High-performance liquid chromatography - analysis of various vitamins in multivitamin tablets
Effective August 24, 2007, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a regulation (21 CFR Part 111) that established the minimum current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs) required for activities in manufacturing, packaging, labelling and holding Dietary Supplements to ensure the identity, purity, quality, strength and composition of these products. Depending on the business size determined by the number of employees, FDA set 3 different timelines by which the companies must comply with the new requirements. For businesses with 500 or more employees, the compliance date was June 25, 2008. For businesses with 20 to 499 employees, the compliance date was June 25, 2009. For businesses with 19 or fewer employees, the compliance date is June 25, 2010. The new regulation means more testing needs to be performed by companies that manufacture Dietary Supplements. Read more »
Spectrophotometric analysis - quantitation of nucleic acid using BioSpec-nano
The BioSpec-nano has 2 optical pathlengths (0.2 mm, 0.7 mm), allowing quantitation of nucleic acid with sample volumes of 1 µL and 2 µL, respectively. In addition, if the optional cell (sample volume: 2 mL) having a 5 mm pathlength is used, measurement can be conducted using the cell (cuvette). Read more »
Unidentified microbes devouring oil plume in the Gulf of Mexico
Unidentified microbes devouring anything is usually a cause for concern but in the Gulf of Mexico they are consuming the spilt oil from BP's Deepwater Horizon wellhead, apparently without consuming all the oxygen and creating dead zones. Read more »
The mathematics of fat cell formation
Scientists using mathematics to try to determine what causes the birth of a human fat cell have come up with a few predictions about the proteins that influence this process. Read more »
Do you see what I see?
An important new link between what people see and the way their minds process that visual information has been discovered. Read more »
BioWhittaker X-VIVO media systems
Lonza’s R&D efforts and collaboration with many clinical trials have provided Lonza with the tools and expertise to support the developments in adoptive immunotherapy, cancer therapy, genetic therapy and other cellular therapies. Lonza’s philosophy for the development of serum-free formulations for use in cellular therapy is to provide a nutritionally complete and balanced environment for the cells. We have not included any exogenous growth factors, artificial stimulators of cellular proliferation or undefined supplements. Read more »
Missing Puma reveals cancer conundrum
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers have made a discovery that has upended scientists’ understanding of programmed cell death and its role in tumour formation. Read more »
Gases and gas handling for the lab environment
Over the past decade, manufacturing and process plants across the full spectrum of industry have advanced to meet the growing and evolving demands of the markets they serve. In turn, the design and function of the laboratories which support these plants have had to respond to these changes. Accordingly, the gases and gas technologies used in testing, analysis and measurement, and the associated gas equipment and supply systems have advanced in quantum leaps. Read more »
On-site forensic testing capability for the Australian Federal Police
The Australian Federal Police is taking the lead in implementing innovative forensic science capabilities, becoming the first agency in Australia to take delivery of an instrument that can be used for on-site rock and mineral analysis. Read more »
Scientists design new delivery device for gene therapy
A self-destructing nanoparticle delivers genetic material deep into cells without generating an immune response. Read more »
What came first - the chicken or the egg?
The ubiquitious egg problem - "what came first, the chicken or the egg?" - has been partially cracked. Read more »
Technique distinguishes between active and latent TB
An emerging technique designed to quickly distinguish between people with active and dormant tuberculosis may help health professionals diagnose the disease sooner, thereby potentially limiting early exposure to the disease, according to a study conducted by researchers at Duke University Medical Center. Read more »
New imaging technology brings trace chemicals into focus
A new, hybrid technique that improves the detection of trace chemicals important in such areas as national security, human health and the environment has been uncovered. Read more »
Quantum interface between light and atoms
Physicists have developed a quantum interface which connects light particles and atoms. Read more »
International reputation for local fine coal lab
Results coming out of a fine coal research laboratory have attracted the interest of some of the world’s largest coal producers. Established by site water management specialists Nalco Australia, the laboratory is adopting a holistic approach to fine coal recovery. A complementary facility to the company’s primary mining R&D laboratories in Western Australia, the new Sydney lab is focusing on the multifaceted optimisation of fine coal circuits. Read more »
Proteins may point to alcohol use test
Measuring a set of protein changes in the blood linked to alcohol use may potentially lead to a more accurate diagnostic test than those currently available. Read more »
To shmoo or not to shmoo?
Yeast cells decide whether to have sex with each other within two minutes of meeting according to research published in ‘Nature’. One of the authors of the study, from Imperial College London, says the new insights into how yeast cells decide to mate could be helpful for researchers looking at how cancer cells and stem cells develop. Read more »
Left or right? Early detection of soccer penalty kicks revealed
Some top soccer goalkeepers are able to head off a penalty kick by diving in the correct direction in advance of the kick. Recent research in cognitive science explains how they do this. Read more »
ES cell-derived cardiomyocytes: functional expression of all essential cardiac ion currents
To date, in vitro preclinical electrophysiological studies rely mainly on recombinant cell systems like injected oocytes or mammalian cell lines expressing only one specific ion channel. These recombinant cell lines are designed to analyze the properties of a single ion channel but lack the normal physiological cellular environment and functional humoral regulation compared to primary cardiomyocytes or primary tissues (eg, papillary muscle or Langendorff-perfused explanted hearts). On the other hand, the isolation of the primary cardiac cells is costly, time consuming and difficult to standardize. [1] Read more »
Nucleofection - combining high transfection performance with superior preservation of functionality
Nucleofection has become a method of choice whenever transfection of primary cells or difficult-to-transfect cell lines is required. Here we show that Nucleofection of frequently used primary cells (mouse dendritic cells, human macrophages and human T cells) results in highly efficient transfer of DNA and other substrates, while at the same time maintaining excellent cell viability and post-transfection functionality. This combination of benefits makes Nucleofection superior to other transfection methods. Read more »