Sun, 07 Feb 2010 20:00:00 -0600 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=952 Exposure time programmed for 20 nanoseconds Tring, UK -- Specialised Imaging Ltd. has released a new application note describing how its SIMD8 ultra-high speed framing camera has been used to record the detonation of high explosives. The purpose of the experiment was a proof of principle to show that the SIMD8 camera could image the extreme brightness of the explosive fireball with no interframe crosstalk and minimal or no phosphor lag. The application note describes how 8 ounces of high explosive was detonated in a blast containment chamber with the SIMD8 sited 3 metres away looking through a polycarbonate viewing port. Sun, 07 Feb 2010 20:00:00 -0600 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=951 Homogeneous PARP Inhibition Assay - Universal PARP - PARG Assay kits... Abingdon, UK -- A comprehensive range of application specific, high performance Poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) assay kits, enzymes & antibodies are available from AMSBIO to assist scientists with their DNA damage research. PARP is well known to catalyze the NAD dependent addition of poly-ADP-ribose to adjacent nuclear proteins. PARP also plays an important role in DNA repair as well as a leading role in apoptosis by depleting the cellular NAD pool. PARP inhibition has been shown to prevent tissue damage in animal models of myocardial & neuronal ischemia, diabetes, septic shock, & vascular stroke. For researchers undertaking high throughput screening for PARP Inhibitors - AMSBIO's Homogeneous PARP Inhibition Assay is the kit of choice. Where smaller numbers of inhibitors are encountered, such as in cancer research, AMSBIO Universal PARP and PARG Assay kits provide accurate determination of IC50 values. Sat, 30 Jan 2010 03:00:00 -0600 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=950 Light transit time through complex multilayered materials depends on the order in which the layers are stacked not total thickness {A single photon travels through alternating layers of low (blue) and high (green) refractive index material more slowly (top) or quickly (bottom) depending upon the order of the layers. A strategically placed additional layer (bottom) can dramatically reduce photon transit time. - Credit: JQI View hi-resolution } College Park MD, USA -- Researchers at the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI), a collaboration of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Maryland at College Park, can speed up photons (particles of light) to seemingly faster-than-light speeds through a stack of materials by adding a single, strategically placed layer. This experimental demonstration confirms intriguing quantum-physics predictions that light’s transit time through complex multilayered materials need not depend on thickness, as it does for simple materials such as glass, but rather on the order in which the layers are stacked. This is the first published study* of this dependence with single photons. Wed, 27 Jan 2010 08:37:53 -0600 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=949 New Cell Migration Assay Kit Abingdon, UK -- AMSBIO has announced the addition of the Oris™ Pro Cell Migration Assay to its range of 96-well cell exclusion zone assays for performing cell migration and cell invasion experiments. The new assay kit, that complements the popular Oris Cell Migration Assay, now enables researchers to save time and cost by using automated liquid handling equipment for fast set-up of high-throughput assays. Researchers can now capture and quantify real-time cell migration data using microscopes, High Content Screening (HCS) and High Content Imaging (HCI) instruments. Typical results are highly reproducible, excellent well-to-well CV's and robust Z factors make the new kit highly suitable for productive compound screening. Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:00:00 -0600 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=948 Combining Fluidigm's microfluidic platforms with OncoMed's cancer stem cell sorting technology Amsterdam, Netherlands & South San Francisco CA, USA -- OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Fluidigm Corporation have announced a new initiative to apply Fluidigm's unique microfluidic tools to the analysis of tumor cell heterogeneity, including cancer stem cells. The collaboration will combine Fluidigm's advanced microfluidic platforms with OncoMed's proprietary cancer stem cell sorting technology to generate unique tools for analyzing, quantifying and developing treatments directed at this highly tumorigenic cell population. In the initial application, OncoMed will apply Fluidigm's BioMark™ System along with their proprietary Dynamic Array™ integrated fluidic circuits (IFCs) to perform detailed gene expression analysis of solid tumors at the whole tumor and single-cell level. Wed, 20 Jan 2010 07:15:00 -0600 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=947 Energy & Environment Lead the Projects List Gaithersburg MD, USA -- The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) last week awarded $34.12 million in grants for 27 