Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:30:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/ Measurement R&D News en-us http://measurementdb.com/images/logo.gif http://measurementdb.com/ mdb@measurementdevices.com http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1000 NASA Spacecraft Measuring the Origins of Space Weather {NIST’s unique 'sliding spark source' (inside the glass tubing) feeds ultraviolet (UV) light into NASA’s Solar Ultraviolet Magnetograph Investigation instrument, designed to measure magnetic fields on the sun. Credit: Reader/NIST View hi-resolution image} Gaithersburg MD, USA -- With a brilliant, finely tuned spark of ultraviolet (UV) light, a physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) helped NASA scientists successfully position a crucial UV sensor inside a space-borne instrument to observe a “hidden” layer of the Sun where violent space weather can originate. Dark spots on the Sun release particles and electromagnetic fields into space. As these particles and fields pass through the Sun’s “transition region,” 5,000 kilometers above the surface, they can gather considerable steam, resulting in violent episodes of “space weather” that can damage Earth-orbiting satellites and disrupt electronic communications. The powerful magnetic fields in the transition region can be studied indirectly, by observing the UV light emanating from that region. The fields slightly shift the colors (wavelengths) of UV light released by charged atoms (ions) in their vicinity. Measuring how much these wavelengths shift can yield information on the magnetic field’s strength. Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:30:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=999 Enable real-time monitoring of protein expression Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:40:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=998 {STORRM retro-reflector installed during space shuttle mission STS-131 in May 2010. Credit: NASA/JSC} Boulder CO, USA -- It was a perfect STORRM. NASA and its industry partners successfully demonstrated a new sensor technology that will make it easier and safer for spacecraft to rendezvous and dock to the International Space Station. On Tuesday, July 20, NASA and its industry partners Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., successfully demonstrated a new sensor technology that will make it easier and safer for spacecraft to rendezvous and dock to the International Space Station. STS-134 crew members were briefed on the Sensor Test for Orion Relative Navigation Risk Mitigation (STORRM) Development Test Objective by the lead project engineers at the Ball Aerospace Facility in Boulder, Colorado. Sat, 21 Aug 2010 11:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=997 Infrared/visible comparison of the VISTA Tarantula Nebula image {The left-hand panel shows the region around the Tarantula Nebula in visible light. Most of the light from the spectacular clouds comes from hydrogen gas glowing under the fierce ultraviolet glare from the central hot young stars. This visible light image was obtained with Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile..Credit:ESO/M.-R. Cioni/VISTA Magellanic Cloud Survey. Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit} Paranal Observatory, Chile -- On the right VISTA’s new infrared view is shown. By observing in infrared light a subtly different view of the nebula is revealed. As the infrared wavelengths can pass through the obscuring clouds of interstellar dust more easily than visible light (on the left), the VISTA image reveals the stars at the centres of the nebulae more clearly Astronomers scanning the skies as part of ESO’s VISTA Magellanic Cloud survey have now obtained a spectacular picture of the Tarantula Nebula in our neighbouring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud. This panoramic near-infrared view captures the nebula itself in great detail as well as the rich surrounding area of sky. The image was obtained at the start of a very ambitious survey of our neighbouring galaxies, the Magellanic Clouds, and their environment. The leader of the survey team, Maria-Rosa Cioni (University of Hertfordshire, UK) explains: "This view is of one of the most important regions of star formation in the local Universe — the spectacular 30 Doradus star-forming region, also called the Tarantula Nebula. At its core is a large cluster of stars called RMC 136, in which some of the most massive stars known are located." Wed, 18 Aug 2010 09:45:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=996 Villebon sur Yvette, France & South San Franscisco CA, USA -- Utilizing Fluidigm Corporation's Dynamic Array™ and Digital Array™ integrated fluidic circuits (IFCs), Stanford University researchers to have discovered a much larger spectrum of differences between individual cells than has previously been demonstrated. Among these differences are the communication capabilities that emerge from the interactions of genetic circuitry that mediates cell-to-cell communication. The university also used Fluidigm support instrumentation for its cell culture chip as part of this groundbreaking analysis and modeling on how biological systems operate at the cellular level. In a Stanford University School of Medicine press release, the institution researchers found that, "Cells don't all act in a uniform fashion, as was previously thought." Sun, 15 Aug 2010 13:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=995 ASU researchers will work on projects aimed at boosting the power of high-performance lasers and infrared photodetectors. Tempe AZ, USA -- A team of Arizona State University (ASU) researchers will get support from the U.S. Department of Defense to aid development of the next generations of lasers and infrared photodetectors. The technology is widely employed in sensing and imaging for an array of defense and commercial applications. The work will be funded by an Army Research Office grant through the defense