WinLIMS Rental Solution Improves Efficiency at Contract Lab
LIMSource.com (01/03/08)

The efficiency of a MicroCheck Technical Services contract lab has received a boost with the deployment of QSI's WinLIMS rental solution. The product has streamlined the system for recording samples and results, which was mostly paper-based and had to contend with a major bottleneck at the reporting stage. In the two years since the WinLIMS installation, sample throughput has increased by 50 percent and many manual processes have been automated. "Samples are booked into WinLIMS via an electronic spreadsheet," notes site leader at MicroCheck's Coventry lab Erik Thompson. "Labels are generated automatically, and laboratory worksheets printed off in minutes. Results are automatically checked against customer specification limits held in the system. Because WinLIMS holds information in intuitively linked tables, it's easy to extract data and present it in the client's chosen format." Thompson points out that cash flow has increased because invoicing is done directly from the LIMS data, while the seamless integration of data from the new Coventry facility to the "parent" WinLIMS system at the Trowbridge lab has been facilitated.
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Not Exactly the Jetsons, But Getting Closer
New York Times (01/03/08) McClain, Dylan

Market research firm NPD Group says that the market for robotic and interactive playmates in the United States reached $284 million during the 12 months ended in October 2007, compared to $213 million the previous year. That number is likely to rise with the entry of new products like the i-Sobot from Tomy of Japan, which though only 6.5 inches tall has a total of 17 motors to move its limbs. Robots with 20 or more motors can copy just about all human movement, according to James Kuffner, an assistant professor at the Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute, who predicts that within two decades consumer robots will be able to perform many chores humans find dangerous or distasteful. But such robots will need to be bigger, about the size of an average 12-year-old, according to Honda, and standing in the way of mass adoption of such robots is weight and costs; as robots get bigger, they will need more gears, making them heavier and costlier. Also in the future will be robots that look more human, which could cause psychological issues, a condition known as uncanny valley syndrome that was first proposed by Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori in 1970. The idea behind the theory is that humans are bothered by inanimate objects that look too human. "As you get closer to something human, but it is not a human, it is frightening," says Kuffner. "I have this theory that it goes all the way back to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein — that you should not play God."
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UCLA Researchers Develop Method for Production of More Efficient Biofuels
UCLA News (01/02/08) Chin, Matthew

A new technique for generating next-generation biofuels through the genetic modification of Escherichia coli bacteria has been developed by researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science and is detailed in the Jan. 3 issue of Nature. Initiatives to produce biofuels from renewable resources have gained a boost due to worries about long-term fossil fuel availability, along with environmental dangers associated with their production and use. The UCLA researchers altered key pathways in E. coli to yield several higher-chain alcohols from glucose, such as isobutanol, 1-butanol, 2-methyl-1-butanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, and 2-phenylethanol. The method was devised by UCLA professor James Liao, visiting professor Taizo Hanai, and postdoctoral fellow Shota Atsumi. "Unlike ethanol, organisms are not used to producing these unusual alcohols, and there is no advantage for them to do so," said Liao. "The fact that they can be made by E. coli is even more surprising, since E. coli is not a promising host to tolerate alcohols. These results mean that these unusual alcohols in fact can be manufactured as efficiently as what evolved in nature for ethanol." The university has licensed the technology via an exclusive royalty-bearing license to Gevo. "As the exclusive licensee of this technology, we can further our national interests in developing advanced renewable resource-based fuels that will help address the issues of climate change and future energy needs while creating a significant competitive advantage," proclaimed Gevo CEO Patrick Gruber.
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Model Is First to Compare Performance of 'Biosensors'
AScribe Newswire (01/02/08)

