Crews at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have taken the first 3,200-megapixel digital photos – the largest ever taken in a single shot – with an extraordinary array of imaging sensors that will become the heart and soul of the future camera of Vera C. Rubin Observatory. The images are so large that…
Super-resolution imaging breakthrough in living cells
Edinburgh scientists have developed a new imaging technique that reveals the inner workings of living cells in stunning detail and could pave the way to a better understanding of many diseases. The new super-resolution imaging technique – LIVE-PAINT- provides a flexible and powerful way of tracking individual proteins inside living cells, without disrupting their activity.…
New Thermo Scientific Selectris filters push Cryo-EM boundaries with atomic resolution
Thermo Fisher Scientific has introduced two breakthrough imaging filters, the Thermo Scientific Selectris Imaging Filter and the Thermo Scientific Selectris X Imaging Filter, taking cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to a new level, making it possible to view proteins at true atomic resolution. Combined with a Thermo Scientific Krios or Glacios Cryo-Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), the Selectris…
Versatile Thermo Scientific Helios 5 PFIBs enable materials and life sciences research
Thermo Fisher Scientific has released the Thermo Scientific Helios 5 Plasma Focused Ion Beam (PFIB) DualBeam and the Thermo Scientific Helios 5 Hydra DualBeam focused ion beam scanning electron microscopes (FIB-SEMs). Built for a wide range of uses, from metals and battery characterization to structural biology, these instruments are well-suited for labs that conduct both materials…
Thermo Fisher Scientific accelerates nanometer-scale research with next-generation Apreo 2
Thermo Fisher Scientific today unveiled its next-generation Thermo Scientific Apreo 2 Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), a high-performance field emission SEM that takes automation to the next level, offering easy-to-obtain nanometer-scale information at a range of working distances and operating conditions. The Apreo 2 was designed to help investigators, SEM operators and lab managers deliver expert…
JEOL introduces new compact Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope
JEOL expands its FE SEM product group with the introduction of a compact Field Emission SEM that offers ultrahigh resolution and versatile analytical capabilities at a great value. The new JSM-IT700HR InTouchScope FE SEM is equipped with a large specimen chamber and both High and Low Vacuum modes for managing a wide variety of specimen…
What is a spectrophotometer?
Spectrophotometers measure a light beam’s intensity as a function of its color (wavelength). Important features of spectrophotometers are spectral bandwidth (the range of colors it can transmit through the test sample), the percentage of sample-transmission, the logarithmic range of sample-absorption, and sometimes a percentage of reflectance measurement. A spectrophotometer is commonly used for the measurement…
What is a spectrometer?
A spectrometer is any instrument used to measure the wavelengths and intensities of a physical characteristic over a given range, i.e. spectrum. The property being measured is usually intensity of light, but other variables like polarization can also be measured. Technically, a spectrometer can function over any range of light, but most operate in a…
Microscopy – Images in a flash
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have built a novel microscope that provides a “chemical lens” for viewing biological systems including cell membranes and biofilms. The tool could advance the understanding of complex biological interactions, such as those between microbes and plants. The noninvasive instrument, detailed in Optics Letters, allows researchers to capture images using ultrashort…
New application for trinamiX near-infrared spectroscopy solutions: plastic sorting made easy
trinamiX, a wholly owned subsidiary of BASF, today announced it has developed a new application for its mobile Near-Infrared (NIR) Spectroscopy Solutions to simplify plastic sorting and recycling. Using trinamiX technology, the diverse compositions of different plastics can now be precisely determined and thus distinguished via the simple use of a portable handheld device that…
JEOL begins remote demos of new ultrahigh resolution FE SEM
JEOL’s new Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope, the JSM-IT800, is the company’s top-of-the-line microscope with ultrahigh spatial resolution imaging and analysis at the nanoscale. Capabilities include up to 2,000,000 x magnification and an accelerating voltage range of 0.01 to 30 kV, making it possible to acquire stunning details of nanostructures as well as comprehensive analysis…
Chemistry innovator widening, quickening uses of spectrometry
By Sarah Olson Michel The clock is ticking when a neurosurgeon is trying to remove a brain tumor but also determining its malignancy and type. Instead of sending samples to a lab where the necessary testing equipment resides to answer those questions, a Purdue scientist is working on shrinking that equipment for use in the…
Park Systems introduces Park NX-TSH a high resolution, automated Tip Scanning Head (TSH) for industrial large sample AFM
Park Systems, manufacturer of Atomic Force Microscopes (AFM), announces Park NX-TSH, automated Tip Scan Head for large sample analysis over 300 mm. Park NX-TSH is for large and heavy sample flat panel display glass and features conductive AFM for electric defect analysis by integrating a micro probe station. Park Systems will have a live demo…
