New Enterprise Carbon Manager (ECM) utilizes Microsoft .NET technology to collect data from global emissions sources and more

TORONTO, CANADA -- Zerofootprint has introduced a completely new system that enables business to both track and manage carbon emissions through a single solution.

The new Enterprise Carbon Manager (ECM) utilizes Microsoft .NET technology to collect data from global emissions sources, provides real-time data feeds, secure global access, and ensures accurate reporting.

“It has become increasingly clear in the face of the climate change impacting all of us, that every major organization and municipality will have to find ways to reduce carbon emissions,” said Dr. Ron Dembo, CEO and Founder of Zerofootprint.


Read full article: 'Zerofootprint launches innovative business solution for carbon management'

Stamford, UK & Hayward CA, USA -- Guava Technologies, Inc. presented at the recent Molecular Targets & Cancer Therapeutics Symposium* information on their recent advancements that describe an experimental methodology and the new Guava® Simplicity Analysis Software which exploit the advantages of plate based flow technology.

These technological improvements result in an overall process that can significantly expedite the drug discovery process by providing a means for extraction of key findings from the highly complex data sets encountered with functional screening of siRNA knockdown assays.

Solid tumors comprise genetically heterogeneous cell populations whose growth and survival depends on the complex interplay of distinct, yet overlapping, signaling networks. A major challenge in developing a course of therapy is determining which signaling nodes to target for a specific malignancy.

Profiles from siRNA gene silencing are integral to mapping disease-specific signaling cascade(s) and provide insight to key targets for therapeutic intervention. Successful siRNA screening relies not solely upon optimizing transfection, but also cell analysis systems capable of high content screening (HCS) at the single cell level, within overall populations (sample well), and across multiple data sets.

The presentation describes how the Guava EasyCyte™ Plus System, with integrated Guava Simplicity Software, provides a revolutionary platform for secondary target validation and compound screening.


Read full article: 'A new approach to functional screening of siRNA knockdown'

In a pioneering effort, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Queensland in Australia have successfully demonstrated* that they can count, size and gauge the quality of virus-like particle-based (VLP) vaccines much more quickly and accurately than previously possible.

Their findings could reduce the time it takes to produce a vaccine from months to weeks, allowing a much more agile and effective response to potential outbreaks.

Viruses are small, simple bodies consisting of DNA or RNA wrapped in a protein shell studded with short strands of protein. Viruses use these short strands of protein like a skeleton key to unlock and invade healthy cells, replace their DNA, hijack the cells’ replication machinery and turn them into virus-producing factories.

As with smallpox and influenza, the only way to combat the virus is through vaccination, in which dead or weakened viruses are injected into the body. Unable to cause any real harm, the dead or weakened viruses allow the body to develop antigens that can fight off the infection in the future.


Read full article: 'Dressed to Kill: From Virus to Vaccine'

{CAPTION: An architectural drawing of the planned replacement for Campbell Hall, showing the bridge between LeConte Hall (left) and the third floor of the new research building.}
BERKELEY CA, USA — An $11 million grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will help the University of California, Berkeley, build a state-of-the-art precision measurement laboratory in the planned new home for the astronomy department and part of the physics department.

The award, announced recently (Nov. 24), was one of three NIST grants totaling $24 million to build research facilities at universities that will advance technologies and research in line with the mission of the Department of Commerce, which oversees NIST.

While the building will remain the home of the astronomy department, it also will accommodate physics department laboratories, including high-precision measurement labs in the basement.

The new UC Berkeley facility, to be called the Center for Integrated Precision and Quantum Measurement (CIPQM), will occupy the basement level of a building to be erected on the site of Campbell Hall, which now houses the astronomy department and offices of the College of Letters and Science. The new Campbell Hall building will provide space for the physics department to expand from neighboring LeConte and Birge halls.


Read full article: 'NIST funds new high-precision, quantum measurement lab'

[Confocal Raman microscopy image of stress in a silicon crystal caused by indentation with a 20 micrometer long wedge. The image does not show the silicon but rather the magnitude of stress in the crystal, with compressive stress around the wedge going up from the base line. Vampiric red “fangs” reveal tensile stress associated with cracking at the ends of the indentation.
Click image to retrieve animated “fly-by” of image in avi format (large file). AVI clips require Windows Media Player (or equivalent), a free download – click here. -- Credit: Stranick, NIST - Click to View hi-resolution image]
Gaithersburg MD, USA -- Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated their ability to measure relatively low levels of stress or strain in regions of a semiconductor device as small as 10 nanometers across.

Their recent results* not only will impact the design of future generations of integrated circuits but also lay to rest a long-standing disagreement in results between two different methods for measuring stress in semiconductors.

Mechanical stress and strain in semiconductors and other devices is caused by atoms in the crystal lattice being compressed or stretched out of their preferred positions, a complex—and not always harmful—phenomenon.