Researches at Purdue University have developed a model that relates a biosensor's size and shape with its performance. Biosensors are designed to capture and detect target molecules, which can be used to identify substances such as pathogens or DNA. The sensors combine electronic circuitry with natural molecules in a variety of shapes, including a flat surface and a crisscrossing pattern. Researchers discovered several years ago that smaller biosensors are more sensitive than larger ones but were not sure why, because it was too difficult to analyze using standard techniques. The Purdue model uses Cantor transformation, which makes the computations necessary for proper analysis easier. It was assumed that smaller sensors worked better because they were similar in size to the target molecules. However, the model found that smaller sensors eliminate "diffusion slow down," allowing target molecules to move faster to sensors with single nanotubes. The model was tested and validated with data from other laboratories, giving other researches a new perspective on how to interpret data from biosensor experiments. The researchers at Purdue will continue working with the model in an effort to apply it to a fractal sponge, a shape that can be useful in drug delivery and filtration.
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Seattle Research to Map Disease With U.S, Grant
Seattle Times (01/01/08) P. B1 ; Doughton, Sandi

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has awarded a $30.6 million grant to the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute (SBRI), which will use the funding to map out the proteins for the microbes responsible for influenza, cholera, typhus, and drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis and staphylococcus, among others. Collaborating with deCODE biostructures, the University of Washington, and Battelle Northwest, SBRI aims to create three-dimensional models of proteins to spur the development of new vaccines and drugs to combat the viruses, bacteria, and parasites. According to deCODE biostructures President Lance Stewart, "You get very high-resolution pictures. Once you see what the structure of your target looks like, you can think about designing chemicals to interfere with or improve its activity." The results of the project will be made public for use by drug and vaccine developers.
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The Year in Robots
Scientific American (12/07) Greenemeier, Larry

The past year included several significant and exciting developments in robotic technology. As part of NASA's efforts to send peopled missions back to the moon, and eventually to Mars, the space agency performed several tests to see if robotic technology could be used to provide medical care for astronauts during extended space flights, including using robotic surgeons software to compensate for errors in movement caused by turbulence and varying gravitational conditions. The Department of Defense continued to develop autonomous robotic technology that could eventually be used to replace human soldiers in dangerous situations. In November, DARPA hosted the 2007 Urban Challenge in which driverless cars had to navigate an urban environment and other challenges. Also in November, University of California, San Diego researchers reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA that "current robot technology is surprisingly close to achieving autonomous bonding and socialization with human toddlers for significant periods of time." The report was based on QRIO, a two-foot humanoid programmed to wave, dance, sit and stand, and tested in UCSD's Early Childhood Center. While the achievements of 2007 are impressive, 2008 promises to be even more exciting. University of Colorado at Boulder researchers will benchmark robotic devices capable of precisely measuring and mixing medications used for treatments such as chemotherapy, the robotic Mars rovers Opportunity and Spirit will resume the exploration of Mars, and Scandinavian research firm Sintef will display AI-based equipment designed to help offshore oil and gas drilling platforms operate efficiently and safely.
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New Automated Lab in Operation
Neosho Daily News (MO) (12/26/07) Higdon, Todd G.

St. John's Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Mo., announced a new automated clinical chemistry line that will help the facility provide better care to its patients. With 80 percent of information that doctors use to make decisions coming from the lab, the Beckman Coulter automated system will provide more accurate results, eliminating human errors. The automated line is also more cost efficient and will provide doctors with faster lab results. The lab at St John's performs over 1 million tests per year and is staffed around the clock. Automating the lab will also require less staff, which will help the hospital avoid the effects of a nationwide shortage of medical technologists. Hospital officials estimate that the new line will improve lab efficiency by 70 percent.
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Hospitals Chase a Nuclear Tool to Fight Cancer
New York Times (12/26/07) P. A1 ; Pollack, Andrew

Physicians are turning to protons, rather than X-rays, for treatments to fight cancer. Five proton therapy centers exist in the United States, though the costs for constructing the nuclear facility is about $100 million. Yet proton therapy has been preferred by physicians who say their beams are more sophisticated and can target tumor cells specifically -- an advantage X-ray beams lack. About 800,000 people nationwide receive radiation cancer treatment yearly, yet the effects of X-ray treatment include impotence and can be harmful to children particularly vulnerable to high electromagnetic radiation. Some doctors remain skeptical about the effects of proton treatment, asserting the difference in therapy compared to X-ray treatment is merely price. Still others note proton therapy's ability to treat areas such as brain, neck, and spine tumors, while focusing dosages of the proton beams on target areas. Physicians say that while the cost of proton therapy is exorbitant, in the future costs will likely decline as treatments become more widespread and technology advances. At Touro University, construction is under way for a joint center offering proton and carbon therapy, the latter which is said to have greater efficacy than protons in treating tumors.
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In the Niche of Time
Chemical & Engineering News (12/24/07) Vol. 85 , No. 52 , P. 36 ; Petkewich, Rachel

Scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) are now able to see all stages of a chemical reaction as they occur using an ultra-fast electron microscope. They have been able to detect such things as channels opening and closing in semiconductor crystals, for instance. The microscope can observe three-dimensional structural changes on the atomic timescale. Chemical physics and physics professor Ahmed H. Zewail at Caltech refers to this as four-dimensional imaging. Zewail and colleagues are able to visualize the structure and movement of transient intermediates because the microscope releases groups of single electrons at femtosecond intervals. Zewail and his colleagues have been able use ultra-fast crystallography to asses the structure and dynamics of interfacial water--a thin layer of water very close to the surface. "The idea that you could acquire real images with subpicosecond resolution was a change in the way chemists, physicists, and biologists could think about dynamics in the molecular systems," observes David A. Tirrell, chair of the division of chemistry and chemical engineering at Caltech. The microscope features a laser beam that partly excites the sample and partly becomes converted into femtosecond pulses.
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Medicine Gets More Personal
Investor's Business Daily (12/21/07) P. A9 ; Reeves, Amy

Medical treatments are increasingly being customized to people's genes. The field of molecular diagnostics, for example, helps pinpoint diseases early and adapt treatments as needed. Products in this field include Qiagen, Techne, and Gen-Probe, which are also used in drug development. A frequently used technique in this field is the engineering of antibodies to find cancerous cells within the body without affecting normal tissues. This is the premise of cancer drugs from Genentech, Biogen, OSI Pharmaceuticals and other biotechnology firms that were later take over by large pharmaceuticals. These drugs are typically used with molecular diagnostics to monitor patients' response to treatment. Gene therapy, or treatment by injecting or altering genes in human tissue, is also getting significant attention. Although still an emerging field, Liana Moussatos of Pacific Growth Industries says the technology of Sangamo and Isis Pharmaceuticals appears likely to succeed.
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Robots Taking Over the Job on Offshore Oil Drilling Platforms
Science Daily (12/21/07)

Norsk Hydro, now StatoilHydro, has commissioned SINTEF scientists to research and develop robot-operated offshore platforms for extracting oil and gas. The automated offshore platforms would enable operators to control the robots from land, thereby cutting costs and risks. Automated platforms can also forgo personnel-related infrastructure like sound insulation, fire systems, and catering. Moreover, robot-operated offshore platforms would be a valuable alternative to subsea platforms, explains Anders Røyrøy of StatoilHydro. Indeed, topside platforms have the ability to recover nearly 55 percent of a reservoir's oil or gas, in comparison to the capacity of subsea systems to recover only 45 percent of the resources. The new platforms will be designed to accommodate the robots; such platforms may look akin to warehouses, with the robots moving like forklift trucks up and down rows of shelves. In a SINTEF test laboratory, scientists will explore how the robots can be harnessed to remotely control and monitor platform processes via various tools and sensors. Initial results from the laboratory are demonstrating that the robots can inspect equipment by listening, making measurements, and taking photographs. "The challenges lie in ensuring that the robots are capable of performing predefined and programmed tasks—and are also able to function properly under unanticipated conditions," says SINTEF scientist Pål Liljebäck. StatoilHydro hopes the new robots will be operational by 2015.
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Stem Cell Program Focuses on Research Needs
Laboratory Talk (UK) (12/20/07)

Stem Cell Excellence, a program developed by Thermo Fisher Scientific, is a solution for integrated laboratory services dedicated to stem cell research. The program works in conjunction with the Internet to provide information about stem cell research product information and services, allowing for a collaboration between reagents, informatics, and automation. Stem Cell Excellence is categorized into four areas of stem cell analysis: collection/preparation; expansion/differentiation; characterization/analysis; and storage/transport.
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Global View of Gene Expression Analysis
Australian Life Scientist (12/19/2007) McDonald, Kate

