostic platform for use in cancer monitoring. The KTP program connects innovative businesses with academic experts who can help them deliver their ideas. This…

News • Anemic alternatives

'Bloodless' transfusion could solve global blood shortage

Blood transfusions save lives, yet the precious fluid is in desperately short supply around the globe. But what if transfusions don’t always require blood? A new mathematical model of the body’s interacting physiological and biochemical processes – including blood vessel expansion, blood thickening and flow-rate changes in response to the transfusion of red blood cells – shows that…

News • 'CRyPTIC' research

Global tuberculosis study identifies genetic causes of drug resistance

Using cutting-edge genomic sequencing techniques, researchers at the University of Oxford have identified almost all the genomic variation that gives people resistance to 13 of the most common tuberculosis (TB) drug treatments. The Comprehensive Resistance Prediction for Tuberculosis International Consortium (CRyPTIC) research project has collected the largest ever global dataset of clinical M.…

News • Rapid detection

Molecular diagnostic test for Covid-19, Flu, RSV receives CE mark

A new rapid molecular diagnostic test from Cepheid has received the CE mark for distribution in the European market. The test, called Xpert Xpress CoV-2/Flu/RSV plus, is designed for qualitative detection of the viruses causing Covid-19, Flu A, Flu B, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections from a single patient sample. The new plus version of the test provides a third gene target for…

News • microRNAs hint at cognitive decline

Researchers find warning signs for dementia in the blood

Researchers at the DZNE and the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG) have identified molecules in the blood that can indicate impending dementia. Their findings, which are presented in the scientific journal “EMBO Molecular Medicine”, are based on human studies and laboratory experiments. Various university hospitals across Germany were also involved in the investigations.

News • Repurposing bacteria

‘Living medicine’ could treat drug-resistant infections

Researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) and Pulmobiotics S.L have created the first ‘living medicine’ to treat antibiotic-resistant bacteria growing on the surfaces of medical implants. The researchers created the treatment by removing a common bacteria’s ability to cause disease and repurposing it to attack harmful microbes instead.

Lab interoperability is essential

Fast, flexible laboratory information management systems (LIMS) that cope with data and workflow complexities of molecular and genetic testing now work in laboratories internationally. Here, in the first in a new Lab Pinnacle Series, experts from the CliniSys Group, Sunquest Information Systems and Data Innovations (all owned by Roper Technologies), discuss the value of a LIMS in molecular and…

Video • Detecting dementia in the blood

New promising approach for Alzheimer's diagnostics

If the suspicion of Alzheimer's disease creeps up, those affected must prepare themselves for lengthy and complex procedures until the case is clear. A team from Empa and the Cantonal Hospital of St. Gallen is now in the process of developing a blood test that will enable a reliable diagnosis using atomic force microscopy (AFM).

Speeding up diagnostics to detect antibiotic resistance

Infectious disease diagnostics are notoriously slow. The gold standard for laboratory diagnosis of bacterial and fungal infection involves growing the pathogen from a clinical specimen – an overnight event, or even longer. The healthcare focus is on improving the use of antibiotics for better patient outcomes and reducing the environmental pressures that drive antibiotic resistance. To impact…

News • Altered bacterial function

Accumulation of drugs in the gut may reduce their effectiveness

Common medications can accumulate in gut bacteria, a new study has found, altering bacterial function and potentially reducing the medications’ effectiveness. These interactions - seen for many drugs including those used to treat depression, diabetes, and asthma - could help researchers to better understand how drug effectiveness and side-effects differ between individuals. The study is…

Video • Innovative approach

Osteoarthritis: Nasal cartilage relieves knee pain

Cartilage cells from the nasal septum can not only help repair cartilage injuries in the knee, they can also withstand the chronic inflammatory tissue environment in osteoarthritis and even counteract the inflammation – according to researchers from the University of Basel and the University Hospital Basel.

Article • Molecular targeting for better results

Emerging novel tracers for cardiovascular imaging

Molecular imaging, guided by novel tracers, is emerging as an important diagnostic and therapeutic tool in cardiovascular medicine. Delegates at ICNC-CT, the online International Conference on Nuclear Cardiology and Cardiac CT, also heard that cardiology can learn from fields such as oncology and neurology that have already made important advances in this area. Professor Frank Bengel, who is…

Article • Omics in cancer care

Personalizing laboratory medicine

To avoid adverse reactions, personalised laboratory medicine can help to predict a patient’s drug response. Investigations based on DNA and other omics technologies – e.g. genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics – along with microarray technologies, is making a particularly valuable contribution to cancer care, in which personalised approaches are becoming possible through…

News • Functional diagnostics

New assay could advance personalized cancer treatment

A new study from the University of Helsinki shows that cells that are freshly isolated from lung cancers can be used to create robust drug response data. This approach can identify actionable or non-responsive treatments, illustrated by a case study in which the assay was used to guide the compassionate treatment of a patient.

