Bioscience Technology articles from February 2008

Bioscience Technology archives from February 2008

Taking on more with microarrays.
February 1, 2008... They started like "on" and "off" switches. Microarrays told scientists which genes were being expressed and which were not. But today's microarrays do much more. When asked about exciting changes in the field, Start Rose, PhD, chief executive...

Snapshot.
February 1, 2008... Types of Services Most Frequently Outsourced Antibody Development & Production 24.2% Animal Studies 22.5% Microrray Analysis 15.0% Assays 18.1% ...

Voting for research.(Editor's Note)
February 1, 2008... If voter turnout in the primaries is an indicator of desire, then the 2008 presidential election can't come too soon. At this point you probably have a reasonable idea of where the major party candidates still in the hunt--John McCain (sorry...

DNA analysis chips.(February's Innovation)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Infinium HD Human1M-Duo (two samples/chip) and the Human610-Quad (four samples/chip) feature up to 2.3 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) per BeadChip. Both arrays on the Human1M-Duo contain markers...

Beads for nucleic acid isolation.(February's Innovation)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dynabeads MyOne SILANE 1 [micro]m beads have an optimized silica-like surface chemistry and a surface area that provides efficient kinetics and sensitivity. Their uniform size and surface area also ensure...

Pipette offers adjustable nozzle spacing.(February's Innovation)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Pipet-Lite pipettors allow easy and rapid change of nozzle spacing from 9-14 mm (8-channel units) or 9-19 mm (6-channel units) to accomodate work processes involving different plate and tubing formats, e.g.,...

Microminiature pH Electrodes.(February's Innovation)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This series of Microminiature pH Electrodes includes combination pH electrodes for micro wells, free flap surgery, gastro intestines and esophagus, as well as tissue insertion in 25, 20, and 18 gauge needless. These...

Flow cytometry system.(February's Innovations)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FACSAria II flow cytometry system features a fluidics design that supports aseptic set-up and cleaning, nozzle sizes that allow sorting of a range of particles, and a 375 nm near UV laser option to expand the...

2D gel imaging, analysis.(February's Innovations)
February 1, 2008... The BioSpectrum 800 Imaging System is a fully motorized and automated light-tight darkroom with 8.3 mega-pixel image capture capability. Fast capture time capability combines with SameSpots Analysis Software (Nonlinear Dynamics) to accelerate...

Glovebox eliminates germ traps, simplifies cleaning.(February's Innovations)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BioSafe Glovebox Isolator, constructed of stainless steel with smooth, ultra-clean surfaces, provides a hermetically sealed chamber for a variety of operations and is available with either a tempered glass or...

High-throughput light-scattering detector.(February's Innovations)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Featuring single mode fiber (SMF) technology and a three-axis, automated platform, the Model 802-DAT is a high-throughput, dynamic light-scattering system that provides sensitivity, wide-range temperature control and...

National Venture Conference debuts in April.(Research News)(Conference news)
February 1, 2008... The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) has announced the debut of the National Venture Conference, a national forum designed to connect early-stage biotech companies with a group of venture partners. The conference will be held at the...

See-through zebrafish.(Research News)
February 1, 2008... Transparent zebrafish, described in the Feb. 7 issue Cell Stem Cell, are allowing researchers at Children's Hospital Boston to directly view internal organs and observe processes such as tumor growth in real-time. While scientists have...

Sigma-Aldrich, Atlas Antibodies in distribution partnership.(Research News)
February 1, 2008... Sigma-Aldrich has announced an partnership with Atlas Antibodies to distribute Prestige Antibodies--developed by the Human Proteome Resource--to the proteomics and cell biology research communities. Initially consisting of 1,800 antibodies, the...

Neurobiology Prize entries requested.(Research News)
February 1, 2008... Eppendorf AG and the journal Science are accepting applications for the 2008 Eppendorf & Science Prize for Neurobiology. The annual international research prize of US $25,000 is awarded to one young scientist for his or her outstanding...

