Epigenomics
The UK’s Babraham Institute, which conducts biomedical research, has established a ‘high throughput’ epigenomics sequencing facility to improve understanding of healthier ageing.
Laboratory
The value and development of PCR tests
Whereas, in the past, the diagnoses of infectious diseases focused on antibody detection, more recently laboratories aim to identify the agent itself, using the invaluable PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test. We asked Prof Beatus Ofenloch-Hähnle, head of Reagent and System Development Immunology, at Roche Professional Diagnostics, and Benjamin Lilienfeld, Global Product Manager for Infectious…
The Olympus DP21 digital microscopy camera
The new Olympus DP21 digital microscopy camera for high-definition (HD) image capture is suitable for use in life science and materials microscopy. The 2.11 megapixel stand-alone camera allows easy observation, focusing and framing, while enabling the smooth display of real-time 1600x1200 (UXGA) images, the manufacturer reports.
Childhood metabolic measurements may predict diabetes development years later
A child's blood pressure, body mass index, blood glucose level and other laboratory tests and simple office measures may predict the risk of developing type 2 diabetes nine and 26 years later, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Polish blood banks counting on Ortho Clinical Diagnostics
The newest laboratory system from Ortho Clinical Diagnostics is a big success: 32 VITROS 3600 immunoassay systems are going to be used in 15 of a total of 21 blood banks in Poland in the future. They will enable roughly 800,000 blood tests to be carried out each year. This next-generation diagnosis platform is based on VITROS technologies, the best in the world, thus meeting the demands of modern…
The increasing importance of clinical lab scientists
Clinical laboratory scientists, the medical technologists of the 21st century, are not only enjoying a rapidly expanding role in clinical work but are also increasingly undertaking non-clinical duties such as consultation, quality assurance, laboratory management, professional advocacy and education.
Mindray expands IVD portfolio with 4 new analyzers
Marking its 10th year of participating in Medica, Mindray Medical International introduced in Europe four new products for its growing portolfio of in vitro diagnostics. Three five-part hematology analyzers were featured front-and-center at the company's stand in Hall 03 covering the range of laboratory needs from the manual BC-5300, to the mid-line automated BC-5380 to the top of the line BC…
As POC testing grows, so do risk of errors, quality
Today testing of patients at the point of care (POC) accounts for 25% of all testing, and these portable assays are increasing their penetration into medical practice at rapid rate of 12% each year. Yet along with the growth comes an increasing risk of errors that adversely affect quality of clinical decision-making and patient safety.
State-of-the-art diagnostic systems
Roche Diagnostics presents nine new products at this year’s Medica. Three of them were the focal point of today’s launch event at which customers and visitors had a chance to find out more about state-of-the-art systems for PCR and high throughput laboratories.
Influenza
As concern over the potential mutation of the latest form of influenza virus continues to vex governments and their healthcare organisations, WHO 2009 data has shown that acute respiratory infections, influenza and respiratory syncitial virus (RSV) epidemics coincide with epidemics of S. pneumoniae. In fact, half or more of flu-associated mortality in the 1918-1919 Spanish Flu epidemic is…
Biochips to aid in cancer diagnosis
It is very difficult to predict whether a cancer drug will help an individual patient: only around one third of drugs will work directly in a given patient. Researchers at the Heinz Nixdorf Chair for Medical Electronics at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) have developed a new test process for cancer drugs. With the help of microchips, they can establish in the laboratory whether a…
Mit CISH und Chips den Weichteiltumor exakter identifizieren
Krebs kann sich in jeder Stelle des Körpers bilden. Selbst in Muskeln, Fett- und Nervengewebe können Tumore entstehen. Rund 4.000 Menschen in Deutschland erkranken jährlich an Weichteiltumoren. Damit zählen die sogenannten Sarkome zu den seltenen Krebserkrankungen und werden dadurch oft nur schwer erkannt.