Stress in the underlying structure of light-emitting diodes and lasers can shift output colors and lower the device’s lifetime. Stress in microelectromechanical systems can lead to fracture and buckling that also truncates their lifespan.

On the other hand, stress is deliberately built into state-of-the-art microcircuits because properly applied it can increase the speed of transistors without making any other changes to the design.

“Stress engineering has allowed the semiconductor industry to increase the performance of devices well beyond what was expected with the current materials set,” said NIST research physicist Robert Cook, “thus avoiding the significant engineering problems and expense associated with changing materials.”


Read full article: 'NIST ‘Stress Tests’ Probe Nanoscale Strains in Materials'

An alternative to tradition liquid nitrogen delivery
Mountain View , CA, USA -- MMR Technologies introduced their new elan2 Liquid Nitrogen Generator product line in 2006. It was a recipient of one of the 2006 Top 100 R&D Awards.

The winning of an R&D 100 Award provides a mark of excellence known to industry, government, and academia as proof that the product is one of the most innovative ideas of the year. Yet it is not widely known in R&D circles.

The elan2™ Liquid Nitrogen Generators completely replace liquid nitrogen (LN2) delivery and storage. The Generator footprint is smaller than most storage dewars and eliminates the need for delivery access.

LN2 is available for dispensing at the push of a button precisely when you need it. You dispense LN2 without having to use cryogenic gloves because the transfer Dewar need not be held during transfer.

One can can put one in an office or in your laboratory – wherever it is convenient!

Read full article: 'Make your own liquid nitrogen'

Gaithersburg MD, USA -- Electroshock weapons—such as stun guns and other similar devices that temporarily incapacitate a person by delivering a high-voltage, low-current electric shock—have helped law enforcement officers safely subdue dangerous or violent persons for years.

The use of these weapons has been challenged, however, by claims that they may have contributed to more than 150 deaths in the United States since 2001.

Now, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are working toward a standard method for accurately assessing the electrical output of these devices, the results of which can be used in establishing baselines for future medical and safety studies.


Read full article: 'Improved Measurements Could Mean Safer, More Reliable Electroshock Weapons'

Ipswich, UK -- Genevac has announced a new white paper and online video that present the revolutionary new technology behind the Rocket™ Evaporator that enables it to dry or concentrate as many as six flasks (each containing up to 450ml solvent) five times faster than conventional evaporators.

The new technique has already generated significant interest in applications including environment analysis, medicinal chemistry, natural products purification and chiral separation where large volumes of solvent typically have to be removed.

A 2-stage cold trap built into the Rocket Evaporator provides very high levels of solvent recovery, even with volatile organic solvents.


Read full article: 'New, High Volume Evaporation Technique'

Using an optical microscope, several images of a 60 nanometer gold particle sample (shown in red) are taken at different focal positions and stacked together. Credit: NIST
Gaithersburg MD, USA -- A novel technique* under development at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) uses a relatively inexpensive optical microscope to quickly and cheaply analyze nanoscale dimensions with nanoscale measurement sensitivity.

Termed “Through-focus Scanning Optical Microscope” (TSOM) imaging, the technique has potential applications in nanomanufacturing, semiconductor process control and biotechnology.

Optical microscopes are not widely considered for checking nanoscale (below 100 nanometers) dimensions because of the limitation imposed by wavelength of light—you can’t get a precise image with a probe three times the object’s size.

NIST researcher Ravikiran Attota gets around this, paradoxically, by considering lots of “bad” (out-of-focus) images.

“This imaging uses a set of blurry, out-of-focus optical images for nanometer dimensional measurement sensitivity,” he says.


Read full article: 'Nanoscale Dimensioning Is Fast, Cheap with New NIST Optical Technique'

NIST researchers have developed a new approach for “electronic noses.” Comprised of 16 microheater elements and eight types of sensors, the tiny device could be a potent tool for applications such as sniffing out nerve agents, environmental contaminants, and trace indicators of disease, in addition to monitoring industrial processes and aiding in space exploration.

Click for larger image- Graphic Courtesy NIST
Gaithersburg MD, USA -- Marrying a sensitive detector technology capable of distinguishing hundreds of different chemical compounds with a pattern-recognition module that mimics the way animals recognize odors, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have created a new approach for “electronic noses.”

Described in a recent paper,* their electronic nose is more adept than conventional methodologies at recognizing molecular features even for chemicals it has not been trained to detect and is also robust enough to deal with changes in sensor response that come with wear and tear.

The detector could be a potent tool for applications such as sniffing out nerve agents, environmental contaminants, and trace indicators of disease, in addition to monitoring industrial processes and aiding in space exploration.


Read full article: 'Sniffing Out a Better Chemical Sensor'