Microscope News and Research

RSS

Bruker to acquire Center for Tribology

Bruker Corporation today announced the signing of a purchase agreement to acquire Center for Tribology, Inc. (CETR) for an undisclosed amount.

12 Sep 2011

Scientists invent new system that uses magnetism to purify hybrid nanoparticles

A team of Penn State University scientists has invented a new system that uses magnetism to purify hybrid nanoparticles -- structures that are composed of two or more kinds of materials in an extremely small particle that is visible only with an electron microscope.

8 Sep 2011

Pancreatic mesenchyme plays central role in the formation of mature beta cells

A somewhat mysterious soft tissue found in the fetus during early development in the womb plays a pivotal role in the formation of mature beta cells the sole source of the body's insulin. This discovery, made by scientists at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Texas A&M University, may lead to new ways of addressing Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

7 Sep 2011

Tick-borne disease in US blood supply

A tick-borne infection known as Babesiosis, which can cause severe disease and even death, is becoming a growing threat to the U.S. blood supply, government researchers said on Monday.

6 Sep 2011

Discovery in rare disease may shed light on common causes of blindness

In a rare eye disease, the retina degenerates because light-receiving cells fail to regenerate, research led by a student at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine shows.

2 Sep 2011

Blocked blood vessels linked to familiar signs of aging

Many common signs of aging, such as shaking hands, stooped posture and walking slower, may be due to tiny blocked vessels in the brain that can't be detected by current technology.

2 Sep 2011

GAO reviews impact of health law's medical-loss ratio provision

Also in today's health policy headlines, the Wall Street Journal reports that a new state-federal program will put steep health premium increases under the microscope and the Washington Post showcases a map detailing state-by-state progress on creating health exchanges.

31 Aug 2011

UCLA develops dual-mode microscope that uses holograms instead of lenses

To serve remote areas of the world, doctors, nurses and field workers need equipment that is portable, versatile, and relatively inexpensive. Now researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) have built a compact, light-weight, dual-mode microscope that uses holograms instead of lenses.

31 Aug 2011

Alcon chooses Bruker ContourGT-X8 Optical Surface Profiler

Bruker announced today that Alcon Corporation has selected the Bruker ContourGT-X8 Optical Surface Profiler to provide non-destructive, non-contact reference metrology for critical dimensioning and 3D characterization of Alcon's current and next-generation intra-ocular lenses.

From Bruker Nano Surfaces and Metrology 30 Aug 2011

LUNGevity Foundation applauds FDA's recent approval of XALKORI lung cancer drug

LUNGevity Foundation applauds the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) recent approval of XALKORI (crizotinib) to treat lung cancer. The drug, introduced by Pfizer, Inc. showed such promise in early trials that it was given "fast track" status by the FDA.

29 Aug 2011

Spatial light interference microscopy can measure all types of cell growth

University of Illinois researchers are giving a light answer to the heavy question of cell growth.

26 Aug 2011

Zinc may act as tumor suppressor in commonist form of pancreatic cancer

The essential element zinc has been shown in a new study to be a likely tumor suppressor in the commonist form of pancreatic cancer, University of Maryland scientists report in the current issue of the journal Cancer Biology & Therapy.

26 Aug 2011

Scientists discover nanoparticles can disrupt intracellular transport pathways

Scientists at the Centre of Cancer Biomedicine at the Norwegian Radium Hospital are the first to show that uptake and accumulation of nanoparticles in cells can disrupt important intracellular transport pathways.

24 Aug 2011

Single-molecule imaging reveals how cells prepare to interact with biochemical signals

Researchers at Harvard Medical School have discovered that structural elements in the cell play a crucial role in organizing the motion of cell-surface receptors, proteins that enable cells to receive signals from other parts of the organism.

19 Aug 2011

Scientists uncover how human egg captures sperm to begin fertilisation process

Researchers have uncovered exactly how a human egg captures an incoming sperm to begin the fertilisation process, in a new study published this week in the journal Science.

19 Aug 2011

MSF warns global shortage of drug-resistant TB treatment likely

As countries increase the use of the GeneXpert test, a two-hour molecular TB test released in 2010, "enabl[ing] them to diagnose more patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB), a worldwide shortage of the drugs to treat these patients is likely, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) warns," according to PlusNews.

18 Aug 2011

Optical coherence tomography can distinguish between high and low risk pancreatic cysts

A team of researchers from four Boston-area institutions led by Nicusor Iftimia from Physical Sciences, Inc. has demonstrated for the first time that optical coherence tomography (OCT), a high resolution optical imaging technique that works by bouncing near-infrared laser light off biological tissue, can reliably distinguish between pancreatic cysts that are low-risk and high-risk for becoming malignant.

18 Aug 2011

Flexible-fiber CO2 laser-assisted ablation safe for endoscopic assisted transsphenoidal craniotomies

A new study has shown the Flexible-Fiber CO2 laser to safely cut and coagulate during endoscopic assisted transsphenoidal craniotomies (TSC) without the line of sight problems encountered with conventional CO2 lasers.

17 Aug 2011

Flatworms provide new insight into organ regeneration, evolution of mammalian kidneys

Our bodies are perfectly capable of renewing billions of cells every day but fail miserably when it comes to replacing damaged organs such as kidneys. Using the flatworm Schmidtea mediterranea-famous for its capacity to regrow complete animals from minuscule flecks of tissue-as an eloquent example, researchers at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research demonstrated how our distant evolutionary cousins regenerate their excretory systems from scratch.

10 Aug 2011

Chromogenic in situ hybridization can identify ALK rearrangement in lung cancer patients

A relatively simple and inexpensive method may be used to determine whether a lung cancer patient is a candidate for crizotinib therapy, according to research published in the August issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, the official monthly journal of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.

3 Aug 2011