Article • Genetic testing
Familial hypercholesterolaemia
A ground-breaking genetic testing programme for an inherited and potentially-deadly high cholesterol condition has been extended to more United Kingdom health trusts.
Article • Myocardial infarction
Advanced imaging techniques reveal T-tubules
Research conducted by Dr Ashraf Kitmitto and colleagues at the University of Manchester provides new information as to why some cells do not work properly following a heart attack.
News • SCIEX QTRAP 6500 LC-MS/MS
System demonstrates sensitivity in method development
SCIEX announced today that Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark has invested in SCIEX QTRAP 6500 technology to develop novel mass spectrometry-based assays for clinical research laboratories. Scientists at the hospital’s Department of Clinical Biochemistry are using the QTRAP 6500 LC-MS/MS system for advanced clinical research, due to its exceptional sensitivity and selectivity, which are…
Transport of blood samples with small drones
In a proof-of-concept study at Johns Hopkins, researchers have shown that results of common and routine blood tests are not affected by up to 40 minutes of travel on hobby-sized drones.
News • Genetics
Big Data and the social character of genes
A new study at the University of Haifa has used “big data” analytical methods to reveal the “social character” of genes – a phenomenon in certain diseases whereby genes operate jointly rather than independently. “The problem is that the possible number of combinations of different genes is enormous, and it is almost impossible to examine them all effectively and reliably,” the…
News • Retrograde amnesia
Researchers retrieve “lost” memories
Retrograde amnesia is the inability to recall established memories. In humans, amnesia is associated with traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s disease, and other neurological conditions. Whether memories lost to amnesia are completely erased or merely unable to be recalled remains an open question. Now, in a finding that casts new light on the nature of memory, researchers from the RIKEN-MIT…
News • Endogenous retroviruses
Silence is golden …
An LMU team has uncovered a new role for the protein Atrx, which is involved in various aspects of gene expression. The new work shows that the protein is also involved in silencing endogenous retroviral genomes integrated in cellular DNA.
News • Epigenomic Analysis
New technology helps personalized medicine
A new technology that will dramatically enhance investigations of epigenomes, the machinery that turns on and off genes and a very prominent field of study in diseases such as stem cell differentiation, inflammation and cancer, is reported in the research journal Nature Methods.
News • EKF Diagnostics at AACC
First fully integrated chemistry system
EKF Diagnostics, the global in vitro diagnostics company, announced the international launch of the Altair™ 240 clinical chemistry analyzer at the American Association for Clinical Chemistry’s (AACC) Annual Meeting and Clinical Lab Expo in Atlanta. This new bench-top platform represents EKF Diagnostics’ first fully integrated chemistry system designed for the global market. Also EKF…
News • AACC News
ELITechGroup announces CE-IVD marking of ELITe InGenius
ELITechGroup Molecular Diagnostics and Precision System Science, Co., Ltd (PSS), a leading global provider of laboratory instruments for nucleic acid extraction, jointly announced the upcoming CE-IVD marking of ELITe InGenius for IVD applications in Europe and the upcoming availability of the instrument as Laboratory Use Equipment in the US.
News • Smart Platforms
Mindray: A solution for high efficient labs
Mindray is delighted to present you its latest innovations.
News • Therapy
First-ever possible treatments for MERS
As the South Korean epidemic of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) continues unabated, researchers have raced to find treatments for the deadly virus, which has killed more than 400 people since it was first discovered three years ago in Saudi Arabia.
The role of the microbiota in preventing allergies
The human body is inhabited by billions of symbiotic bacteria, carrying a diversity that is unique to each individual. The microbiota is involved in many mechanisms, including digestion, vitamin synthesis and host defense. It is well established that a loss of bacterial symbionts promotes the development of allergies. Scientists at Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, at the Technical University of Munich…
News • Swiss Army Knife for Laboratories
Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry
During the past 15 years, liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) has evolved into a vital technology used to perform routine tests in many clinical laboratories. Historically, LC-MS/MS had been used primarily by research, pharmaceutical, or commercial laboratories; however, advances in the technology, decreasing costs for basic systems, intelligible software, an increased…
News • AACC News
New tests to diagnose and monitor diabetes
Researchers have successfully tested two new potential methods for diagnosing and monitoring diabetes in its standard and gestational forms. These findings, presented at the 2015 AACC Annual Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo in Atlanta, may lead to easier, timelier, and more affordable ways of identifying and treating this chronic disease.
Article • Event
US-American clinical lab specialists meet today
Did you know that we offer around 1200 features on laboratory medicine? No? Then you might want to browse through our compilation of interesting articles on pathology, chemistry or management and many more.
News • Aspergillus
ESCMID cautions that Europe is now a hotbed of global fungal resistance
ESCMID Fungal Infection Study Group (EFISG) argues that fungal resistance now represents a huge healthcare threat – with many cases remaining massively undiagnosed even in the developed world – and that there is a rising prevalence of the most invasive and deadly forms. Conversely, in the developing world we are seeing very treatable fungal infections killing huge numbers – half a million…
News • Quality Results
Need for patient-friendly reports in direct-to-consumer testing
Noting a paradigm shift among consumers who are seeking greater control over their own healthcare, AACC issued a position statement today on direct-to-consumer laboratory testing, which allows people to order medical tests directly from a lab without having to work with their healthcare provider. The statement emphasizes direct-to-consumer test results must be accurate and easily understood—an…
First synthesis of molecules that cause rapid cell death in cancer
Dartmouth researchers and their colleagues have carried out the first total syntheses of certain compounds involved in excessive cell death in leukemia.
Article • Switzerland
Clinical chemistry is broad ranging
The field is neither tedious nor monotonous; it’s fascinating every day, Professor Katharina Rentsch emphasises, when explaining the need to attract students to this often overlooked but intreguing and varied discipline.
Sponsored • Information Technology
Document Management - the hidden champion
Zenon's Doc-db is a full-fledged document management system which has been internationally available since 2006.
Sponsored • Workflow
Confidence in Hematology, Results with Beckman Coulter
Wallace Coulter, one of the founders of Beckman Coulter, was motivated by a belief that science should serve humanity. This was the inspiration behind the principle he invented that became the basis for all blood counting solutions. This same drive to keep the science of hematology moving forward is behind Beckman Coulter's new ©Automated Intelligent Morphology© (AIM), a multidimensional,…
Sponsored • Hematology
Sysmex Corporation: The global leader in hematology
Founded in 1968, The Sysmex Corporation has challenged its way past far larger companies to become one of the leading healthcare companies around the world. How? By focusing constantly on one objective: maximising the strength of our people, knowledge and resourcefulness to live up to our mission statement: Shaping the Advancement of Healthcare.
Sponsored • Mass Spectrometry
Shimadzu LCMS-8060: The new family member
With its previous LCMS-8030, LCMS-8040 and LCMS-8050 triple-quadrupole systems, Shimadzu has set leading standards in terms of speed, sensitivity and functional design. With the introduction of the new LCMS-8060 (Figure 1), the success story of the LCMS-triple-quadrupole family reaches another milestone.
Sponsored • Best Places to Work
A laboratory fit for a future decade
Fostering a collaborative way of working won the UK’s Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust recognition as an elite public sector healthcare employer, recently judged one of the top 100 ‘Best Places to Work’. The trust, led by chief executive Susan Acott, has created an energy-driven, patient-focused culture within the hospital, reflected by staff at all levels. This has been the driving force…