News • Infection research

Understanding lung damage in Covid-19 patients

Covid-19 disease severity is determined by the individual patient’s immune response. The precise mechanisms taking place inside the lungs and blood during the early phase of the disease, however, remain unclear. Researchers from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) and Freie Universität Berlin have now studied the cellular mechanisms…

News • Potential for pan-variant therapies

SARS-CoV-2 might have a 'sugar coated' weak spot

Researchers identify two sugar-binding proteins that impede the viral entry of circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants. The team, spearheaded by researchers at IMBA – Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences – may have found the “Achilles’ heel” of the virus, with potential for pan-variant therapeutic interventions. The findings are now published in the EMBO…

News • Promising material

Organ transplantation: polymer coating reduces rejection rate

Researchers have found a way to reduce organ rejection following a transplant by using a special polymer to coat blood vessels on the organ to be transplanted. The polymer, developed by Prof. Dr. Jayachandran Kizhakkedathu and his team at the Centre for Blood Research and Life Sciences Institute at the University of British Columbia, substantially diminished rejection of transplants in mice when…

News • Genome editing

Using CRISPR to speed up Covid-19 testing

A research team led by scientists in the labs of Jennifer Doudna, David Savage and Patrick Hsu at the University of California, Berkeley, is aiming to develop a rapid Covid-19 diagnostic test that is much faster and easier to deploy than qRT-PCR. It has now combined two different types of CRISPR enzymes to create an assay that can detect small amounts of viral RNA in less than an hour. Doudna…

News • Coronavirus research

Contagious cash? The role of banknotes and coins in Covid-19 infections

How long do coronaviruses remain infectious on banknotes and coins? Is it possible to become infected through contact with cash? Experts at the European Central Bank, in collaboration with the Department of Medical and Molecular Virology at Ruhr-Universität Bochum, wanted to clarify this question. The researchers led by Professor Eike Steinmann and Dr. Daniel Todt developed a method specifically…

News • Coronavirus protein and antibody detection

Bioluminescence lights up traces of Covid-19 in the blood

Home test kits to check for Covid-19 spike proteins and anti-Covid-19 antibodies are fast and simple to use but lack the sensitivity and accuracy of laboratory tests. Researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology with Utrecht University have developed a new type of sensor that combines the sensitivity and accuracy of current laboratory-based measurements with the speed and low-cost of…

News • Angiogenesis

Magnetic stimulation boosts blood vessel formation

Magnetic fields can be used to stimulate blood vessel growth, according to a new study. The findings, published in the journal Science and Technology of Advanced Materials by researchers at the Técnico Lisboa and NOVA School of Science and Technology in Portugal, could lead to new treatments for cancers and help regenerate tissues that have lost their blood supply.

News • Tissue dissection

World‘s first automated high throughput tissector launched

Molecular pathology company Xyall BV launches its Tissector High Throughput (HT) system for precision diagnostics. This is a world first – enabling high volume, molecular diagnostic laboratories to capitalize commercially on the company’s automated tissue dissection technology.

News • Genetic alterations

Same mutation, different cancers: researchers explore connections

Why do alterations of certain genes cause cancer only in specific organs of the human body? Scientists at the German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), the Technical University of Munich (TUM), and the University Medical Center Göttingen have now demonstrated that cells originating from different organs are differentially susceptible to activating mutations in cancer drivers: The same mutation in…

Article • AMR Insights platform

Antibiotic resistance: a global problem in urgent need of solutions

Antibiotics have been at the heart of modern healthcare since the 1950s. They are prescribed prior to an operation to minimise the risk of infection after the operation. Or antibiotics are prescribed to fight an infection. This practice, which might seem straightforward at first glance, has proven to cause a number of problems itself: Over the last twenty years, it has become increasingly clear…

Article • Oncology

Pancreatic cancer - current challenges and future direction

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers in the world, and one of the most difficult to treat. In 2020, an estimated 495,000 individuals worldwide were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and an estimated 466,000 died, according to statistics from the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer. Most patients with advanced disease die within a year of…

