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…
The Thermo Scientific CTS Series enables rapid start-up of cell and gene therapy manufacturing
Thermo Fisher Scientific announces the launch of an industry-leading product, compliance and services portfolio, compatible with current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) and designed to enable rapid start-up of clinical and commercial cell and gene therapy manufacturing. Developed as the first-ever all-inclusive solution to simplify and optimize the cGMP equipment installation and validation process, the Thermo…
Sphere Fluidics and Heriot-Watt University collaborate to develop next generation droplet generator instrumentation
Sphere Fluidics, a company developing single cell analysis systems underpinned by its patented picodroplet technology, and Heriot-Watt University, a specialist, pioneering Scottish university, announced they have been awarded a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) grant from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency. The grant will facilitate the development of novel droplet generator instrumentation, which will be…
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…
Aigenpulse introduces novel data intelligence platform to life science markets
Life science and data technology company, Aigenpulse, is introducing a new data intelligence platform designed to expedite the drug discovery and development process. The Aigenpulse Platform harnesses the latest artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to deliver advanced analytics to underpin scientific decision making. Aigenpulse has built the data-agnostic platform for importing, integrating, processing, linking,…
Engineers use “DNA origami” to identify vaccine design rules
By Anne Trafton, MIT News Office By folding DNA into a virus-like structure, MIT researchers have designed HIV-like particles that provoke a strong immune response from human immune cells grown in a lab dish. Such particles might eventually be used as an HIV vaccine. The DNA particles, which closely mimic the size and shape of…
BIOMODEX announces results of first clinical study using patient-specific brain aneurysm models for pre-procedural rehearsals
BIOMODEX, a digital health company that offers a unique and enhanced 3D printed solution for patient-specific rehearsal and physician training, last week announced the results of the first clinical study using the BIOMODEX EVIAS 3D printed models to plan aneurysm treatment using endovascular robotics and novel flow-diverter devices. The findings, which were published in the…
Case Western Reserve University-led team develops new approach to treat certain neurological diseases
A team led by Case Western Reserve University medical researchers has developed a potential treatment method for Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease (PMD), a fatal neurological disorder that produces severe movement, motor and cognitive dysfunction in children. It results from genetic mutations that prevent the body from properly making myelin, the protective insulation around nerve cells. Using mouse…