research projects in measurement science and engineering. The 27 projects will receive one-time funding ranging from $408,996 to $1.5 million to carry out research programs that last three years. The projects will advance the state of knowledge and practice of measurement science in six identified research areas of critical national importance: * Energy; * Environment and climate change; * Information technology and cybersecurity; * Biosciences/health care; * Manufacturing; and * Physical infrastructure. The NIST Measurement Science and Engineering Research Grants Program, funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, supports research to advance measurement science in six areas of critical national importance, including energy, environment and climate change, information technology and cybersecurity, bioscience and health care, manufacturing and physical infrastructure. Sun, 17 Jan 2010 15:00:00 -0600 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=946 Groundbreaking approach could impact fields from cryptography to materials science CAMBRIDGE MA, USA -- In an important first for a promising new technology, scientists have used a quantum computer to calculate the precise energy of molecular hydrogen. This groundbreaking approach to molecular simulations could have profound implications not just for quantum chemistry, but also for a range of fields from cryptography to materials science. "One of the most important problems for many theoretical chemists is how to execute exact simulations of chemical systems," says author Alán Aspuru-Guzik, assistant professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Harvard University. "This is the first time that a quantum computer has been built to provide these precise calculations." The work, described this week in Nature Chemistry, comes from a partnership between Aspuru-Guzik's team of theoretical chemists at Harvard and a group of experimental physicists led by Andrew White at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Aspuru-Guzik's team coordinated experimental design and performed key calculations, while his partners in Australia assembled the physical "computer" and ran the experiments. Thu, 14 Jan 2010 10:45:00 -0600 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=945 Carbon Dioxide is not well mixed in the troposphere, but is rather "lumpy." {Created with data acquired by JPL's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder instrument during July 2009 shows large-scale patterns of carbon dioxide concentrations that are transported around Earth by the general circulation of the atmosphere. Credit: JPL} WASHINGTON DC, USA – Researchers studying carbon dioxide, a leading greenhouse gas and a key driver of global climate change, now have a new tool at their disposal: daily global measurements of carbon dioxide in a key part of our atmosphere. The data are courtesy of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on NASA's Aqua spacecraft. Moustafa Chahine, the instrument's science team leader at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., unveiled the new product at a briefing on recent breakthroughs in greenhouse gas, weather and climate research from AIRS at this week's American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco. The new data, which span the seven-plus years of the AIRS mission, measure the concentration and distribution of carbon dioxide in the mid-troposphere--the region of Earth's atmosphere that is located between 5 to 12 kilometers, or 3 to 7 miles, above Earth's surface. Mon, 11 Jan 2010 03:00:00 -0600 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=944 ESA Online -- As elements of the integrated circuits running our computers, phones and electronics, silicon wafers are everywhere. An ESA-led effort is establishing an out-of-this-world use for these commonplace items: when stacked together precisely by the thousand they promise to deliver astronomy’s clearest X-ray view yet of the most violent regions of space. “ESA has been working with specialist European firms to develop this new optical technique and build up a supporting industry,” said Marcos Bavdaz, Head of ESA’s Advanced Technology Section. “This ‘silicon pore optics’ effort is part of the Agency’s preparation for the International X-ray Observatory (IXO), a candidate mission with NASA and Japan’s space agency for around 2020.” Fri, 08 Jan 2010 02:00:00 -0600 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=943 Geneva, Switzerland & Santa Clara CA, USA -- Symyx Technologies, Inc. and the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) have announced the launch of a collaborative partnership designed to enhance the usability and accessibility of public scientific databases. The first joint project links related chemical structures between two information sources, ChemSpider (from RSC) and DiscoveryGate (from Symyx), enabling scientists to quickly retrieve more complete and comprehensive information. ChemSpider is a free-access chemistry search engine that aggregates and indexes chemical structures and their associated information into a single searchable repository. DiscoveryGate provides online access