News • Early detection of coronavirus presence

Covid-19 wastewater testing: new quantification kit launched

Life science research and clinical diagnostics company Bio-Rad Laboratories announced the launch of its PREvalence ddPCR SARS-CoV-2 Wastewater Quantification Kit, a tool to detect the virus that causes Covid-19 in a community’s wastewater. "With wastewater testing becoming more widely adopted, this assay provides the ability for a community to determine if the virus is present days to…

News • Sample-to-answer workflow

Partnership for Covid-19 test solution

SpeeDx Pty, Ltd. and MolGen announced the signing of an agreement to collaborate on supply and distribution of clinical diagnostics products and instrumentation across Europe and Asia Pacific. The partnership links specimen handling, nucleic acid extraction, assay set-up, amplification, and results reporting in a seamless integration of the companies technologies. “This partnership capitalises…

News • Pediatric oncology cooperation

A royal visit for children with cancer

Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, after whom the Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology in Utrecht is named, along with several representatives of the center, the Hopp Children’s Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ), University Hospital Heidelberg (UKHD) and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), signed a memorandum on strategic cooperation in the field of pediatric oncology in Europe at…

Article • Personalised medicine

'Body-on-a-chip' technology boosts drug development

Integrating laboratory functions on a microchip circuit is helping improve the cost-effectiveness of drug development. So-called ‘lab-on-a-chip’ or ‘human-on-a-chip’ technology can highlight which treatments may, or may not, work before advancing along the clinical trial process. It can also have benefits for chronic and rare diseases, as well as helping shape personalised medicine.…

News • Customer Reference

And still it scans! 15 years of experience with Hamamatsu Photonics NanoZoomer

We recently had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Peter Riegman from Erasmus University. Dr. Riegman is a Molecular Biologist and head of the Erasmus MC Tissue Bank. As an early adopter of digital pathology, Dr. Riegman purchased his first Hamamatsu Photonics whole slide scanner in 2005. It was a NanoZoomer HT, one of Hamamatsu’s very first production units, and it is still in daily use at…

News • Corona and EBV

Long Covid symptoms likely caused by Epstein-Barr virus reactivation

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) reactivation resulting from the inflammatory response to coronavirus infection may be the cause of previously unexplained long Covid symptoms—such as fatigue, brain fog, and rashes—that occur in approximately 30% of patients after recovery from initial Covid-19 infection. The first evidence linking EBV reactivation to long Covid, as well as an analysis of long Covid…

News • Unexpected find

Anti-tapeworm drug shows promise against Covid-19

Researchers from the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the University of Bonn have examined the way in which SARS-CoV-2 reprograms the metabolism of the host cell in order to gain an overall advantage. According to their report in Nature Communications, the researchers were able to identify four substances which inhibit SARS-CoV-2…

News • Corona and the brain

PET imaging measures cognitive impairment in Covid-19 patients

The effects of Covid-19 on the brain can be accurately measured with positron emission tomography (PET), according to research presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) 2021 Annual Meeting. In the study, newly diagnosed Covid-19 patients, who required inpatient treatment and underwent PET brain scans, were found to have deficits in neuronal function and…

News • PET imaging

Super-resolution enables detailed brain imaging

A new imaging technique has the potential to detect neurological disorders at their earliest stages, enabling physicians to diagnose and treat patients more quickly.

News • Acute aortic syndrome

Blood test could detect life-threatening aortic tears

A simple blood test could help doctors spot deadly damage to the aorta, the body’s largest blood vessel, according to research funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) presented at the British Cardiovascular Society conference.

News • Coronavirus infection

AI shortcuts could lead to misdiagnosis of Covid-19

University of Washington researchers have discovered that AI models—like humans—have a tendency to look for shortcuts. In the case of AI-assisted disease detection, these shortcuts could lead to diagnostic errors if deployed in clinical settings.

News • Neuroscience

A deep dive into the brain

Researchers from ETH Zurich and University of Zurich have developed a new microscopy technique that lights up the brain with high resolution imagery. This allows neuroscientists to study brain functions and ailments more closely and non-invasively.