Evolving complexity out of "Junk DNA".(Research News)
February 1, 2008... "Junk DNA" could hold the secret of the evolutionary origin of complex animals, according to new research from Dartmouth College (USA) and the University of Bristol (UK). The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of...

Lab Automation announces Innovation Award winner.(Research News)
February 1, 2008... The Association for Laboratory Automation (ALA), a non-profit scientific association spanning diverse industries and technology sectors, announced the winner of the $10,000 ALA Innovation Award. James Landers, Ph.D., University of Virginia, was...

Using mammalian competent cells for evaluation of IRES sequences: in this work, 8-fold more frozen cells (than passaged cells) were transfected.(Biochemicals & Kits)
February 1, 2008... Expression of multiple recombinant proteins in mammalian cells from a single mRNA is technically more difficult than expression in bacterial cells due to the different nature by which translational initiation occurs. In bacteria, a single mRNA...

Basement Membrane Extract.(Biochemicals & Kits: Cell Culture Focus)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] PathClear Basement Membrane Extract (part of the Trevigen, Inc. Cultrex product line) is extensively tested; the PathClear designation means that in addition to standard sterility, endotoxin and MAP testing, the BME...

Defined, animal origin-free supplement.(Biochemicals & Kits: Cell Culture Focus)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Growth supplement for the culture of Keratinocytes, Supplement $7, is chemically defined and animal product-free. The sterile, concentrated (100x) solution is intended for use with EpiLife Medium to culture human...

Hepatocyte isolation system.(Biochemicals & Kits: Cell Culture Focus)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] By using the pre-optimized combination of enzymes contained in this kit, it is possible to minimize the lot-to-lot variation and improve the quality of isolated hepatocytes. Each lot is use-tested by isolating...

Endothelial cells, support products.(Biochemicals & Kits: Cell Culture Focus)
February 1, 2008... VEC Technologies, Inc. is a manufacturer of normal cultured vascular endothelial cells and endothelial cell support products. Endothelial cells are available from various species and several anatomic sites, and the company provides custom...

RNAi duplexes.(Biochemicals & Kits: Product News)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] PlateSelect RNAi duplexes (Invitrogen Corp., Carlsbad, CA) offer the ability to customize 96 well-plates with the company's chemically modified Stealth or standard BLOCK-iT RNAi duplexes. Customized plates can be...

HTRF ADP assay.(Biochemicals & Kits: Product News)
February 1, 2008... Homogeneous Time-Resolved Fluorescence Transcreener is a universal, non-radioactive assay for high-throughput screening and profiling of kinases and ATPases. It measures the generation of ADP (Adenosine 5'-diphosphate), which is directly...

Cell-free peptide binding in vitro assay for HLA alleles.(Biochemicals & Kits: Product News)
February 1, 2008... MHC-peptide binding assay Class II REVEAL for HLA alleles is a cell-free in vitro assay that can rapidly predict T-cell antigens in any protein sequence. It is widely applicable across many disease areas such as cancer, infectious diseases,...

Kit to remove PCR inhibitors from DNA.(Biochemicals & Kits: Product News)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] PowerClean DNA Clean-up Kit can be used to purify DNA containing PCR inhibitors, increasing PCR sensitivity. The kit provides a method for cleaning up genomic DNA previously isolated from soil samples as well as...

Cell, tissue fraction isolation.(Biochemicals & Kits: Product News)
February 1, 2008... The Focus SubCell Kit enables fast isolation of nuclear, enriched mitochondrial, membrane and cytosolic fractions for cell biology and proteomic analysis. The mitochondrial fraction can be subsequently separated into heavy and light fractions...

Human natural killer cells.(Biochemicals & Kits: Product News)
February 1, 2008... Cryopreserved primary cells are isolated from normal human peripheral blood using positive or negative immunomagnetic selection for the CD56 antigen. Tested to be 90% pure for CD56 + via flow cytometry, and 95% viable after thaw, this...

