Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:00:00 -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=890 Chelmsford MA, USA & Coventry, UK -- Exeter Analytical Inc. has published an application note describing direct determination of total Carbon, Hydrogen and Nitrogen in environmental air and water filter samples. Described in application note 210 - the optimised methodology, using an Exeter Analytical Model CE440 CHN elemental analyser, requires a minimum of sample preparation and may be used for single samples or automated for higher throughput environments. 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 analysis. Consequently one combustion tube will analyse in excess of 1000 samples without the need for removal and cleaning. Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=889 Tring, UK -- Specialised Imaging Ltd. has reported enthusiastic feedback from customers using its Trajectory Tracker video tracking system to precisely correlate high-speed video data with 3D visualisation and measurement information. Claude Berner, a Defense Scientist at the French-German Research Institute (ISL) Ballistics Range (www.isl.eu) commented, "The SI Trajectory Tracker has proven itself to be a very useful tool and is now systematically deployed for all outdoor tests at our open range test site, especially for the observation of the sabot separation, the behavior of the model in flight as well as its impact at the target." "We have found using the Trajectory Tracker that preliminary quantitative information like spin rate and angles of attack can also be deduced from the videos and compared with the onboard recorded data." He added, "The recent development of the new in-flight correction mode has tremendously improved the possibilities of tracking models with unpredictable flight characteristics such as for example Earth re-entry space vehicles that exhibit unusual velocity profiles over the flown distance." Sun, 28 Jun 2009 03:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=888 Coventry, UK & Chelmsford MA, USA -- Warwick Analytical Service has produced an analytical service note that describes the accurate and precise determination of trace metals in organic and inorganic materials using Inductively Coupled Plasma - Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES). Equipped with modern high resolution ICP instrumentation - Warwick Analytical Service, the analytical service division of Exeter Analytical (UK) Ltd., is able to resolve the most complex spectra and analyse even the most difficult samples. Routine detection limits are low for most elements (typically Thu, 25 Jun 2009 02:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=887 Abingdon, UK -- amsbio has announced a new generation of novel two-dimensional cell-based assay kits developed for reproducibly screening test compounds that may stimulate or inhibit adherent cell migration. The Oris™ Cell Migration Assay provides life scientists with a method that is more reliable, less labour intensive, allows for real-time imaging, and is amenable to high throughput and high content imaging instruments. Unlike traditional cell migration assays using a Boyden chamber device, there is no transmembrane or cell culture insert obstructing live images of the cells as they migrate. Mon, 22 Jun 2009 08:28:10 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=886 Abingdon, UK -- Amsbio has announced a number of new and unique kits for proteoglycan research. A new sandwich ELISA kit for measurement of Keratan Sulfate (KS) at levels previously undetectable is now available. The new kit offers 10x the sensitivity of previous ELISA kits (down to 0.25 ng/ml) enabling measurement of KS in various animal samples, including serum and synovial fluid, where KS is present only at trace levels. Hyaluronic Acid (Hyaluronan) is a glycosaminoglycan polymer critical for maintaining the cellular integrity of the extracellular matrix and in its lower molecular weight form participating in many biological processes. Based upon a competitive protein binding inhibition method a new assay kit from amsbio offers sensitive and highly specific measurement of Hyaluronic acid in body fluids, culture medium, and tissue extracts. Wed, 17 Jun 2009 02:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=885 Dedication of laser at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory marks the dawn of a new era LIVERMORE CA, USA —With thousands in attendance, the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory was officially dedicated on May 29th, setting into motion the next chapter of one of the country’s greatest scientific assets. NIF, the world’s highest-energy laser system, consists of 192 laser beams that will focus nearly two million joules of energy and create temperatures and pressures that exist in the cores of stars and giant planets. By harnessing the massive power generated by its lasers, NIF will be able to create conditions and conduct a wide range of experiments never before possible on earth. Sat, 13 Jun 2009 01:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=884 Tring, UK -- Specialised Imaging Ltd. has announced a 60% increase in sales of its ultra high-speed cameras and systems, designed to acquire images of even the fastest events, to Asian customers over the last 12 months. Reflecting on the strong business growth, Wai Chan (Managing Director) commented, "Over the last few years we have seen a significant increase in enquiries from Asian researchers in the government and academic sectors in particular." "Consequently we increased our resource allocation to the region and have seen leading government, academic and industrial research groups in China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam invest in our range of ultra-high speed framing cameras." Wed, 10 Jun 2009 02:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=883 [The MODIS instrument on NASA’s Aqua satellite compiled this global view of the amount of fluorescent light emitted by phytoplankton in the ocean. The amount of fluorescent light is not constant; it changes with the health of the plant life. Credit: Mike Behrenfeld, Oregon State University" › Click for a larger image] NASA -- Researchers have conducted the first global analysis of the health and productivity of ocean plants, as revealed by a unique signal detected by a NASA satellite. Ocean scientists can now remotely measure the amount of fluorescent red light emitted by ocean phytoplankton and assess how efficiently the microscopic plants are turning sunlight and nutrients into food through photosynthesis. They can also study how changes in the global environment alter these processes, which are at the center of the ocean food web. Single-celled phytoplankton fuel nearly all ocean ecosystems, serving as the most basic food source for marine animals from zooplankton to fish to shellfish. In fact, phytoplankton account for half of all photosynthetic activity on Earth. Sun, 07 Jun 2009 02:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=882 Gaithersburg MD, USA -- While today’s law enforcement officers don’t wear utility belts full of crimefighting gadgets like Batman, they do rely on a variety of state-of-the-art technologies to do their jobs efficiently and safely. Two of these devices—down-the-road (DTR) radar used in speed enforcement and the ballistic chronograph, which measures the speed of bullets—soon should be more useful tools thanks to recent research conducted by the Office of Law Enforcement Standards (OLES) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Wed, 03 Jun 2009 02:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=881 Kenley, UK -- Optical Surfaces Ltd. has received a sizeable repeat order from Photonis SAS (Brive, France) for production of high-precision microchannel plate blanks to be used in a series of space research projects. The combination of high efficiency of design, manufacture and precision polishing have made microchannel plates from Photonis SAS/Optical Surfaces Ltd. the preferred detector element in single-photon UV and X-ray space imaging projects. Dr Aris Kouris - sales manager at Optical Surfaces Ltd commented, "The multichannel plates offer particular production challenges including maintaining tight control of the physical dimensions (thickness and parallelism) and also avoiding staining that is easily introduced during the polishing process". Sat, 30 May 2009 02:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=880 (Click here for high resolution image) [Carbon nanotubes form the inner lining of NIST’s new laser power meter, enabling the copper instrument to withstand the intensity of military lasers while precisely measuring their power - Credit: C. Cromer/NIST] Gaithersburg MD, USA -- The U.S. military can now calibrate high-power laser systems, such as those intended to defuse unexploded mines, more quickly and easily thanks to a novel nanotube-coated power measurement device developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The new laser power meter, tested at a U.S. Air Force base recently will be used to measure the light emitted by 10-kilowatt (kW) laser systems. Light focused from a 10 kW laser is more than a million times more intense than sunlight reaching the Earth. Until now, NIST-built power meters, just like the lasers they were intended to measure, were barely portable and operated slowly. The new power meter is much smaller—about the size of a crock pot rather than a refrigerator. It also features a new design that enables it to make continuous power measurements. A key innovation is the use of a sprayed-on coating of carbon nanotubes—tiny cylinders made of carbon atoms—which conduct heat hundreds of times better than conventional detector coating materials. Wed, 27 May 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=879 Gaithersburg MD, USA -- Chip manufacturers beware: There’s a newfound flaw in our understanding of transistor noise, a phenomenon affecting the electronic on-off switch that makes computer circuits possible. According to the engineers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) who discovered the problem, it will soon stand in the way of creating more efficient, lower-powered devices like cell phones and pacemakers unless we solve it. While exploring transistor behavior, the team found evidence that a widely accepted model explaining errors caused by electronic “noise” in the switches does not fit the facts. A transistor must be made from highly purified materials to function; defects in these materials, like rocks in a stream, can divert the flow of electricity and cause the device to malfunction. This, in turn, makes it appear to fluctuate erratically between “on” and “off” states. For decades, the engineering community has largely accepted a theoretical model that identifies these defects and helps guide designers’ efforts to mitigate them. Sun, 24 May 2009 02:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=878 Geneva, Switzerland & Santa Clara, CA, USA -- Symyx Technologies, Inc. has announced the launch of the Symyx Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation (CDMO). The Symyx CDMO helps biopharmaceutical companies move promising drug candidates to clinical trials faster and more reliably with integrated formulation development, and preclinical and CGMP fill/finish manufacturing. "After discovery, the next critical milestone in drug development is getting to clinical trials quickly with a reliable formulation. The Symyx CDMO provides clients a faster, more reliable route to clinical trials," said Richard Boehner, president of Symyx High Productivity Research (HPR). "We do this by