Ion News and Research

RSS

Life Technologies announces launch of Ion Personal Genome Machine sequencer

Life Technologies Corporation, a provider of innovative life science solutions, today announced that it has launched its Ion Personal Genome Machine (PGM™) sequencer, the first product to use semiconductor sequencing technology. The sequencer is shipping to select sites in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

14 Dec 2010

Simple molecular sensor color test to determine safe fluoride levels

Used in the proper amounts, it can make teeth stronger and aid in the treatment of osteoporosis. When excessive amounts are consumed, however, it can be a killer - a carcinogen that causes bone, lung and bladder cancers. The "it" is fluoride, a common additive in most American communities' drinking water and an ingredient in the vast majority of commercially produced adult toothpastes.

10 Dec 2010

New molecular tools show promise for cleansing brain of amyloid plaques

New molecular tools developed at the University of Michigan show promise for "cleansing" the brain of amyloid plaques, implicated in Alzheimer's disease.

10 Dec 2010

Virally structured nano-electrodes boost energy capacity ten-fold

Viruses have a bad rep—and rightly so. The ability of a virus to quickly and precisely replicate itself makes it a destructive scourge to animals and plants alike. Now an interdisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Maryland's A. James Clark School of Engineering and College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, brought together by Professor Reza Ghodssi, is turning the tables, harnessing and exploiting the "self-renewing" and "self-assembling" properties of viruses for a higher purpose: to build a new generation of small, powerful and highly efficient batteries and fuel cells.

7 Dec 2010

Research highlighting treatment for pediatric SCD, malaria presented at ASH 2010

Red blood cells have the very important role of carrying oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body; therefore, disorders that affect RBCs can have a significant impact on quality of life. Sickle cell disease and malaria are two common RBC diseases that affect a significant portion of the U.S. and global populations. Sickle cell disease, a genetic blood disorder that causes deformed and dysfunctional red blood cells, affects an estimated 70,000 to 100,000 Americans, while malaria affects approximately 1,500 Americans annually and 190 to 311 million people worldwide.

6 Dec 2010

Marine life-inspired anti-microbial surfaces

Taking a leaf from animals like dolphins and pilot whales that are known to have anti-fouling skins, researchers from A*STAR's Industrial Consortium On Nanoimprint (ICON) are using nanotechnology to create synthetic, chemical-free, anti-bacterial surfaces. The surfaces can reduce infections caused by pathogens such as S. aureus and E. coli and can be used on common plastics, medical devices, lenses and even ship hulls. Conventional methods for preventing bacterial surface attachment may use potentially harmful metal ions, nanoparticles, chemicals or UV-radiation.

5 Dec 2010

United Science licenses ion selective electrode sensor technology from University of Minnesota

United Science, a Minnesota startup company, has licensed sensor technology developed at the University of Minnesota that could prevent toxic byproducts of mining and other industries from ending up in the environment and improve productivity at the same time.

4 Dec 2010

Graphene: A new genome sequencing technique

Genome sequencing will have a profound effect on our understanding of genetic biology and could usher in a day when doctor and patient are able to review individual genome sequences to fully personalise medical treatment.

2 Dec 2010

Icagen, Pfizer select novel compound for further clinical development in Nav1.7 program

Icagen, Inc. today provided an update on its sodium channel program for pain and related disorders which is being conducted in collaboration with Pfizer. As previously reported, the companies recently conducted a clinical study in healthy volunteers of several collaboration compounds targeting the sodium ion channel Nav1.7.

1 Dec 2010

Researchers discover cells’ response to sour tastes

This Thanksgiving, when you bite into the cranberry sauce and the tartness smacks your tongue as hard as that snide comment from your sister, consider the power of sour. Neurobiology researchers at the University of Southern California have made a surprising discovery about how some cells respond to sour tastes.

25 Nov 2010

Spray-on organic/inorganic films

Coatings functionalize surfaces or protect them from processes such as corrosion, abrasion, and weathering, and may provide an aesthetic appearance—automotive coatings and non-stick frying pans are good examples. Contact lenses, implants, LEDs, or photovoltaic cells require extremely thin coatings. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, the teams led by Gero Decher at the Institut Charles Sadron in Strasbourg (France) have now introduced a new process for the production of ultrathin coatings that is especially simple, versatile, and suitable for large-scale processes.

24 Nov 2010

Plant-derived bioscavenger protects against pesticide and nerve agent organophosphate poisoning

The brain is forever chattering to itself, via electrical impulses sent along its hard-wired neuronal "Ethernet." These e-messages are translated into chemical transmissions, allowing communication across the narrow cleft separating one neuron from another or between neurons and their target cells. Of the many kinds of molecules involved in this lively chemical symposium, acetylcholine is among the most critical, performing a host of functions in the central and peripheral nervous system.

