Regenerative medicine uses cells harvested from the patient’s own body to heal damaged tissue. Fraunhofer researchers have developed a cell-free substrate containing proteins to which autologous cells bind and grow only after implantation.
The European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Disease (ESCMID) announces that the globe’s most prominent infection specialists will be gathering in Copenhagen to explore solutions to the biggest infection problems during its annual congress – the 25th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) taking place on 25-28 April 2015.
Automation of high-volume biochemistry and immunology laboratories has been on-going for more than a decade, yet central laboratories only recently dared to take on the daunting task of automating the more complex processes of microbiology. Report: John Brosky
The European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) has been joined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to launch the 7th annual ‘International Day for Fighting Infection’ (April 24th, 2015). This year’s event sees the European society exploring vaccines as a possible solution in the global, cross-border fight against antimicrobial resistance.
Allergic diseases represent a spectrum of health conditions and a worldwide burden in different populations. In the field of allergy and immunology the focus on prevention has become as important as effective disease management. Now for the first time there are guidelines that recommend proactive strategies for the prevention of allergic diseases. The World Allergy Organization (WAO) has…
A new extracorporeal nanotech device addresses the root cause of sepsis by removing pathogens and endotoxins simultaneously from blood even before their identification – this genetically engineered mannose-binding lectin protein can also latch on to the Ebola virus... Report: Cynthia E Keen
A new study concludes that jet air and warm air hand driers have a greater potential to contaminate washrooms by spreading bacteria into the air and onto users and bystanders. The findings have significant implications for infection control health professionals and purchasing managers responsible for equipping hospital washrooms.
Donor transplant rejection and cancer relapse have two things in common: early recognition is vital and monitoring is hugely challenged.
In September 2015, Utrecht University and University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht will begin offering a two-year Biofabrication research master’s program in partnership with three foreign universities.
Health analysts have predicted that DNA sequencing will shift from a laboratory-based setup to point of care testing within the next five years.
New molecular technologies to screen drug-resistant TB are replacing, for example, culture-based tests that are slow, require experienced personnel, and need stringent microbiological safety precautions.
Scientists in the UK are working to develop a hand-held testing device to provide same day diagnosis from a patient’s bedside. The device will use disposable cartridges and utilise printed circuit board technology (PCB) that will allow a fast and low-cost diagnosis.
GE and Thermo Fisher Scientific announced yesterday that they have entered into an agreement for GE Healthcare to acquire Thermo Fisher’s HyClone cell culture media and sera, and gene modulation and magnetic beads businesses for approximately $1.06 billion.
A one-day course on Infection Prevention and Control (20 November. 9.30 a.m. - 6.00 p.m.) will focus on a vital issue at the Medica Education Conference 2013.
Born in the USA out of the anthrax scare that followed the 9/11 attacks, the formation of a network of laboratories kept on 24/7 alert against potential bio-terrorism was introduced in France at the end of 2001.
The properties of copper in helping prevent nosocomial infections were debated this October at the Infection Prevention 2013 conference, when Professor Tom Elliott, Consultant Microbiologist at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, addressed the question: ‘Can the use of copper help prevent infection?’
Diarrhoea caused by Clostridium difficile, which remains an issue in hospital settings, has been the focus of Cochrane Collaboration scientists, who now suggest that taking probiotics at the same time as antibiotics could help to maintain a healthy balance of bacteria in the gut, particularly as antibiotics can disturb the ecosystem of organisms normally present in the digestive system.
Cancer diagnostics - Nanotechnology is currently being used in oncology to improve early tumour detection, imaging procedures and targeting of cancer therapies. Cancer biomarkers, indicators that are being produced by the body in spreading tumour cells, play an important role in cancer detection, Dr. Jörg Raach reports
Shocking: Air quality checks are infrequent and insufficient in operating theatres. The good news: a new device can now measure pathogens circulating during surgical procedures, John Brosky reports
A British teenager, 17-year-old Fred Turner, has won a major accolade for building a DNA testing analyser in his own home for a few hundred euros.
Run by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, the new automated Medical Laboratory at the Northern General Hospital has drawn a previously fragmented service into a purpose-built centre.
Sanofi and the Curie Institute, through its Curie-Cancer partnership under the Institut Carnot label, today announce the establishment of a three-year research collaboration to identify new therapeutic targets for the development of treatments for ovarian cancer.
Robert Koch Award 2013 goes to Jeffrey I. Gordon for pioneering studies of the human microbiome; Anthony S. Fauci receives the Robert Koch Gold Medal 2013 for outstanding scientific contributions to HIV research
The German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and Bayer HealthCare (Bayer) will extend their successful strategic research alliance in search of novel cancer therapeutics by focusing their activities also on the field of immunotherapy.
‘All human body cells contain the same DNA, but every type of cell – for example a muscle cell compared to that of a nerve – has a different gene expression pattern’, said Dr Sonja Stadler, speaking at the 2012 congress of DGKL (German Society for Clinical Chemistry).