SYBR Green qPCR mix.(Biochemicals & Kits: Product News)
February 1, 2008... [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] HotStart-IT SYBR Green qPCR all-in-one universal master mix is compatible with standard SYBR filters. It offers multiple platform capability and includes separate tubes of ROX and fluorescein passive reference dyes to...

Yeast RNA purification kit.(Biochemicals & Kits: Product News)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] MasterPure kit provides all of the reagents needed to purify RNA from yeast cell types including: Candida, Saccharomyces, Schizosaccharomyces as well as filamentous fungi, such as AspergiLlus. The kit uses a rapid...

Non-enymatic his detection.(Biochemicals & Kits: Product News)
February 1, 2008... Goldiblot provides an alternative to enzymatic methods for the detection of recombinant His-tagged proteins on membrane blots such as immunoblots and Westerns. It uses nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA)-nickel (II)-functionalized gold nanoparticles,...

DNA from fixed samples.(Biochemicals & Kits: Product News)
February 1, 2008... The REPLI-g FFPE Kit uses a DNA processing reaction that allows the advantages of multiple displacement amplification (MDA) to be extended to highly degraded DNA samples derived from FFPE tissue. Amplification of sample material while...

GAPDH, 16S PCR-based assay.(Biochemicals & Kits: Product News)
February 1, 2008... ReaX Assays contain all the components required to perform a PCR amplification assay of a selected target organism or genes, encapsulated into beads; only template DNA is required prior to running the PCR protocol. Assay beads standardize and...

Protein analysis qualification, calibration kits.(Biochemicals & Kits: Product News)
February 1, 2008... Qualification and calibration kits for use on the Bio-Rad Laboratories' (Hercules, CA) ProteinChip surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization (SELDI) system, improve reproducibility during biomarker discovery. Researchers who own either a...

Antibody purification products.(Biochemicals & Kits: Product News)
February 1, 2008... CaptureSelect Antibody Toolbox includes a range of products for the affinity purification of antibodies. It removes uncertainty in selecting affinity media, and cuts optimization steps. Products in the line include: kappa affinity matrix for...

Multiphoton imaging: see 700 microns deep into living animals: localizing the excitation fluorescence and using near-infrared wavelengths, researchers can achieve deep-tissue imaging with reduced photo-damage.(Instruments & Systems)
February 1, 2008... [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] Looking 200, 300 or more microns deep into living organisms and observing dynamic processes as they occur is a complex and challenging task. First, many fluorescence systems rely on shorter-wavelength blue and...

Reader incorporates filters, monochromator.(Instruments & Systems: Product News)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] EnVision Multilabel Plate Readers newly incorporate both filter and monochromator technologies. Detection method can be chosen on the fly. Assays showing wide emission spectra are best captured with optimized filter...

Data management software.(Instruments & Systems: Product News)
February 1, 2008... IN Cell Miner High-Content Manager software (GE Healthcare), manages complex data generated by cellular high content analysis and screening that generated using GE's IN Cell Analyzer and similar systems. By integrating Documentum content...

Medium-throughput, acoustic-drop dispensing.(Instruments & Systems: Product News)
February 1, 2008... Echo 520 system uses acoustic droplet ejection technology to accurately perform up to 100,000 tranfers per day of a variety of solutions. Avoiding sample loss by adsorption onto tips and intermediate plates improves accuracy. Rapid ejection of...

Microplate-based sample preparation.(Instruments & Systems: Sample Prep Focus)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Precision XS sample preparation instrument features four distinct liquid transfer tools on one platform, providing flexibility during microplate-based liquid sample preparation applications Single- and multi-channel...

Automated cell counter.(Instruments & Systems: Sample Prep Focus)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The ADAM series automatic cell counter measures total cell numbers and cell viabilities. Instead of tryphan blue staining, ADAM uses fluorescence dye staining, laser optics, and CCD detection technologies to make...

