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Gen-Probe to merge industrial testing assets into an independent company

Gen-Probe Incorporated announced today that it is spinning off its industrial testing assets into a new, independent company focused on developing rapid, highly accurate molecular assays for biopharmaceutical production, water and food safety testing, and other applications.

14 Sep 2009

Millipore and Roka Bioscience collaborate for developing molecular assays

Millipore Corporation, a leading provider of technologies, tools and services for the global life science industry, today announced that it will collaborate with Roka Bioscience, Inc. to develop molecular assays and portable instruments for biopharmaceutical production.

14 Sep 2009

New website launched on food safety

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack, the co-chairs of the Obama Administration’s Food Safety Working Group, unveiled a new consumer Web site today at www.foodsafety.gov. The site is designed to help consumers and families get all the latest information on food safety and food recalls in one convenient place.

10 Sep 2009

Promega unveils Maxwell 16 Viral Total Nucleic Acid Purification Kit

Promega announces the release of the Maxwell 16 Viral Total Nucleic Acid Purification Kit which, among other labs, currently serves the OCA Hospital in Mexico for H1N1 clinical research.

10 Sep 2009

Hanson Technologies receives patent for its UltraRapid technology

Hanson Technologies, Inc., an innovator in rapid biosensing solutions for food pathogen screening, today announced the issuance of a U.S. Patent entitled Agricultural Screening System and Method for Detection of Infectious Microorganisms. The U.S. patent describes the Company's method for screening for the presence of pathogenic microorganisms in vegetables, fruits, nuts and other plant material intended for human and animal consumption.

10 Sep 2009

Americans support federal government for enacting new food safety measures

Among likely voters surveyed across the nation, about 9 in 10 support the federal government adopting additional food safety measures, and 64 percent believe that imported foods are often or sometimes unsafe, according to a new Pew-commissioned poll by the bipartisan team of Hart Research and Public Opinion Strategies.

9 Sep 2009

Foodborne illnesses could be tackled with FDA's Reportable Food Registry

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has a new way to head off potential cases of foodborne illness - the Reportable Food Registry (RFR), where food industry officials must use to alert the FDA quickly, through an electronic portal when they find their products might sicken or kill people or animals. The requirement, a result of legislation, took effect with the launch of the portal.

9 Sep 2009

Thermo Fisher Scientific receives Ringier Technology Innovation Award

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO), the world leader in serving science, today announced that it has received a Ringier Technology Innovation Award for its role in helping Chinese laboratories quickly develop melamine detection capabilities following the discovery of melamine-tainted milk and infant formula in China. The award was presented by Ringier Trade Publishing, which publishes China's leading food industry magazine, Food Manufacturing Journal.

From Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 9 Sep 2009

Phenotype microarrays compare growth characteristics of pathogenic and non-pathogenic E. coli

Dr Karin Heurlier and colleagues at the Universities of Nottingham and Birmingham in conjunction with Biolog Inc of California USA, used powerful high throughput analytical tools (phenotype microarrays) that enabled them to compare about 2000 growth characteristics of several pathogenic (disease-causing) E. coli with a non-pathogenic laboratory E. coli strain.

9 Sep 2009

Study calls for compelling messages to induce washing of hands

"Many students say they routinely wash their hands," said Douglas Powell, an associate professor of food safety at Kansas State University. "But even in an outbreak situation, many students simply don't."

5 Sep 2009

College students need a variety of messages to practice good hand hygiene

The path to poor hand sanitation is paved with good intentions, according to researchers from Kansas State and North Carolina State Universities.

5 Sep 2009

Vaccinating women against HPV prevents breast cancer

Vaccinating women against the human papillomavirus (HPV) may prevent some forms of breast cancer and save tens of thousands of lives each year, new Australian research suggests.

4 Sep 2009

Iowa voters are less confident in the safety of food sold in the U.S.

Ninety percent of voting Iowans believe the government should be given additional authority to ensure the food they eat does not make them sick, according to a new poll commissioned by The Pew Charitable Trusts and conducted by Hart Research and Public Opinion Strategies.

3 Sep 2009

AVA issues guidelines for disinfecting IV catheters

How to meet new infection-control guidelines from the Joint Commission and the SHEA/IDSA Compendium will be the focus of a panel discussion at the upcoming annual meeting of the Association for Vascular Access (AVA).

3 Sep 2009

Bretford pioneers antimicrobial finishes on tables and carts

Bretford Manufacturing, Inc., manufacturer of dependable furniture products that improve how people work and learn, is the first to offer multi-surface antimicrobial finishes on more than 50 different tables and carts for learning and training environments.

2 Sep 2009

Teleflex Medical's OSMO removes water from the expiratory limb of breathing circuit during mechanical ventilation

Teleflex Medical has announced the introduction of OSMO, a universal solution that allows for maintenance free water removal from the expiratory limb of the breathing circuit during mechanical ventilation.

31 Aug 2009

Simple steps to prevent outbreak of H1N1 flu

Dr. Will Sawyer, a Family Medicine physician in Cincinnati, Ohio, is VERY concerned that the American public is NOT getting adequate information on how to PREVENT local severe outbreaks of the Novel H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu)!

29 Aug 2009

USPTO awards two new patents to Nerites

Nerites Corporation announced Thursday that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued two new patents covering the company’s technology. These “composition of matter” patents provide underlying intellectual property protection for surgical adhesives, films, and coatings. Nerites’ scientists create synthetic mimetics of the protein components used by marine mussels to stick to rocks under water.

28 Aug 2009

Study finds that some people eliminate more than 90 percent of the arsenic consumed in the diet

Large variations exist in peoples' ability to eliminate arsenic from the body, according to a new study that questions existing standards for evaluating the human health risks from the potentially toxic substance.

27 Aug 2009

Myths and facts about food safety explained

Recipes can be handed down from generation to generation and so can myths surrounding food safety -- sometimes with sickening consequences. September is National Food Safety Education Month and the Partnership for Food Safety Education (PFSE), in cooperation with the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is marking the occasion with an outreach to consumers aimed at debunking four common food safety myths.

27 Aug 2009