24 Nov 2010

DFG announces establishment of eleven new Collaborative Research Centres

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) will establish eleven new Collaborative Research Centres (CRC) as of 1 January 2011. This decision was made recently by the responsible Grants Committee at its autumn meeting in Bonn. The new CRCs will receive a total of - 94.4 million (including a 20 percent programme allowance for indirect project costs) for an initial funding period of four years.

24 Nov 2010

DePuy Orthopaedics issues recall on ASR XL Acetabular System and Hip Resurfacing System

DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., a division of Johnson & Johnson issued a recall on its ASR XL Acetabular System (a hip socket used in traditional hip replacement surgery) and ASR Hip Resurfacing System (a partial hip replacement that involves placing a metal cap on the ball of the femur) -- both of which have been used in hip replacement surgery.

24 Nov 2010

Convergence enters drug discovery collaboration with Selcia for chronic pain treatment

Convergence Pharmaceuticals Limited, the new company focused on the development of novel and high value analgesic medicines, and Selcia Limited, a contract research organisation, today are pleased to announce that they have entered into a drug discovery collaboration to identify and develop high quality candidate molecules for the treatment of chronic pain.

22 Nov 2010

Cold Spring releases new series of laboratory manuals

Sophisticated techniques that permit the visualization of dynamic processes in cells, tissues, and organ systems at extraordinary levels of resolution have become tremendously valuable in biological research. However, finding the right imaging method and optimizing it for data collection can be a daunting process, even for an established imaging laboratory. To fill this need, a new series of laboratory manuals has been developed by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. The first volume in this series, Imaging: A Laboratory Manual, has just been released.

19 Nov 2010

Researchers document novel form of splicing in nerve cell cytoplasm

Cells have their own version of the cut-and-paste editing function called splicing. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have documented a novel form of splicing in the cytoplasm of a nerve cell, which dictates a special form of a potassium channel protein in the outer membrane.

19 Nov 2010

VX-770 drug candidate improves lung function in people with cystic fibrosis

In a study published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine, treatment with a new drug candidate known as VX-770 resulted in improvements in lung function and markers of disease in a Phase 2 clinical trial of 39 people with cystic fibrosis (CF). There were no discontinuations due to adverse events in the study, and the frequency of adverse events was similar across the study groups.

18 Nov 2010

Mayo Clinic to establish pencil beam proton scanning facilities in Minnesota, Arizona and Florida

Mayo Clinic today announced plans to establish the Mayo Clinic Proton Beam Therapy Program as part of Mayo's national three-site cancer center in Minnesota, Arizona and Florida. The new program will employ intensity modulated proton therapy — based on pencil beam scanning — which is a more precise form of proton therapy treatment that allows greater control over radiation doses, shorter treatment times and fewer side effects. It is also believed to be more cost effective in selected patients.

17 Nov 2010

Scientists uncover minute mechanism of nuclear pore complexes at molecular level

Dr. Joseph Glavy at Stevens Institute of Technology studies the smallest and most basic elements of life. The Assistant Professor of Chemical Biology runs the Glavy Lab, where advanced student scientists study the nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) in cells, observing the minutest mechanisms of life as they unfold during mitosis. The Glavy Lab's formal purpose is to study the NPC at the molecular level in the pursuit of the unknown or unexpected in the well-studied but not always well-understood nuclei of living cells.

17 Nov 2010

Ion News and Research

Life Technologies announces launch of Ion Personal Genome Machine sequencer

Simple molecular sensor color test to determine safe fluoride levels

New molecular tools show promise for cleansing brain of amyloid plaques

Virally structured nano-electrodes boost energy capacity ten-fold

Research highlighting treatment for pediatric SCD, malaria presented at ASH 2010

Marine life-inspired anti-microbial surfaces

United Science licenses ion selective electrode sensor technology from University of Minnesota

Graphene: A new genome sequencing technique

Icagen, Pfizer select novel compound for further clinical development in Nav1.7 program

Researchers discover cells’ response to sour tastes

Spray-on organic/inorganic films

Plant-derived bioscavenger protects against pesticide and nerve agent organophosphate poisoning

DFG announces establishment of eleven new Collaborative Research Centres

DePuy Orthopaedics issues recall on ASR XL Acetabular System and Hip Resurfacing System

Convergence enters drug discovery collaboration with Selcia for chronic pain treatment

Cold Spring releases new series of laboratory manuals

Researchers document novel form of splicing in nerve cell cytoplasm

VX-770 drug candidate improves lung function in people with cystic fibrosis

Mayo Clinic to establish pencil beam proton scanning facilities in Minnesota, Arizona and Florida

Scientists uncover minute mechanism of nuclear pore complexes at molecular level

Enhancing confidence in chemical ionization spectrometry data eBook

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

Latest News