department’s Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program, which supports science and engineering endeavors involving research and technology development considered vital to national interests. ASU’s Yong-Hang Zhang, David J. Smith and Shane Johnson will combine expertise in electrical engineering, materials science and physics to contribute to a project in which they will collaborate with colleagues at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of North Carolina. The entire project has been approved for a grant of $6.25 million over five years. ASU’s team has been awarded $2.34 million for its part of the effort. Wed, 11 Aug 2010 08:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=994 Villebon sur Yvette, France & South San Francisco CA, USA -- Fluidigm Corporation has announced that the Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées Genomic Platform - Genotoul INRA core facility is now providing a wide range of services on a BioMark™ System for Genetic Analysis to a diverse range of French researchers. These services include SNP genotyping, gene expression analysis and digital PCR quantification of DNA libraries for next-generation sequencing. The INRA has been validating the performance of the system on several projects over the past year. "We have used the BioMark system for many different applications and have found the results to be very robust and comparable to those obtained using classical techniques. However, this platform allows us to provide researchers with a lot more high-quality data, in a fraction of the time, at a very affordable cost. In addition, we were the first facility to offer Fluidigm technology in France and are delighted that we are seeing the demand for this technology increasing nicely," said Denis Milan, group leader of the Department of Animal Genetics at INRA. Fri, 06 Aug 2010 02:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=993 Tring, UK -- Specialised Imaging Ltd. has published a new white paper 'Ultra high-speed imaging: taking the hype out of hypervelocity' that describes how ultra-high speed framing cameras have evolved into simple plug-and-play systems that are enabling the previously challenging study of hypervelocity micro-particle impact events. Traditionally, ultra high-speed framing cameras have been deployed in the science of very fast phenomena, such as high voltage discharge, crack propagation, detonics, and hypervelocity particle-impact studies. These traditional sciences have now been joined by biomedical and botanical studies, nanotechnology, and space research, where the speed of image capture is not always the most important factor-and in some cases, speeds of 500,000 frames per second (fps) or less are acceptable . Mon, 02 Aug 2010 22:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=992 AMSBIO releases 4 new homogeneous 384-well format AlphaScreen assay kits - JMJD2A, JMJD2B, JMJD2C, PRMT5 and G9a (a histone methyltransferase) Abingdon, UK -- In the desire to make the search for new drugs more economically viable, pharmaceutical companies are seeking rapid, sensitive assays where all the reaction reagents are added in a single automated step. Homogeneous assays are popular with researchers involved in high-throughput drug screening because they save time, save reagents, and are easy to automate. Homogeneous assays allow a simple "mix and read" process, without requiring lengthy, time consuming wash steps to remove unbound constituents. AlphaScreen kits are bead-based ALPHA** technology assays, using microparticles coated with either DNA or protein in a format suitable for use with automated reagent handling systems. Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:45:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=991 CHICAGO IL, USA -- /PRNewswire/ -- ICAP Ocean Tomo has been engaged to sell a patent portfolio of near-infrared spectroscopy technology owned by NIResults Inc. The portfolio includes over 90 issued US and foreign patents and patent applications. The assets have been cited by over 20 companies including Abbott Laboratories, Baxter International, Bayer Healthcare, Beckman Coulter Inc., Xerox, and Hewlett Packard. The patents of this portfolio cover the use of near-infrared spectroscopy in clinical chemistry analysis systems, pulse oximeters and CO-oximeters, non-invasive glucose monitors, and hemoglobin monitors. The patents describe a method for the monitoring of key blood analytes without the need for costly, environmentally challenging, chemical reagents. Thu, 15 Jul 2010 11:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=990 Abingdon, UK -- AMSBIO has announced a new second generation PARP in vivo Pharmacodynamic Assay that accurately measures net poly (ADP-ribose) (PAR) levels in cellular extracts and has been used to document differences in PAR levels in human tumour lysates from a variety of tissues, organs and xenografts. Poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) is a protein involved in a number of cellular processes including catalysing the NAD-dependent addition of PAR onto itself and other adjacent nuclear proteins. PARP-1 is widely regarded as a promising target for the development of drugs useful in various regimes of cancer therapy, inflammation, ischemia and neurodegeneration. More recently the discovery that breast cancers deficient in homologous recombination are sensitive to non-toxic PARP inhibitors has resulted in efforts by numerous pharmaceutical companies to develop PARP-1 specific drugs. Mon, 12 Jul 2010 01:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=989 Now and Then {Image: Courtesy ESA} ESA PR-15 2010 -- ESA’s Planck mission has delivered its first all-sky image. It not only provides new insight into the way stars and galaxies form but also tells us how the Universe itself came to life after the Big Bang. “This is the moment that Planck was conceived for,” says ESA Director of Science and Robotic Exploration, David Southwood. “We’re not giving the answer. We are opening the door to an