A NOVEL technique involving the use of structures built out of rainbow trout liver cells could reduce the need for lab animal tests in chemical safety studies, a report published today says. Researchers led by Professor Awadhesh Jha of Plymouth…
Month: June 2012
Weekly news: Campaign backfire may have been intentional
NOW, call me cynical if you like, but I can’t help wondering if the unmitigated disaster that was this week’s launch of a campaign to motivate young women into science might have been what was actually wanted? You’ve doubtless heard…
Drying of aqueous HPLC fractions made faster and easier
A HIGH throughput method for drying high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fractions containing water is described in a new white paper from Genevac. Many lab workers experience difficulty in drying HPLC purification fractions. While the more volatile acetonitrile and methanol…
Methods for detection of dioxins in eggs
RESPONDING to the latest food scare in Europe, in which chicken eggs have been found to contain up to four times the permitted level of dioxins, Thermo Fisher has drawn attention to the test methods it has developed to detect…
Stirring hot plates are corrosion resistant
THE NEW EchoTherm stirring hot plates from Torrey Pines Scientific are corrosion-resistant, making them suitable for environments that would destroy less robust lab equipment, says the company. The EchoTherm HS70 can cope with aggressive chemicals, vapours, and spills, thanks to…
Mycoplasma genitalium monoclonal antibodies now available
NOTABLE for having the smallest genome of any known organism, Mycoplasma genitalium is a small bacterium which, like other Mycoplasma species, has no cell wall. Residing in the human urogenital tract, it causes urethritis in males and females as well…
Faster measurement of blood parameters
A HAEMATOLOGY and blood chemistry analyser just launched by Horiba Medical can measure both complete blood count (CBC) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in just four minutes, requiring only 18ul of sample. The Microsemi CRP is now available in Europe, having…
Surfs imaging sheds light on bacterial mobility and adhesion
NEW RESEARCH in France has shown that that both the adhesion of a bacterium to a surface, and its motion on that surface ,are driven by the same mechanism. The work, carried out by groups belonging to Inserm and CNRS…
How to determine the CHN content of soils
A NEW application note demonstrating the precise determination of the carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen (CHN) content of soil samples has been released by Exeter Analytical. This useful document includes details of the analytical methodology, used plus data demonstrating the quality…
Automatic scanning of barcodes on lab racks
IT IS now possible to scan 1D barcodes on sample tubes in the laboratory in just five seconds, using the Tracxer BC210 barcode reader as an accessory to the Micronic RS210 Tracxer Code Reader. The Tracxer RS210 provides complete tube…