Two new high-resolution mass spectrometers added to the Thermo Scientific Orbitrap platform
The Thermo Scientific Orbitrap Exploris portfolio of high-resolution, accurate-mass (HRAM) systems, which launched in 2019 with the Thermo Scientific Orbitrap Exploris 480 mass spectrometer, now includes two new, highly capable instruments, the Thermo Scientific Orbitrap Exploris 240 and Thermo Scientific Orbitrap Exploris 120 mass spectrometer, allowing customers to easily transfer knowledge and methods from research…
Towable sensor free-falls to measure vertical slices of ocean conditions
By Jennifer Chu, MIT News Office The motion of the ocean is often thought of in horizontal terms, for instance in the powerful currents that sweep around the planet, or the waves that ride in and out along a coastline. But there is also plenty of vertical motion, particularly in the open seas, where water…
US Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, selects JEOL mass spectrometers for five labs
JEOL USA announces that it has been awarded a major contract by the US Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection for five JEOL AccuTOF-DART Direct Analysis in Real Time, Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometers. These instruments will enhance the analytical capabilities of five US Customs and Border Protection laboratories across the country. Three additional labs…
Helios 5 laser PFIB accelerates the pace of materials research for academic and industrial users
Thermo Scientific Helios 5 Laser PFIB system, released by Thermo Fisher Scientific, is an advanced focused ion-beam-scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM) with a fully integrated femtosecond laser that quickly characterizes millimeter-scale volumes of material in 3D with nanometer resolution. The Helios 5 Laser PFIB combines the best-in-class Thermo Scientific Elstar SEM Column for ultra-high-resolution imaging and…
New imaging technology allows visualization of nanoscale structures inside whole cells and tissues
Since Robert Hooke’s first description of a cell in Micrographia 350 years ago, microscopy has played an important role in understanding the rules of life. However, the smallest resolvable feature, the resolution, is restricted by the wave nature of light. This century-old barrier has restricted understanding of cellular functions, interactions and dynamics, particularly at the…
New Leica platform adds an additional dimension to confocal imaging
Designer and manufacturer of microscopes and scientific equipment, Leica Microsystems, has launched its flagship new confocal microscopy platform, STELLARIS. The platform will significantly improve how scientists are able to capture three-dimensional images of living cells and tissues. Due to its optimized imaging performance, the new confocal platform gives researchers the power to see more and,…
Park Systems completes equity investment in Molecular Vista
Park Systems, manufacturer of Atomic Force Microscopes (AFM), announces it has made an equity investment in Molecular Vista, based in San Jose, CA. Molecular Vista produces AFM tools to probe and understand matter at the molecular level through quantitative visualization using Infrared Photo-induced Force Microscopy (IR PiFM). PiFM is a combination of AFM and IR…
Patient-friendly brain imager gets green light toward first prototype
It might not start a fashion trend, but Sandia National Laboratories is designing a wearable brain imager. The National Institutes of Health has granted Sandia $6 million to build the prototype medical device that would make magnetoencephalography (MEG) — a type of noninvasive brain scan — more comfortable, more accessible and potentially more accurate. “This…
Mass Photometry: revolutionary biotech by Refeyn Ltd. wins prestigious awards
Refeyn Ltd., a spinout from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Oxford, has been recognized by two prestigious science and innovation awards for its revolutionary mass photometry technology. Refeyn’s first instrument, the Refeyn OneMP, enables users to measure the mass of single molecules in solution – quickly, simply and accurately. The company’s proprietary…
Getting cancer drugs to the brain is difficult – but a new ‘road map’ might make it easier
The human brain has some remarkable capabilities – including the ability to block cancer drugs from effectively reaching cancer cells in the brain. The greatest obstacle when it comes to treating cancer that has spread to the brain is the blood-brain barrier, the brain’s natural defense mechanism that is a collection of blood vessels that…
Coherent poly propagation materials with 3-dimensional photonic control over visible light
By: Dr. Michelle R. Stem Three-dimensional visible light photonic control is accomplished via the newly identified property of coherent poly propagation (CPP). This property is exhibited by a special silicate that is a rare form of a gemstone found in nature – opal. Dr. Michelle R. Stem discovered and examined several specimens of this material.…
Detecting patients’ pain levels via their brain signals
Researchers from MIT and elsewhere have developed a system that measures a patient’s pain level by analyzing brain activity from a portable neuroimaging device. The system could help doctors diagnose and treat pain in unconscious and noncommunicative patients, which could reduce the risk of chronic pain that can occur after surgery. Pain management is a…