Without a doubt, this has been a disruptive year in healthcare. But for those of us in the life sciences community, the global pandemic has only strengthened our resolve and commitment to ensure that drug discovery and development continue for patients in need. And so we have adjusted our approach, and worked with others in…
Machine learning model helps characterize compounds for drug discovery
By Chris Adam Tandem mass spectrometry is a powerful analytical tool used to characterize complex mixtures in drug discovery and other fields. Now, Purdue University innovators have created a new method of applying machine learning concepts to the tandem mass spectrometry process to improve the flow of information in the development of new drugs. Their…
Thermo Fisher Scientific launches portfolio of SARS-CoV-2 antibody tests
Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO) launched a new portfolio of SARS-CoV-2 antibody tests featuring the Thermo Scientific OmniPATH COVID-19 Total Antibody ELISA test and the Thermo Scientific EliA SARS-CoV-2-Sp1 IgG test. The OmniPATH COVID-19 Total Antibody ELISA test has been granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The EUA…
CEA achieves mass-spectrometry breakthrough that paves the way to detecting viruses
Targeting analysis of biological particles with large aspect ratios, such as viruses or fibrils, CEA scientists have demonstrated a breakthrough in single-particle mass spectrometry (MS) that could fast track the detection of viral particles in hospitals, offices, airplanes and other public places. Nano-electromechanical sensors measure the mass of nano-objects inaccessible to conventional mass-spectrometry. They can…
Pistoia Alliance launches seed fund to drive biopharma and healthcare innovation
The Pistoia Alliance, a global, not-for-profit alliance that works to lower barriers to innovation in life science and healthcare R&D, today launched its new Innovation Seed Fund to finance early stage concepts in biopharma and healthcare. It aims to fund three to four new projects per year into research, prototypes and proof of concepts (POC),…
Data integrity: The cornerstone of safe and effective drug development
When developing a novel therapeutic drug, one of the most important tools at a researcher’s disposal is the data they create. Experimental data — gathered and analyzed using various instruments, including chromatography systems — facilitates the initial identification of target compounds, the refinement of potential new drugs and the demonstration of their efficacy for clinical…
New liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry workstream offers comprehensive solution for toxicology
Clinical research, forensic and anti-doping toxicology laboratories facing the challenges of analyzing increasing numbers of analytes in biological matrices, can now easily and rapidly optimize their liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) methods for targeted screening and quantification. The new Thermo Scientific Tox Explorer Collection offers a comprehensive LC-MS workstream for toxicology assays. The Tox Explorer…
Thermo Fisher Scientific collaborates to meet unmet clinical needs in biomarker discovery and characterization
Thermo Fisher Scientific today announced new collaborations of the Thermo Fisher Precision Medicine Science Center (PMSC) with AstraZeneca and the University of Nebraska Medical Center as part of its ongoing development of innovative solutions for unmet needs in clinical biomarker discovery. The new alliances strengthen the PMSC’s mission of creating standardized workflows with pharma and…
What is a DNA sequencer?
A DNA sequencer is a machine which automatically determines the sequence of nucleotides in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), the fundamental code which stores genetic information. DNA is a complex molecule made up of two long polynucleotide chains, known as strands, coiled around each other to form a double helix. Each strand is built up from a…
To democratize CRISPR access, scalability and better tools are crucial
Since the first reports of CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)-based gene editing came out eight years ago, the enthusiasm for applying it to any number of scientific challenges has been palpable in the research community. Unfortunately, this eagerness belies the challenges of deploying CRISPR workflows. While CRISPR methods are indeed tremendously promising, it…
Velcro-like food sensor detects spoilage and contamination
By Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office MIT engineers have designed a Velcro-like food sensor, made from an array of silk microneedles, that pierces through plastic packaging to sample food for signs of spoilage and bacterial contamination. The sensor’s microneedles are molded from a solution of edible proteins found in silk cocoons and are designed…
Thermo Fisher Scientific opens new Bioprocessing Collaboration Center in St. Louis
Thermo Fisher Scientific announced the opening of its new Bioprocessing Collaboration Center (BCC) in St. Louis. The facility is adjacent to the company’s biologics manufacturing facility, which recently doubled production capacity with a $50 million expansion. The combined expertise from Thermo Fisher’s bioproduction and pharma services businesses will accelerate innovation and enhance productivity for biopharma…
Aigenpulse launches data analysis suite to automate flow cytometry