News • „Swarm Learning“

AI with swarm intelligence to analyse medical data

Communities benefit from sharing knowledge and experience among their members. Following a similar principle - called “swarm learning” - an international research team has trained artificial intelligence algorithms to detect blood cancer, lung diseases and Covid-19 in data stored in a decentralized fashion. This approach has advantage over conventional methods since it inherently provides…

News • A new tool to combat superbugs

Defeating antibiotic resistant bacteria with 'molecular tweezers'

Antibiotic resistant bacteria are a looming super threat – heralding a time when our drugs will no longer be effective against prevalent infections. Hospitals are already coping with treatment-resistant bacterial infections. Cognizant of the threat and thinking outside the box, BGU scientists and German and American colleagues have developed a pair of 'molecular tweezers' to destroy the biofilm…

News • Inner ear reseach

Hearing loss: newfound gene gives insights into the cochlea

A gene called GAS2 plays a key role in normal hearing, and its absence causes severe hearing loss, according to a study led by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The researchers, whose findings are published online in Developmental Cell, discovered that the protein encoded by GAS2 is crucial for maintaining the structural stiffness of support cells…

Article • dPCR and HSAFM

Low-cost technique for missed genetic mutations

A new low-cost method targeting genetic mutations often missed by existing diagnostic approaches has been developed. Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in the United States noted that most rearrangement mutations implicated in cancer and neurological diseases fall between what can be detected by DNA sequence reads and optical microscopy methods. The new technique combines…

News • Labs processing 2,000 to 5,000 tests a day

Workflow automation solutions for mid-volume laboratories

Clinical diagnostics company Beckman Coulter announced the European launch of the DxA 5000 Fit, a workflow-automation solution designed to fit into medium-sized labs that run fewer than 5,000 tests a day. The clinical laboratory has gone through trial by fire in 2020, where total testing was 245% of baseline volumes, with ~55% being SARS-CoV-2 molecular tests. Despite vaccines, many industry…

News • No more antibiotics?

AI identifies proteins causing intestinal disease

Researchers from Tel Aviv University have created an artificial intelligence platform that can identify the specific proteins that allow bacteria to infect the intestines.

Detect SARS-CoV-2 on the Fluxergy Platform

Now Available: The Fluxergy Analyzer System is a testing platform designed for sample-to-answer point-of-care testing, enabling clinicians to cost-effectively conduct molecular in vitro diagnostic tests. The analyzer system is designed to deliver test results within one hour. This device is solely intended to be used by healthcare professionals.

News • Here comes the tooth fairy

New drug shows promise for regenerating lost teeth

A new study by scientists at Kyoto University and the University of Fukui may offer hope for adults who have lost their teeth. The team reports that an antibody for one gene - uterine sensitization associated gene-1 or USAG-1 - can stimulate tooth growth in mice suffering from tooth agenesis, a congenital condition. The paper was published in Science Advances. Although the normal adult mouth has…

News • Innovative protein analysis

Cooking an egg in an X-ray beam

A team of scientists has been using the X-ray source PETRA III at the German Electron Synchrotron (DESY) to analyse the structural changes that take place in an egg when you cook it. The work reveals how the proteins in the white of a chicken egg unfold and cross-link with each other to form a solid structure when heated. Their innovative method can be of interest to the food industry as well as…

Article • Mass spectrometry analysis

Skin swabs can detect Covid-19

Skin swab samples analysed using mass spectrometry could be used to detect Covid-19 in patients, according to research conducted at the University of Surrey in the UK. Current Covid-19 testing is via a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, which involves taking a swab of the back of the throat and inside the nose, but the team from Surrey - working with Frimley NHS Trust and the Universities of…

Article • Digital pathology

AI delivers cervical cancer screening to rural areas of Kenya

Experts from Sweden, Finland and Kenya are using digital microscopy combined with Artificial Intelligence (AI) to deliver a rapid and effective cervical screening service to rural locations in Kenya. The project sees AI and digital diagnostics bridge the gap between low-resource settings and the availability of centralised AI-enhanced expertise and pathology services, located in larger cities in…

News • Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

A new approach for treating bile duct cancer

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) develops within the liver. With one to two cases per 100,000 inhabitants in Germany, ICC is one of the rare diseases overall, but it is the second most common liver cancer. The aggressive bile duct tumour remains clinically inconspicuous for a long time, so that it is often only detected late. Because the tumour also only responds to chemotherapy to a limited…

News • Malignant brain tumor

Successful test for mutation-specific vaccine against diffuse gliomas

Tumor vaccines can help the body fight cancer. Mutations in the tumor genome often lead to protein changes that are typical of cancer. A vaccine can alert the patients' immune system to these mutated proteins. For the first time, physicians and cancer researchers from Heidelberg and Mannheim have now carried out a clinical trial to test a mutation-specific vaccine against malignant brain tumors.…