Eldorado where scientists can seek the nuggets that will lead to deeper understanding of how our Universe came to be and how it works now. The image itself and its remarkable quality is a tribute to the engineers who built and have operated Planck. Now the scientific harvest must begin.” From the closest portions of the Milky Way to the furthest reaches of space and time, the new all-sky Planck image is an extraordinary treasure chest of new data for astronomers. Tue, 06 Jul 2010 01:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=988 Ipswich, UK -- A new web page from Genevac brings together the latest technological innovations, applications advances and links to references that details how new fast, safe evaporative sample preparation techniques are benefiting metabolism and toxicology studies. Metabolic and Toxicology studies look at the passage of a drug or chemical into and through the body. Information is also provided detailing how modern evaporation technology is increasing metabolite recovery in ADMET Studies, improving productivity in toxicology screening and delivering advances in metabolite profiling through better sample preparation. Mon, 28 Jun 2010 02:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=987 NIST’s Blast Resistance Standards to Help Increase Blast Resistance of Trash Barrels {This image shows a detonation within a blast resistant trash receptacle using a large C4 explosive charge. By regulating the explosive force carefully over a series of tests like this one, the research and development team created a scalable blast resistance standard, which can help in comparing a threat assessment with the protection that different trash receptacles provide. Credit: NIST - View hi-resolution image} Gaithersburg MD, USA -- With summer travel season hard upon us, specialists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have helped create two new standards* designed to increase safety as we rush from gate to gate in crowded mass transit centers. Their efforts will help to fortify against potential bomb threats in the nation's transportation centers. Whether you travel by plane, train or bus, you're bound to pass a familiar container that makes for an attractive spot to stash a bomb: a trash can. Not only does a trash receptacle present an easy place for a terrorist to hide an explosive device before making a quiet getaway, but the metal from a bin can rupture into shrapnel that flies outward in all directions, increasing the risk to passersby. Sun, 27 Jun 2010 06:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=986 Oxon, UK -- AMSBIO offers a comprehensive range of certified tissue products for genomic and proteomic research including genomic DNA, cDNA, RNA and protein. All tissue products are produced using rigorous standard operating procedures and through ethical procurement to ensure only the highest quality materials are available in the AMSBIO biorepository. Samples have been isolated from hundreds of different source tissues including human normal and diseased tissues, and a variety of genetic model organisms including mouse, rat, primate, and plant species. These specimens are provided ready-to-use enabling the immediate study of molecules of interest in many different tissues and eliminating the need for time consuming in-house sample preparation. Thu, 24 Jun 2010 09:15:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=985 Likely to drive high sample throughput genotyping down to a penny-per-data-point Villebon sur Yvette, France & South San Francisco CA, USA -- Fluidigm Corporation announces that it has developed the world's first reusable bio-chip architecture for the commercial market. These reusable integrated fluidic circuits (IFCs) will dramatically lower SNP genotyping costs and are designed to support accelerated sample throughput, while maintaining data quality of 99.75 percent or greater accuracy and 99 percent or greater call rates. Fluidigm initially invented this architecture to support a progressive new program driven by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the chief scientific research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The program's goal is to drive high sample throughput genotyping down to a penny-per-data-point, which would enable widespread adoption of genetic analysis in vegetable and fruit seeds, livestock (cattle, pigs, sheep, poultry, etc.) and fishery management. This will significantly improve the quality and quantity of the food supply, while lowering production costs. Fri, 18 Jun 2010 08:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=984 Made the world's first two take offs from a celestial body other than the moon! {Scientists checking asteroid sample capsule after its reentry & landing in Australia --Credit: JAXA} Tokyo, Japan -- The Hayabusa space vehicle separated its capsule at 7:51 pm and reentered the atmosphere at 10:51 p.m. on June 13th, 2010 (JST). Retrieval of the Hayabusa capsule was completed, heat shield was found in Australia's Woomera Prohibited Area (WPA). JAXA has completed the retrieval of the Hayabusa capsule at 16:08 June 14th, 2010 (JST). The capsule is deemed intact at the moment. Capsule heat shield was found in WPA at around 2 p.m. on June 14th, 2010 (JST) . Hayabusa was launched on May 9th, 2003 by M-V rocket and operated for approximately seven years. During its operation, JAXA was able to achieve the difficult mission including Hayabusa's sample capture attempt after its touchdown on the asteroid named Itokawa, and Hayabusa’s return to the earth overcoming many hardships. Hayabusa is the world-first spacecraft that has landed and then taken off from an asteroid. In fact it did it twice! Tue, 15 Jun 2010 08:30:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=983 Ready-to-use lentivirus supernatant products Oxon, UK -- AMSBIO have announced a range of ready-to-use lentivirus supernatant products suitable for many kinds of gene delivery applications including stem cell research. Converting fully differentiated mouse