to chemical sourcing, organic synthesis and reaction planning, metabolism, toxicity and pharmacological information, integrating information based on the occurrence of common chemical structures. Tue, 05 Jan 2010 02:00:00 -0600 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=942 Amsterdam, Netherlands & South San Francisco CA, USA -- The Fluidigm BioMark™ IFC Controller MX from Fluidigm Europe is a self-contained system specifically designed to automatically prime and load 48.48 Dynamic Array™ and Digital Array™ integrated fluidic circuits (IFCs), one at a time. The MX is a compact, fully integrated system with internal computer, touch screen control, and internal air source capable of setting up 2,304 reactions within minutes. It is the perfect solution for labs undertaking gene expression, genotyping, realtime and digital PCR experiments with lower throughput requirements, tight budgets, and limited bench space. "Fluidgm's BioMark IFC Controller MX automates the setup of dynamic array or digital array chips. After samples and assays have been pipetted into the inlets of the input frame, the chip is placed onto the controller and with a few taps of the touch screen, samples and assays are loaded into the integrated fluidic circuits," explained Leila Smith, Director (Business Development) Fluidigm Europe. Sat, 02 Jan 2010 01:30:00 -0600 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=941 LT Detects 10% Optical Polarisation in Gamma-Ray Burst [RINGO image of GRB 090102 observed 2009 Jan 02. The field of view is 4.6x4.6 arcmin. The optical afterglow of the GRB is the ring labelled "G"; foreground comparison sources are labelled 1-6. © 2009 LT Group.] Liverpool, UK -- A specialized camera on a telescope operated by U.K. astronomers from Liverpool has made the first measurement of magnetic fields in the afterglow of a gamma-ray burst ( GRB ). The result is reported in the Dec.10, 2009 issue of Nature magazine by the team of Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) astronomers who built and operate the telescope and its unique scientific camera, named RINGO. The burst occurred January 2, 2009. NASA’s Swift satellite observed its position and immediately notified telescopes all over the world via the Internet. When it received the trigger from Swift, the robotic Liverpool Telescope on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands automatically swung to observe the burst. Its special camera employs a spinning disk of Polaroid -- similar to the material used in sunglasses. Wed, 30 Dec 2009 01:00:00 -0600 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=940 Optical Surfaces Ltd is a leading manufacturer and supplier of debris shields Kenley, UK -- As laser beam energy and target size increase, there is a greater risk that ancillary debris and shrapnel can damage target-facing optics. The use of debris shields to protect typically expensive final reflective or refractive focusing high power optics is a well-established technique of cost effectively extending their lifetime. Working with a range of glasses including BK-7 and fused silica, which offer good homogeneity and transmission from the UV to the Near-IR, Optical Surfaces Ltd. is able to supply customer specified debris shields of virtually any shape and thickness. Manufacturing large, high quality debris shields combines the dual demands of producing a precision wavefront on a flexible window with a high diameter to thickness ratio. Mon, 28 Dec 2009 03:00:00 -0600 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=939 Symyx Direct 6.3 Adds Markush Structure Storage and Retrieval Geneva, Switzerland & Santa Clara CA, USA -- Symyx Technologies, Inc. has released the Symyx Direct 6.3 chemistry data cartridge, which now includes new capabilities in the handling of non-specific Markush chemical structures. Symyx Direct enables researchers to register, search and retrieve molecular structures and reactions stored in Oracle® relational databases. Used by more than 80 percent of life sciences organisations worldwide, the cartridge offers proven performance with databases containing over 17 million reactions and over 30 million structures. The new Markush functionality in Symyx Direct supports combinatorial library design and patent claim analysis in drug discovery by greatly expanding the techniques available for managing and exploring large numbers of related chemical substructures. Fri, 25 Dec 2009 08:00:00 -0600 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=938 New product from Micronic Europe BV enables quick and simple opening of lightly frozen sample storage tubes Lelystad, The Netherlands & McMurray PA, USA -- With increasing pressure to ensure long term stored sample integrity - more and more laboratories are turning to cryostorage solutions. However accessing cryostored samples without subjecting them to the potential degradation that can arise from repeated freeze/thaw cycles has until now presented a challenge. The sturdy Aluminium Decapper-8 offers users the ability to simultaneously open a row of eight lightly frozen capped storage tubes thereby avoiding the need to first thaw your samples. Compatible with