Nobel scientist urges wider vaccination against HPV infection
A global vaccination programme against human papilloma virus (HPV), to include boys as well as girls, could lead to eradication of the virus and virtual disappearance of cervical cancer, predicted Nobel Prize winner, Professor Harald zur Hausen, after delivering the key-note lecture at the 16th International Meeting of the European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO) in Belgrade, Serbia,…
Simpler tests for gastrointestinal cancers
Colorectal cancer occurs in approximately one in every 17 people during their lifetime and is the second leading cause of cancer death in Europe. Two new blood tests could aid in the early identification of patients with gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. The tests will make GI cancer detection simpler, cost-effective, and more acceptable to patients than current methods, the researchers say.
The 12th American Association for Clinical Chemistry meeting
This year's AACC, held in conjunction with the Canadian Society for Clinical Chemists, and the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science, featured around 200 educational sessions and drew in over 18,000 delegates and exhibitors from almost 100 countries.
The promise of proteome analysis
By David Loshak
MINDACT
Researchers around the globe are studying whether a genomic test, developed with micro-array technology, is superior to traditional methods in assessing aggressive breast cancer, and therefore could spare a considerable percentage of women from the onslaught of chemotherapy The Breast International Group (BIG) in Brussels, Belgium, manages TRANSBIG, an international network created to avoid…
Aktueller Stunde" zur PSA-gestützten Früherkennung des Prostatakarzinoms
PSA-Kritiker PD Dr. rer. nat. Hans-Hermann Dubben und DGU-Generalsekretär Prof. Dr. Michael Stöckle suchten das Gespräch Selten wurde zwischen den Kritikern und den Befürwortern der PSA-gestützten Früherkennung des Prostatakarzinoms so hart diskutiert. Die Veröffentlichung der randomisierten Studien zum PSA-Screening aus Europa (ERSPC-Studie) und den USA (PLCO-Screeningstudie) hatte in…
Silenced genes as a warning sign of blood cancer
In the genetic material of cancer cells, important growth inhibitors are often switched off by chemical labels in the DNA. Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center and the Ohio State University, USA, discovered in mice that cancer-typical DNA labeling occurs long before the first symptoms of leukemia appear. A test for the genetic label might therefore help to detect a developing cancer at…
Roche and google.org start initiative for early discovery of new diseases
Roche Applied Science and Google.org recently started a joint project to demonstrate the feasibility of developing a multidisciplinary surveillance, research and response system. This system will enhance the ability to predict and prevent emerging infectious diseases in East Africa. The East African region is known as one of the major hot beds for emergence of new infectious viral agents and new…
Hospital Universitari Vall d`Hebron to work with Roche technology
The Research Institute of the Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron (IR-HUVH) in Barcelona is the first Spanish health centre to acquire the Genome Sequencer FLX System from 454 Life Sciences, a Roche company. This new high-performance sequencing system improves the productivity and precision of genome sequencing at IR-HUVH.
What did Michael Jackson die of?
Forensic toxicology is the post-mortem testing for lethal and/or foreign substances in body fluids and tissues, and it can be a very time-consuming process. The media has reported that Michael Jackson's death certificate was issued on Tuesday, July 7, 2009 without listing a cause of death; his brain, or part of it, was being retained for testing; and initial indications are that it may take…
Enhanced performance of Beckman Coulter's Analytical Ultracentrifuge
Newly designed centerpieces used in the Beckman Coulter XL-A and XL-I instruments - the only analytical ultracentrifuges on the market today - allow the systems to provide precise, repeatable measurement of pharmaceutical sample aggregation in pharmaceutical research and formulation laboratories.
Agendia expands laboratory capacity
Agendia announced the official opening of its new headquarters at Amsterdam's Science Park at Watergraafsmeer, Kruislaan 406. The Grand Opening ceremony was officiated by Dr. Rene Bernards, Chief Scientific Officer at Agendia and the Honourable Director General Mrs. R.M. Bergkamp, on behalf of the Honourable Mrs. Maria van der Hoeven, Minster of Economic Affairs for The Netherlands.
Multiple Sclerosis: Benefactors in the Brain
The inflammatory process in the brain of multiple sclerosis patients is triggered by their own immune system. However, there is one type of immune cells that seems to fight against the destructive progress - and might be used for therapeutic purposes in future.