or human somatic cells into embryonic-like cells (so called induced Pluripotent Stem Cell: iPSC) has attracted enormous attention in stem cell research. Multiple reports have demonstrated that iPS cells were generated by using a set of transcription factors or stem cell factors that delivered as expression virus or expressed proteins. Sun, 13 Jun 2010 12:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=982 Online Updates of Oil Spill Images by NASA Satellite {Credit: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response/Holli Riebeek} The Different Appearances of Oil in June 7 NASA Satellite Image NASA GODDARD -- Oil on water has many appearances. In this photo-image, acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite on June 7, 2010, at least part of the oil slick is pale gray. Wed, 09 Jun 2010 07:32:22 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=981 A Model CE440 Elemental Analyser from Exeter Analytical is being used by one of the world's leading environmental research centres, British Antarctic Survey, in its climate change research on lake and ocean sediments. British Antarctic Survey commented, "We have used CHN/O/S Elemental Analysers from Exeter Analytical for some years and initially chose the system due to its unique horizontal furnace design which made it ideal for the analysis of our sample types. "One of our recent applications for the CE440 Elemental Analyser is sediment cores, laid down over periods of thousands of years, collected from lake and ocean environments because they contain a wealth of organic and inorganic remains from which it is possible to reconstruct past environmental and climate changes. "Measurements of total organic carbon accumulation rates provide an index of past biological production which is often a function of temperature, and measurements of carbon to nitrogen ratios (C:N) combined with independent measurements of the carbon stable isotopes provide a diagnostic tool for identifying the sources of the organic matter. These standard measurements underlie many of the subsequent analyses conducted on the cores." Sun, 06 Jun 2010 02:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=980 NASA's Terra Satellite Image of Gulf Oil Slick on May 31 Tue, 01 Jun 2010 14:55:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=978 Villebon sur Yvette, France & South San Francisco CA, USA -- Scientists at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS)** have recently generated significant single cell expression data crucial for a detailed molecular understanding of mammalian development from fertilization to embryo implantation, a process known as the preimplantation period. The knowledge gained has a direct impact on clinical applications in the areas of regenerative medicine and assisted reproduction. This study, published in Developmental Cell on April 20, 2010, is the first of its kind to apply single cell gene expression analysis of many genes to hundreds of cells in a developmental system. Wed, 26 May 2010 10:59:07 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=977 50's Giant Mirror System Finds New Use in R&D [The Solar furnace uses mirrors to focus the sun onto a small point. Normally used to simulate the heat from a nuclear explosion, the furnace was used to test a theory that a space based version of the furnace could be used to deflect a meteor headed for Earth. Photo credit Drew Hamilton, WSMR, N.M.] WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE NM, USA -- White Sands Missile Range test facilities are being used by scientists to develop methods for saving the world. While the White Sands Missile Range Solar Furnace was originally built to test the survivability of Army systems and materials against the nuclear threat of the cold war, the facility is serving other purposes as well. Initially designed for research and testing relating to nuclear survivability in July 2009 the furnace was used to test a theory on saving the world. A threat that has quietly hung above earth for millions of years in that of a meteorite large enough that its impact with earth would result in a disaster of a magnitude that it would cause the extinction of humanity. Wed, 19 May 2010 11:45:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=976 Optimized for use in UHPLC, HPLC and SFC Thame, UK -- The ultra-sensitive, universal Nano Quantity Analyte Detector (NQAD™) from Dorton Analytical, presents a major advancement in high performance liquid chromatography detection capability. The NQAD™ Nano Quantity Analyte Detector is a new and completely different kind of aerosol-based detector for HPLC. Based on Condensation Nucleation (CNLSD) technology, the NQAD offers the ability to detect sub-nanogram levels. Benefiting from ultra-high sensitivity the detector is ideal for searching for drug impurities, degradation products, excipients and when industrial hygiene is a concern. Both previously easy and hard-to-measure compounds can be quantified accurately with minimal sample preparation. Sun, 16 May 2010 02:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=975 The online DLMF, is freely available on the Web w/visual aids and a powerful search engine Gaithersburg MD, USA -- The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released the Digital Library of Mathematical Functions (DLMF) and its printed companion, the NIST Handbook of Mathematical Functions, the much-anticipated successors to the agency’s most widely cited publication of all time. These reference works contain a comprehensive set of tools useful for specialists who work with mathematical modeling and computation. The two works comprise a complete update and expansion of the 1964 Handbook of Mathematical Functions, which upon its publication quickly became an indispensable reference for scientists and engineers who use the tools of applied mathematics. NIST embarked on the new work in response to the Internet revolution in information exchange as well as advances in mathematics itself. Fri, 14 May 2010 02:00:00 -0500