Life science and data technology innovator, Aigenpulse, is launching its CytoML Experiment Suite – an automated, end-to-end, machine learning solution specifically aimed at streamlining and automating cytometry analysis at scale and replacing manual gating processes. With it, users will benefit from a single point-of-truth about all cytometry data across any organization. CytoML automates every stage…
Nanoimaging services partners with Thermo Fisher Scientific to expand access to CryoEM technology
NanoImaging Services (NIS), specialists in transmission electron microscopy (TEM), today announced they have partnered with Thermo Fisher Scientific to increase accessibility to cryoelectron microscopy (cryoEM) technology for the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology community. Having pioneered cryoEM for use in drug discovery and vaccine development applications, NIS brings its proven expertise and experience into this partnership,…
Promega launches Spectrum Compact CE benchtop DNA analysis instrument with Hitachi High-Tech
Promega today launched its benchtop capillary electrophoresis (CE) instrument, the Spectrum Compact CE System, developed in collaboration with Hitachi High-Tech. The personal CE system is an integrated DNA analysis instrument that enables life scientists in laboratories of all sizes to perform Sanger sequencing and fragment analysis at the bench. The Spectrum Compact CE System features:…
Shimadzu Scientific Instruments and Front Range Biosciences partner to establish a Hemp Science Center of Excellence
Shimadzu Scientific Instruments (SSI) and Front Range Biosciences (FRB) announced their partnership to establish a Hemp Science Center of Excellence. Through this collaborative research and education agreement, SSI will provide instrumentation to support FRB’s new analytical laboratory for hemp research and development. The FRB Hemp Science Center of Excellence will focus on genetics, biobanking, breeding…
Dotmatics announce the release of Bioregister 2020.1
Dotmatics, a scientific informatics software and services company that helps automate laboratory data workflows for scientific discovery and research, today announced the introduction of Bioregister 2020.1, the latest version of its web-based application for registering sequence-based, chemically modified and structureless biological entities. The enhanced application will support researchers developing chemically modified therapeutics for drug discovery,…
Global R&D Funding Forecast update: Global pharmaceutical R&D
Global pharmaceutical R&D The global biopharmaceutical R&D community has been tasked with finding a cure for the COVID-19 virus. The global health-care industry, up until this pandemic, had been one of the best performing sectors for the investment community. But since the rapid global expansion of the COVID-19 virus in April 2020, it has been…
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.…
Syringe technology could enable injection of concentrated biologic drugs
By Michaela Jarvis | MIT News correspondent MIT researchers have developed a simple, low-cost technology to administer powerful drug formulations that are too viscous to be injected using conventional medical syringes. The technology, which is described in a paper published today in the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials, makes it possible to inject high-concentration drugs and…
Exploring nuances of cannabinoid bioavailability: how water-soluble products can lead to greater absorption
The question of how to achieve greater bioavailability of cannabinoids has been one of the main challenges for researchers in the cannabis industry, and for a good reason. Refining their molecular composition can improve the effects of administered products, as well as ensure more efficient use of the active substances during their production, which would…
Biological Sciences professor hopes research can reveal mechanisms that influence viral infection
Auburn University Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Joanna Sztuba-Solinska recently received a big boost in her quest to discover what makes viruses target specific enzymes within cells. The accomplished researcher and her team received a $451,661 grant from the National Institutes of Health or NIH, that will propel her team’s research tasked with discovering the…
Metal-breathing bacteria could transform electronics, biosensors and more
When the Shewanella oneidensis bacterium “breathes” in certain metal and sulfur compounds anaerobically, the way an aerobic organism would process oxygen, it produces materials that could be used to enhance electronics, electrochemical energy storage and drug-delivery devices. The ability of this bacterium to produce molybdenum disulfide — a material that is able to transfer electrons…
SwRI, UTSA researchers receive grant to reduce cost of malaria treatment
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) are working to synthesize novel highly potent derivatives of the antimalarial drug artemisinin with the goal of creating a powerful, cost-effective malaria treatment. Led by Dr. Shawn Blumberg of SwRI’s Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Division and Dr. Doug Frantz of the Department…
New cell profiling method could speed TB drug discovery
A new technology that combines high throughput imaging and machine learning could speed discovery of drugs to fight tuberculosis, which for generations has killed more people worldwide than any other disease caused by a single agent — 4,000 people every day. Current treatment requires multiple drugs for at least six months and sometimes years, and…