News • A much-needed update

New 'double antibody' delivers dual strike SARS-CoV-2 and its variants

The Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) in Switzerland developed a second-generation ‘double antibody’ that protects from SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing Covid-19, and all its tested variants. It also prevents the virus from mutating to resist the therapy. Antibody-based immunotherapy was already shown to be effective against Covid-19 but faces two main obstacles: it needs to work…

News • Low cost

Rapid method to measure COVID-19 immunity

Researchers at University of Toronto have developed a new test to accurately detect coronavirus antibodies in a drop of blood in less than an hour.

News • Acidity analysis

Harnessing AI to identify cancer cells

Healthy and cancer cells can look similar under a microscope. One way of differentiating them is by examining the level of acidity, or pH level, inside the cells. Tapping on this distinguishing characteristic, a research team from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has developed a technique that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to determine whether a single cell is healthy or cancerous…

News • Degenerative disease diagnostics

Parkinson's: Scientists develop ‘game-changing’ skin swab test

It is possible to identify Parkinson’s Disease based on compounds found on the surface of skin, according to new research. The findings offer hope that a pioneering new test could be developed to diagnose the degenerative condition through a simple and painless skin swab. Scientists at The University of Manchester have developed a technique which works by analysing compounds found in sebum -…

Article • Laboratory management

Covid-19: Overcoming unprecedented challenges

During a pandemic, the demands for laboratory testing challenge routines in an efficiently run clinical laboratory. Gold standard procedures may need modification, or to be discarded, and the more nimble, resilient and receptive a lab is to change, the better off it could be. Senior managers at ARUP Laboratories in Salt Lake City, Utah, a large clinical reference laboratory that offers over 3,000…

News • Analysing molecular composition

Infrared light is key in novel blood test

A new study carried out by a team of laser physicists, molecular biologists and physicians based at LMU Munich and the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics has confirmed the temporal stability of the molecular composition of blood in a population of healthy individuals. The data provide a basis for a new method of monitoring the constituents of blood and detecting alterations that reveal…

News • Breast cancer diagnostics

New system to make AI diagnosis explainable

Researchers at TU Berlin and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin as well as the University of Oslo have developed a new tissue-section analysis system for diagnosing breast cancer based on artificial intelligence (AI). Two further developments make this system unique: For the first time, morphological, molecular and histological data are integrated in a single analysis. Secondly, the system…

News • Cancer vaccine research

Tackling tumors with two types of virus

An international research group led by the University of Basel has developed a promising strategy for therapeutic cancer vaccines. Using two different viruses as vehicles, they administered specific tumor components in experiments on mice with cancer in order to stimulate their immune system to attack the tumor. The approach is now being tested in clinical studies.

Better detection and diagnosis of fungal infections

Beta-glucan tests are proving to be pivotal in the better detection and diagnosis of fungal infections. As a robust complimentary test for traditional testing techniques and biomarkers, it is helping clinicians deliver rapid results and offering greater reassurance in more accurately identifying such infections. β-glucan testing, which is an in vitro diagnostic test, is regularly used at…

News • Brain cancer research

New approach could stop glioblastoma growth

Inhibiting a key enzyme that controls a large network of proteins important in cell division and growth, paves the way for a new class of drugs that could stop glioblastoma, a deadly brain cancer, from growing. Researchers at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and University of Toronto (U of T), showed that chemically inhibiting the enzyme PRMT5 can…

News • Malignant paediatric cancer

Neuroblastoma: sending tumour cells on a collision course

With two commercially available inhibitors, the cell cycle of the cancer cells in neuroblastomas can be disrupted at a key point causing tumour cell death. Neuroblastomas are malignant solid tumours that occur mainly in early childhood. Inhibiting the MYCN oncogene or its function could be a promising therapeutic opportunity.

News • Rescuing brain cell activity

Alzheimer's: Promising avenue to restore cognitive function

A team of neuroscientists has identified a potential means to address the loss of cognitive function due to Alzheimer’s disease by targeting protein synthesis in mice. Their findings, reported in the journal Science Signaling, reveal that synthetic pharmaceuticals could rescue the activity of brain cells needed for memory formation.

News • nsp14-ExoN

Is this the Achilles' heel of the coronavirus?

