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Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., recently introduced the Thermo Scientific Nicolet iS50 FT-IR spectrometer, the first research-grade FT-IR with one-touch operation. Building on the reputation of the Magna, Nexus and Nicolet 6700 spectrometers, the Nicolet iS50 features purpose-built accessories and integrated analytical software capabilities to provide an all-in-one materials analysis platform that helps laboratories solve analytical challenges with ease. The highly flexible system can be upgraded from ...

Scott Waldman, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at Thomas Jefferson University, has been awarded a Commonwealth Universal Research Enhancement (CURE) grant for almost $750,000 to help advance a molecular diagnostic test for colon cancer into commercialization.Such a test would better detect recurrence in a group of colon cancer patients whose metastases are hidden, and help reduce racial disparities, particularly in the African-American ...

An international consortium of researchers have identified a group of genes associated with the development of osteoporosis, a debilitating bone disease that cripples more than 10 million Americans a year and costs the U.S. healthcare system an estimated $17 billion annually.The study identified 56 genes associated with bone-mineral density (BMD), the measurement used to diagnose osteoporosis. From 50 to 85 percent of variation in BMD is thought to be inherited. The findings could lead to a blood test to ...

Results of a national study of nearly 76,000 laboratory tests for monitoring prescription drug use indicate that the majority of Americans tested misused their prescription drugs, including potentially addictive pain medications. The results show that more than three in five patients, or 63%, tested through Quest Diagnostics were inconsistent with clinician orders. The findings suggest many Americans take prescription medications in ways, from missing doses to combining medications with other drugs ...

PipetTipFinder, an impartial online resource for laboratory professionals who use pipettors as well as lab administrators responsible for stocking the liquid handling supplies used in their laboratories, has been launched by Meta EnterprisesPipetTipFinder offers an extensive database of over 3,000 pipettors and 5,000 pipet tips from nearly every manufacturer.  Advanced sorting and filtering options enable laboratory professionals and administrators to quickly locate and evaluate the pipettor or tip ...

Lifepoint Informatics now offers CPOE ConnectM, an easy to integrate plug-in solution for imporved lab order entry capability. Lifepoint Informatics has recognized the growing need for EHR vendors to deliver lab order entry functionality to their customers.  Lifepoint's CPOE Connect solution seamlessly integrates with existing EHR products to deliver advanced clinical order entry functionality at the point of care, providing medical necessity verification, ABN generation and specimen labeling ...

Neogen Corporation has developed the quickest and easiest test system to definitively detect pathogen DNA in food and environmental samples.Neogen's ANSR(TM) for Salmonella is the first pathogen test available for the system, and will provide results after only 10 minutes of reaction time. Other commercially available molecular amplification tests require up to 3 hours of reaction time. Unlike the older molecular technologies, ANSR requires only a single reaction temperature, which completely eliminates ...

Renovo Neural, Inc., a specialty research company that has spun off from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, announced that it has launched the world's first for-profit nanohistology service based on automated, high-speed 3D-Electron Microscopy (3D-EM).  Working with the company, customers submit cell and tissue samples and, in return, receive image stacks containing hundreds of sequential slices through their material. They gain a complete 3-dimensional profile of their sample with the ...

Citing the lack of clear guidelines for ordering blood transfusions during surgery, Johns Hopkins researchers say a new study confirms there is still wide variation in the use of transfusions and frequent use of transfused blood in patients who don't need it.The resulting overuse of blood is problematic, the researchers say, because blood is a scarce and expensive resource and because recent studies have shown that surgical patients do no better, and may do worse, if given transfusions prematurely or ...

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Yale University have developed a new concept for use in a high-speed genomic sequencing device that may have the potential to substantially drive down costs."The low cost--if it can be achieved--would enable genomic sequencing to be used in everyday clinical practice for medical treatments and preventions," said Predrag Krstic, project director and former ORNL physicist now at the University of Tennessee-ORNL Joint Institute for Computational Sciences.The ...

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has announced that it has expanded its dealer network to provide customers in the southern U.S. and Alaska with greater access to its wide variety of Thermo Scientific laboratory furniture and fume hood products. The new dealers include Florida-based Newton Seating Company Inc., Louisiana-based NexLab Design Inc., and Alaska-based Pac West Inc. Each company has a clearly defined territory in which they have an excellent reputation for service and product commitment, and this ...

Quest Diagnostics, a worldwide provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, announced it has begun an effort to assign a unique Patient Identifier - a secure 16 digit identification number - to every Quest Diagnostics patient. In what is believed to be the largest effort of its kind in the area of assigning health IDs, the company has assigned unique identifiers to approximately 80 million Quest Diagnostics patients to date.Surya N. Mohapatra, PhD, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, ...

Loyola researchers are reporting surprising findings about a molecule that acts to ramp up the immune system in some cases and suppress it in others. The finding eventually could lead to new drugs to regulate the immune system by, for example, revving it up to attack tumor cells or tamping it down to prevent the rejection of transplanted organs.The study is published online ahead of print in the Journal of Immunology. Senior author is Makio Iwashima, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of ...

Abbott announced it has obtained CE Marking (Conformité Européene) in the European Union to market its rapid, high-throughput PLEX-ID™ instrument, along with three assays for use on the system: PLEX-ID Viral IC Spectrum, PLEX-ID BAC Spectrum BC and PLEX-ID Flu. PLEX-ID, which is based on molecular diagnostic technologies, addresses a significant unmet need for rapid detection and identification of a broad range of microbes that cause infections in patients. It provides results in less than eight ...

Roche recently announced the launch and immediate availability of the GS GType TET2/CBL/KRAS and the GS GType RUNX1 Primer Sets for comprehensive genetic variation detection in four key human genes using the company's 454 GS Juniorand GS FLX Systems.The sequence-based assays offera new solution for cancer researchers investigating the human TET2, CBL, KRAS and RUNX1genes, which are known to be associated with developmental defects, disease progression, and residual disease in a variety of leukemias and ...