combining unsurpassed formulation expertise, high-productivity research technology and CGMP clinical manufacturing in a single facility." Wed, 20 May 2009 03:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=877 Isentris Personal Edition software available for a no-charge 30-day trial Geneva, Switzerland & Santa Clara CA, USA -- Symyx Technologies, Inc. has announced the release of Symyx Isentris® Personal Edition scientific software. Designed for small to mid-size R&D organisations and for individuals, Isentris Personal Edition brings advanced scientific information management, exploration, and sharing capabilities to scientists without requiring an enterprise deployment. As the successor to the ISIS desktop system (replacing ISIS/Base, ISIS for Excel, and ISIS/Draw), Isentris Personal Edition surpasses ISIS in meeting scientists' needs for storing, searching, viewing, and sharing personal experimental results while still providing the powerful functionality of an enterprise scientific informatics system. Sun, 17 May 2009 03:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=876 Abingdon, UK -- Cellufine™ pre-packed Mini-Columns from AMSBIO provide a new level of convenience and productivity for isolating, purifying and concentrating biomolecules from aqueous samples. Available in a range of pre-packed 1ml columns for ion-exchange, affinity and hydrophobic interaction - Cellufine Mini-Columns from AMSBIO offer an optimised solution for initial screening of biomolecules, pre-optimisation of protocols in drug discovery and preclinical applications. Cellufine is a novel, high performance liquid chromatography media optimised for the purification of proteins, enzymes, endotoxins and other biomolecules. Thu, 14 May 2009 03:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=875 [CAPTION: Micrograph of a prototype NIST detector that will be used to seek B-mode polarization, the signature of the rapid inflation of the universe after the Big Bang. Cosmic radiation will be received by the arrow-shaped antennas in the middle of the detector. The antennas separate the radiation into two different polarization directions at a frequency of 145 gigahertz. (All light has two polarization directions.) Finally, the radiation for each polarization will be converted to heat by transition-edge sensors (top and right sides of the image), which precisely measure the energy using a superconducting metal that changes resistance in response to heat. The resulting data will be mapped to identify the polarization patterns. Credit: NIST] Denver CO, USA -- What happened in the first trillionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a second after the Big Bang? Super-sensitive microwave detectors, built at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), may soon help scientists find out. The new sensors, described at a meeting of the American Physical Society (APS) in Denver,* were made for a potentially ground-breaking experiment scheduled for a year from now to make new measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB)—the faint afterglow of the Big Bang that still fills the universe. Tue, 12 May 2009 07:34:20 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=874 The most important prize for metrology is awarded to Tobias J. Kippenberg, Ronald Holzwarth and Pascal Del Haye – for a completely new approach in the exact measurement of frequencies Berlin, Germany -- [ptb] An optical comb which allows high frequencies to be transmitted into low frequencies and, at the same time, to be measured with extreme accuracy is not only a physical masterpiece, but also a prize collector, after it had been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics (awarded to Theodor Hänsch and John L. Hall in 2005). The Helmholtz Prize, the most important European metrology prize, will now be awarded for an alternative procedure for an optical comb. For the development of an optical comb on a chip – which is, moreover, based on a completely different physical principle than its predecessor – Dr. Tobias J. Kippenberg and his colleagues Dr. Ronald Holzwarth and Pascal Del Haye from the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Garching will now be awarded the Helmholtz Prize 2009. Sat, 09 May 2009 06:24:38 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=873 Abingdon, UK -- AMSBIO has announced the Iso-Gold™ Rapid Mouse Monoclonal isotyping kits. Iso-Gold is a rapid-format isotyping kit that reduces the labour of the traditional ELISA protocol from a day-and-a-half procedure to a 5-minute assay. Determining the class and subclass of a monoclonal antibody is valuable in selecting the best immunoglobulin purification method. The Iso-Gold kit is a rapid lateral flow assay, with leading edge sensitivity (10ng/ml), that can be run on both tissue culture supernatant as well as mouse ascites fluid. Unlike ELISA based isotyping kits, that require considerable sample preparation and kit development, Iso-Gold is very easy-to-use. In a single step - your diluted antibody sample is simply added into the loading well of the cassette. In less than 5 minutes the Iso-Gold kit will then provide a colour readout of the mouse monoclonal antibody isotope (IgG1, IgG2a, IgG2b, IgG3, IgA or IgM). Mon, 04 May 2009 02:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=872 Spindle Error Analyzer Software Version 8.4 St. Paul MN, USA -- Lion Precision’s Spindle Error Analyzer (SEA) uses noncontact probes to measure errors in spindles in three axes while at full operating speeds. The software analyzes the data and presents results in linear and polar plots as well as calculated values of error motion. The system has been used in the machine tool and disk drive industries for over ten years. A new software release (SEA 8.4) streamlines some of the tool’s most used features. The Lion