Acoustic drop liquid handling system.(Instruments & Systems: Sample Prep Focus)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Echo 520 transfers avariety of fluids including, TRIS-EUTA buffer used in oligonucleotide research and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) used in proteomics. The system automatically determines the fluid depth in each...

Nucleic acid purification.(Instruments & Systems: Sample Prep Focus)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] MagNA Pure Compact System provides low-throughput (1-8 isolations per run) nucleic acid purification from a variety of samples. Pre-filled reagent cartridges accelerate set-up. The MagNA Pure LC System offers high...

Multi-application LED Lighting Module.(Instruments & Systems: Product News)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] RGB Lighting Module has 84 high intensity LEDs providing red, blue, green and white light. Additional slots allow the fitting of UV tubes emitting light of 365 or 254 nm, enhancing the range of applications. The...

Confocal laser scanning microscope.(Instruments & Systems: Product News)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Rapid biological processes can be captured at high resolution using the the fully automated A1 and the high specification A1R confocal laser scanner systems. The A1 utilizes conventional paired galvonometers...

Gel documentation and marker system.(Instruments & Systems: Product News)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The GEBR DNA Gel Marker combines gel documentation and automated marking systems, which optimizes work-flow and reduces exposure times for DNA to less than 5 seconds (including digital image capture). Once the image...

Mass spec details complex biological samples.(Instruments & Systems: Product News)
February 1, 2008... The Waters SYNAPT MS, a quadrupole orthogonal acceleration, time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MS) platform, combines the company's ACQUITY UltraPerformance LC (UPLC) separations, Exact Mass MSE data acquisition, and MassLynx Informatics to...

Modular thermal cyclers accommodate multiple block formats.(Instruments & Systems: Product News)
February 1, 2008... The Bio-Rad 1000-series platform includes the C1000 and $1000 thermal cyclers. The C1000 incorporates a large display and a fully adjustable lid. Unit features include USB flash drive data storage and the Protocol Autowriter, which enables...

Incubator with infrared sensor.(Apparatus & Consumables: Incubator Focus)
February 1, 2008... Incubators with IR sensors are used in applications with frequent door opening because C[O.sub.2] recovery is unaffected by changes in temperature or humidity. Continuously sampling the chamber atmosphere through a spectrophotometer flow cell,...

C[O.sub.2] incubator.(Apparatus & Consumables: Incubator Focus)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The C 150 C[O.sub.2] incubator features standard hot-air sterilization at 180 C. Temperature precision combines with an interior that is condensation-free even at high humidity levels and an FPI infrared measuring...

Reach-in C[O.sub.2] incubator.(Apparatus & Consumables: Incubator Focus)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] MCO-80IC C[O.sub.2] reach-in incubator eliminates interruptions for decontamination, improving cell culture growth and expression under stable, repeatable conditions and minimizing the potential for loss due to...

C[O.sub.2] incubators.(Apparatus & Consumables: Incubator Focus)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Direct-heat C[O.sub.2] incubators maintain atmospheric oxygen levels at a concentration of 1-19%, a level that is useful in preventing stem cells from differentiating. Directly heated from all six sides promotes...

Sample storage.(Apparatus & Consumables: Product News)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Used in conjunction with it's manufacturer's tube caps or bands, Tubestrip 8 (Micronic NA) stores up to eight samples in a linked row of 1.4 ml tubes and provides simple and high integrity storage of clinical or...

Top-loading autoclaves.(Apparatus & Consumables: Product News)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Tuttnauer ELV/ELVC autoclaves offer chamber capacities to 85 L and short batch times. Features include an integrated printer, RS-232 interface, automatic locking doors, cooled exhaust steam and dual sensors for...

Rotating microarray ovens.(Apparatus & Consumables: Product News)
February 1, 2008... The Series 700 line of rotating ovens is designed for bubble-mixing and hybridization of popular microarray chambers that require mixing during hybridization. Two models are available. Model 777 provides mixing-while-hybridizing all popular...