Microarray-based expression profiling has traditionally used a 3' (three prime) biased labeling system. However, such profiling fails to identify several genomic alterations, including transcripts that have identical gene loci but a different 3' tail and non-polyadenylated transcripts. A company called Affymetrix has created a "Whole Transcript Assay" (WT Assay) and exon-based microarrays that enable a higher level of transcriptional ability. The WT Assay uses a random priming method to form labeled sense targets across entire RNA transcripts. This reduces the limitations of 3' expression profiling. The GeneChip Exon 1.0 ST and Gene 1.0 ST arrays are compatible with the new assay, says Dr. Robert Henke, chief scientific officer of Millennium Science, which serves as a distributor for Affymetrix in Australia. The arrays are available for human, mouse, and rat use, he says. "Exon arrays target over one million exons with about four probes per exon, providing an average of 40 probes spread across the entire length of each targeted gene," Henke says. "Through the use of this exon-centric probe content, researchers have the ability to analyze both alternative splicing and differential expression of individual exons within each gene."
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'Lab-on-a-Chip' May Improve Cancer Detection
MedPage Today (12/19/07) Smith, Michael

Researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center have developed a lab-on-a-chip that can detect cancerous cells in the bloodstream. The chip accurately found cancer cells in 115 of 116 blood samples taken from patients with metastatic cancer and found no cancer cells in healthy samples. Cancer cells can be found in a patients blood before cancer spreads; however they are rare and hard to identify using current approaches, such as centrifuging and washing. A tool that was able to accurately detect tumor cells would allow for cancer testing as part of routine medical examinations, which could result in early detection and treatment. However, the researchers said that they still face many challenges before the chip could be of clinical use. Microchips have never been used for tasks where large samples of whole blood need to be analyzed, so the researchers coated a microchip's silicon posts with an antibody specific to tumor cells, which captured the tumor cells. The one sample that did not test positive was smaller than average, and tumor cells were identified in all seven patients diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer. The cancer cells stay alive after being captured, giving researchers an opportunity to do a more in-depth study.
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Translating Genes to Drugs
Wall Street Journal (12/17/07) Whalen, Jeanne

Gene maps of bacterium are being used by several pharmaceutical companies to develop vaccines. A vaccine based on genomics to protect against meningitis B has been developed by Novartis AG and currently is in Phase 2 trials. GlaxoSmithKline has begun initial tests on vaccines to safeguard against meningitis B and streptococcus, both based on gene maps. Genomics also has been used by Intercel AG and Merck to develop vaccines to fight pneumonia and staph infections, respectively. Novartis' meningitis B vaccine is being tested on 150 babies in the United Kingdom, with strong immune responses to three strains of the bacteria seen in 60 percent to 90 percent of those receiving two doses. Dr. Rino Rappuoli, who leads the company's vaccine research operations, began looking at gene maps in 1995 to determine how to attack the bacteria, viewing genomics as an alternative to conventional methods of cultivating and dissecting the bacteria. Rappuoli and his colleagues found 350 genes on the bacteria's surface that could produce proteins that stimulate antibodies against the bacteria, employing high-speed computers to accomplish this. Provided the vaccine clears the final stages of clinical trials, it could be made available as early as 2010.
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Akonni: The Future of Medical Diagnostics?
Frederick News-Post (MD) (12/11/07) Ashman, Meredith

A company called Akonni is developing a system to rapidly detect diseases. The system features a card smaller than a credit card on which a blood or saliva sample is placed. The card is run "through a sophisticated analysis, about the size of a computer tower" that replicates all the stages a laboratory would do, says Michelle Hulcher, Akonni's business operations and marketing manager. The card has a layer of miniscule gel droplets, each of which can identify a particular type of bacteria and see if it is resistant to antibiotics. "We can run all tests in one test," she notes. Existing tests include tuberculosis and upper respiratory infections, but the system may eventually expand to include infections acquired in hospitals. Ideally, these infections would be diagnosed in minutes to minimize the effects of the illness. The diagnostic tool is less expensive that existing tests. The system is currently in the research phase, but may soon be deployed in hospitals and doctors' offices.
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