wide ranging tube sizes (0.50ml, 0.75ml, 1.10ml, 1.40ml and 2.50ml) the Aluminium Decapper-8 offers quick, convenient and smooth removal of lightly frozen tube caps. Tue, 22 Dec 2009 01:00:00 -0600 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=937 Calcium Assay kit provides a homogeneous fluorescence-based assay for detecting intracellular calcium mobilisation across a broad spectrum of biological targets Abingdon, UK -- Calcium signaling is a key event in many physiological processes, but has also been linked to pathways that are important in cancer, much as migration, invasion, proliferation and apoptosis. The role of calcium as a regulator of these processes combined with the altered expression of specific isoforms of calcium pumps and channels in some cancers has created significant interest in these proteins as novel targets for cancer drug discovery. Calcium flux assays are preferred methods in drug discovery for screening G protein coupled receptors (GPCR). The Screen Quest™ Calcium Assay Kit from amsbio provides a homogeneous fluorescence-based assay for detecting the intracellular calcium mobilisation. Sat, 19 Dec 2009 10:22:06 -0600 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=936 Vaisala launches website to ensure data continuity Helsinki, Finland -- Vaisala has established a public website that aims to ensure data continuity for the upper-air observations gathered with the company's radiosounding equipment. The website was created to respond to the needs of the international climatological research community, who need to ensure that observation data remains comparable and representative of the actual real-life phenomena. Soundings are a major resource for climatological research, and the observation data series can span decades. Maintaining data continuity within the time series is crucial, as researchers need to be able to adjust and correct any information that could have a mis-representative effect on the long-term trends within the series. Wed, 16 Dec 2009 08:46:30 -0600 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=935 What Professionals Don't Know Can Hurt Them Digital Latitudes (www.digital-latitudes.com) offer a free, online course for our site visitors. Whether you are working for someone in our industry, or own a firm, one of the most desired skills to possess today is what experts call "soft skills" or people skills. Soft skills are the skills we are not taught in school. For instance, as engineers and scientists, we might learn about project management or programming skills (technical or hard skills), but we are not taught about conflict resolution or negotiating techniques (soft skills). The sad reality is that most of us learn to communicate with people by trial and error, and for many, primarily by error. Soft skills allow technical professionals, like us, to communicate better to get things done, whether we are talking to a client, a colleague, a boss, even our family members. What we say and how we say it really matters to our professional and personal success. In my experience, soft skills are really the hardest skills to master. Whether we are persuading, selling, collaborating, negotiating, resolving conflicts, servicing a client, presenting, or listening, soft skills are success-critical to our professions. Thu, 10 Dec 2009 09:02:06 -0600 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=934 Optimizes scientific communication & collaboration in the Lab Geneva, Switzerland & Santa Clara CA, USA -- Symyx Technologies, Inc. has announced an out-of-the-box integration of Symyx Notebook and Thermo Scientific Watson LIMS. Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:00:00 -0600 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=933 Imperial College London Spin-out DNA Electronics Wins For “SNP Dr” Real-Time Gene Testing Innovation London, United Kingdom -- DNA Electronics Ltd. has been named as the winner of the prestigious R&D prize at the Elektra09 European Electronics Industry Awards. DNA Electronics, a spin-out of Imperial College London, triumphed from a shortlist of five other finalists to be named winner by an independent panel of judges in recognition of its innovative technology and intellectual property strategy. The Elektra09 award ceremony was held on Tuesday 1st December 2009 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London. DNA Electronics’ SNP Dr (pronounced ‘snip doctor’) is a breakthrough silicon chip-based handheld device that offers fast and accurate spot test results for specific DNA sequences that indicate how patients are likely to respond to prescription drugs. The device is now being trialed in partnership with global pharmaceutical company Pfizer. Tue, 08 Dec 2009 01:00:00 -0600 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=932 Ultrasensitive inertial MEMS accelerometers benefit applications such as bridge, infrastructure and seismic monitoring PALO ALTO CA, USA -- HP has announced new inertial sensing technology that enables the development of digital micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) accelerometers that are up to 1,000 times more sensitive than high-volume products currently