Multi-sample homogenizer.(Apparatus & Consumables: Product News)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Omni Prep homogenizer processes six samples per cycle using Omni Tip plastic generator probes. The tips meet demands for high throughput homogenization while eliminating cross-contamination and minimizing sample...

Evaporator accessory pools samples.(Apparatus & Consumables: Product News)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Available in 50, 125 and 300 ml capacities, the SampleGenie enables the EZ-2 and HT series centrifugal evaporators to accelerate the pooling of multiple large volume fractions into a single small sample vial. Pooling...

Mouse, rat holders.(Apparatus & Consumables: Product News)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] These animal holders are available for non-invasive blood pressure measurements or tail vein injection, as well as for open access for cerebral, intra-peritoneal and intravenous injections. Holders are available for...

Saliva collection device.(Apparatus & Consumables: Product News)
February 1, 2008... The hygienic Salivette, for salivary cortisol recovery, incorporates synthetic swab material that yields reliable cortisol levels even from low volume saliva samples and/or samples with low cortisol concentrations. The device is color-coded...

Syringe pump.(Apparatus & Consumables: Product News)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] With a remote pumping unit and control box, Model KDS 310 is useful when pumping radioactive chemicals where a Beta or Gamma shield must be present. The control box can be located up to six feet away, which...

Filtration plates.(Apparatus & Consumables: Product News)
February 1, 2008... Featuring proprietary micro-filters, this range of filtration plates includes well volumes ranging from 350 [micro]l to 5 ml. Included within the range are filtration plates that can simultaneously filter 96 or 384 samples of up to 350 [micro]1...

Automated stem cell culture, screening.(Apparatus & Consumables: Product News)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I-STEM is an organization formed by INSERM, the French national institute of health, with AFM, the French muscular dystrophy association, to validate the feasibility of using human embryonic stem cells for...

Clean room pass-through chamber.(Apparatus & Consumables: Product News)
February 1, 2008... BioSafe Pass-Throughs incorporate coved corners and ultrasmooth 304/316 stainless steel surfaces to simplify cleaning and sterilization in critical aseptic applications. No-lip edges eliminate clearance obstructions for easy material transfer....

Tube volume detection.(Apparatus & Consumables: Product News)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ComCHECK enables researchers to quickly ascertain the volume of sample within a tube with an accuracy of 10 [micro]L, and to easily identify which sample tubes contain a liquid below an acceptable threshold volume....

Dish Warmer supports microscopy specimens.(Apparatus & Consumables: Product News)
February 1, 2008... Bioptechs Stable Z Dish Warmer provides thermal support for specimens on a microscope stage without inducing thermal drift. The Stable Z design holds standard 35 mm dishes, prevents heat intended for the specimen from heating the stage, is...

Respiratory metabolism monitor.(Apparatus & Consumables: Product News)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Oxylet System monitors respiratory metabolism in rodents. Utilizing an indirect calorimetry system, it easily monitors C[O.sub.2] production, [O.sub.2] consumption, and respiratory ratio. It can be scaled up to...

LC software control.(Apparatus & Consumables: Product News)
February 1, 2008... Atlas Chromatography Data System (CDS) control software for the Accela High Speed LC (all products, Thermo Fisher Scientific), integrates instrument control, data acquisition, chromatography data processing and reporting. The Atlas Extension...

Cooling circulator.(Apparatus & Consumables: Product News)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] TCM-1 cooling module circulates water through a fan/radiator housing and quietly removes excess heat from all Peltier driven devices as well as any other apparatus. The unit features a pump rate of 180 L/hr. ...

3D structure of mammalian GRP94 revealed.(Best Practices)
February 1, 2008... There has been tremendous pharmacological interest in the heat shock protein (HSP) family since it's discovery more than a decade ago. HSPs, one of the most abundant proteins found in mammalian cells, act as checkpoints in the maturation and...