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston have discovered what may be the Achilles' heel of the coronavirus, a finding that may help close the door on COVID-19 and possibly head off future pandemics.

News • Protein anchors

Key molecule in cancer spread and epilepsy discovered

Certain anchor proteins inhibit a key metabolic driver that plays an important role in cancer and developmental brain disorders. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the University of Innsbruck, together with a Europe-wide research network, discovered this molecular mechanism, which could open up new opportunities for personalized therapies for cancer and neuronal diseases.

News • Genome study reveals

Blood group affects composition of intestinal microbiome

For several years, scientists worldwide have been investigating the extent to which microorganisms living in and on the human body influence central life processes and thus health and disease. Today they assume that there is a connection between the totality of the microbial colonization in the human body, called the microbiome, and the development of diseases. Chronic inflammatory bowel disease…

News • "Faces" of the disease

Covid-19: researchers identify at least 5 variants

According to current studies, the Covid-19 disease which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus comprises at least five different variants. These differ in how the immune system responds to the infection. Researchers from the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the University of Bonn, together with other experts from Germany, Greece and the Netherlands, present these findings…

News • RadClip

AI tool for MRI could transform prostate cancer surgery, treatment

Researchers at the Center for Computational Imaging and Personalized Diagnostics (CCIPD) at Case Western Reserve University have preliminarily validated an artificial intelligence (AI) tool to predict how likely the disease is to recur following surgical treatment for prostate cancer. The tool, called RadClip, uses AI algorithms to examine a variety of data, from MRI scans to molecular…

Article • Applications of machine learning

Training AI to predict outcomes for cancer patients

Predicting cancer outcome could help with a clinical decision regarding a patient’s treatment. In his keynote speech during the online ‘7th Digital Pathology and AI Congress: Europe’, Johan Lundin, Research Director at the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM) at the University of Helsinki and Professor of Medical Technology at Karolinska Institute, discussed ‘Outcome and…

News • 'Nanobodies'

Small antibodies show promise against Covid-19

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed, in collaboration with researchers in Germany and the U.S., new small antibodies, also known as nanobodies, which prevent the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus from entering human cells. The research study, published in Science, shows that a combined nanobody had a particularly good effect – even if the virus mutated. According to the researchers, the…

Article • Glioma detection

Breakthrough liquid biopsy test to detect mutations in brain tumours

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston have developed a novel blood test using an enhanced form of liquid biopsy capable of detecting the most common types of genetic mutations that occur in glioma brain tumors. The test is easy to use, inexpensive, produces results rapidly, and can be performed in most clinical laboratories. The researchers believe that the blood test has…

News • Entering the oncology growth market

Hologic to acquire molecular diagnostics company Biotheranostics

Hologic, Inc. has announced that it will acquire Biotheranostics, Inc., a privately held, commercial-stage company that provides molecular diagnostic tests for breast and metastatic cancers, for approximately $230 million, subject to working capital and other customary closing adjustments.

News • Disease development, risk, complications

Researchers identify prediabetes subtypes

All prediabetes is not the same: in people in the preliminary stages of type 2 diabetes, there are six clearly distinguishable subtypes, which differ in the development of the disease, diabetes risk, and the development of secondary diseases. This is shown in a study by the Institute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases (IDM) of Helmholtz Zentrum München at the University of Tübingen,…

News • Crossing the blood-brain barrier

Nanoparticle drug-delivery system to treat brain disorders

In the past few decades, researchers have identified biological pathways leading to neurodegenerative diseases and developed promising molecular agents to target them. However, the translation of these findings into clinically approved treatments has progressed at a much slower rate, in part because of the challenges scientists face in delivering therapeutics across the blood-brain barrier (BBB)…

News • Tackling colon cancer

Researchers find 'Achilles’ heel' of cancer stem cells

Colon cancer stem cells have one weak spot: the enzyme Mll1. An MDC team led by Walter Birchmeier has now shown in Nature Communications that blocking this protein prevents the development of new tumors in the body. Since colonoscopies were introduced in Germany for early cancer detection, the number of diagnoses of advanced cancer every year has decreased, as precancerous lesions can now be…

News • Altering the intestinal microbiome

How nanoplastics threaten human health

A recent review study concludes that nanoplastics change the composition and diversity of gut microbiome in vertebrates and invertebrates. The effects of a widespread and prolonged exposure to nanoplastics observed in animal models can be applied to humans.