available. A MEMS accelerometer is a sensor that can be used to measure vibration, shock or change in velocity. By deploying many of these detectors as part of a complete sensor network, HP will enable real-time data collection, management evaluation and analysis. This information empowers people to make better, faster decisions, and take subsequent action to improve safety, security and sustainability for a range of applications, such as bridge and infrastructure health monitoring, geophysical mapping, mine exploration and earthquake monitoring. Sun, 06 Dec 2009 02:00:00 -0600 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=931 So. San Francisco CA, USA & Amsterdam, Netherlands -- Fluidigm Corporation, the inventor of integrated fluidic circuits (IFCs), has appointed Nano Gen Teknolojileri Ltd. as its exclusive distributor for the BioMark™ and EP1™ Systems for genetic analysis in Turkey. The BioMark System provides significant advantages for digital and real-time PCR, genotyping, single-cell gene expression, cancer detection and absolute quantification. The EP1 System is a cost-conscious solution that enables high-throughput SNP genotyping and end point digital PCR research. Fluidigm systems utilise integrated fluidic circuits that contain a microscopic matrix of microfluidic channels, valves and chambers on a rubber chip that can perform thousands of experiments at a time. Thu, 03 Dec 2009 01:00:00 -0600 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=930 Seek detailed global distribution of CO2 & other greenhouse gases {Caption: HIPPO aircraft takes off in Colorado. NOAA Photo} Broomfield CO, USA - (Media-Newswire.com) – NOAA scientists took off recently on the second phase of a mission that, when complete, will provide a detailed view of how carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases are distributed globally. Monitoring the increasing levels of greenhouse gases and black carbon aerosols in the atmosphere is crucial to understanding human-caused climate change. “Missions such as this one are critical to understanding the impacts of greenhouse gases and particulates,” said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “The data collected are also essential to help verify if policies to reduce these heat trapping pollutants are having their intended effect.” Fred Moore and Ryan Spackman, researchers from NOAA’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), took off with five NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) instruments on a modified Gulfstream aircraft. Their roller-coaster tour of the planet will take them from pole to pole, dipping and climbing repeatedly between altitudes of 1,000 feet and 47,000 feet. ESRL and CIRES, a joint institute of the University of Colorado and NOAA, are located in Boulder, Colo. Mon, 30 Nov 2009 02:00:00 -0600 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=929 Method uses one combustion tube for more than 1000 sediment samples Chelmsford MA, USA -- Exeter Analytical Inc. has developed a minimal sample preparation method for direct elemental analysis of organic carbon in sediment samples. The organic carbon fraction in sediments is important because it serves as a binding site for contaminant metals. The abundance of organic carbon controls many diagenic processes. Normalising contaminant data by the percentage organic carbon allows for the distinction of specific anthropogenic sources. The Model CE440 is a static combustion system, with a unique horizontal furnace design, which enables easy removal of filter and sample ash between each sediment analysis. Consequently one combustion tube will analyse in excess of 1000 sediment samples without the need for removal and cleaning. In addition the Model CE440 provides the capacity to process filters up to 47 mm in diameter in one analytical cycle. Fri, 27 Nov 2009 01:00:00 -0600 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=928 Portable & Precise {Caption: Gerard Wysocki, an electrical engineer at Princeton, worked with colleagues at Rice to develop a highly portable and sensitive method for detecting nitric oxide gas, a key player in pollution and human physiology. Credit: Frank Wojciechowski. Published: EurekaAlert.org} Princeton NJ, USA -- In the air, it is a serious pollutant. In the body, it plays a role in heart rate, blood flow, nerve signals and immune function. Nitric oxide (Chemically: NO), a gas well known to scientists for its myriad functions, has proven challenging to measure accurately outside the laboratory. A team of Princeton and Rice University researchers has demonstrated a new method of identifying the gas using lasers and sensors that are inexpensive, compact and highly sensitive. Such a portable device, suitable for large-scale deployment, could be of great value to atmospheric science, pollution control, biology and medicine. Nitric oxide is so potent that a few molecules of it per billion, or even trillion, molecules of air promote smog, acid rain and depletion of the ozone layer. Similarly tiny amounts in a patient's breath could help diagnose asthma and other disorders. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:16:41 -0600