Precision Spindle Error Analyzer has been used around the world by research universities, national laboratories, machine tool builders, and manufacturers to measure spindle errors and predict capabilities of the spindle performance when in operation. Fri, 01 May 2009 03:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=871 Caluire & Juvisy, France -- Setaram and AlyXan are pleased to announce the development of VistoMS a NEW technique and coupling for thermal analysis techniques using Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectroscopy (FTICR) for ultra high resolution identification of evolved volatiles. This new technique is the first true coupling innovation for many years, and is based upon a mass spectrometry technique that directly measures, without prior sample preparation, the ion's cyclotron frequency and calculates the corresponding mass. One of the main advantages of the method is that it does not fragment the evolved molecules, allowing the simultaneous identification of numerous compounds easier to make. As such it has the power to deliver a very high resolution and a very high sensitivity for the measurement of evolved molecules. Tue, 28 Apr 2009 02:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=870 [NIST physicist Jun Ye adjusts the laser setup for a strontium atomic clock in his laboratory at JILA, a joint institute of NIST and the University of Colorado at Boulder. Credit: J. Burrus/NIST] Boulder CO, USA -- Physicists have measured and controlled seemingly forbidden collisions between neutral strontium atoms, a class of antisocial atoms known as fermions which are not supposed to collide when in identical energy states. The advance makes possible a significant boost in the accuracy of atomic clocks based on hundreds or thousands of neutral atoms. Described in the April 17 issue of the journal Science,* the research was performed at JILA, a joint institute of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado (CU) at Boulder. The finding helps eliminate a significant drawback to clock designs based on ensembles of neutral atoms. The presence of many atoms increases both the precision and signal of a clock based on the oscillations between energy levels, or “ticks,” in those atoms. Sat, 25 Apr 2009 02:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=869 Geneva, Switzerland & Santa Clara CA, USA -- Moving to improve informatics support in the fast growing area of biologics research, Symyx Technologies, Inc. has announced that it is extending an invitation to life scientists in industry and academia to join an expanded Biologics Advisory Board. The purpose of the Board is to encourage dialogue on core informatics strategies, technologies, and priorities supporting biologics workflows-including new Web browser technology for biologics registration and integration of biologics registration capabilities into the enterprise Symyx Notebook ELN. Over the next five years, the market for biologically -based drugs, or biologics, is expected to grow much faster than the market for traditional small molecule- derived drugs. Biologics represent an increasing proportion of pharmaceutical company pipelines, often serving as the first line of defense against challenging immune system diseases such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis. Growing investments in biologics present the industry and regulatory agencies with challenges in discovery, development, manufacturing, oversight, and approval of these entities. Wed, 22 Apr 2009 12:28:26 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=868 Kenley, UK -- Optical Surfaces Ltd has announced that it has supplied, to Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL), a Cassegrain Camera that will be a key component of the satellite platform being prepared for the NigeriaSat-2 programme. Due for launch in early 2010, NigeriaSat-2 is being built by SSTL for the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) of Nigeria. The high performance Cassegrain Camera supplied by Optical Surfaces Ltd will enable the satellite to undertake remote Earth observation tasks with a resolution of just 2.5 metres. NigeriaSat-2 will weigh about 300 kilograms at launch and carry two imagers: a 2.5m resolution panchromatic and a 5m resolution multispectral with a a swath width of 20 kilometres. Sat, 18 Apr 2009 15:00:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=867 {artist’s conception of an optically stabilized atomic force microscope (AFM): JILA/NIST Image - Credit: Greg Kuebler} Boulder CO, USA -- Forget dancing angels, a research team from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado (CU) has shown how to detect and monitor the tiny amount of light reflected directly off the needle point of an atomic force microscope (AFM) probe, and in so doing has demonstrated a 100-fold improvement in the stability of the instrument’s measurements under ambient conditions. Their recently reported work* potentially affects a broad range of research from nanomanufacturing to biology, where sensitive, atomic-scale measurements must be made at room temperature in liquids. Atomic force microscopes (AFMs) are one of the workhorse tools of nanotechnology. Mon, 13 Apr 2009 06:40:00 -0500 http://measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=866 Amsterdam, Netherlands & South San Francisco CA, USA -- Fluidigm has announced that the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission's (CRITFC) genetic laboratory in Portland, OR, USA is incorporating their proprietary integrated fluidic circuit (IFC) technology to conduct genetics research of salmon and steelhead 1 in the Columbia River. CRITFC has been using Fluidigm's flagship 96.96 Dynamic Array chip and the new EP1 System as part of their advanced testing program. Using Fluidigm's the 96.96 Dynamic Array and EP1 System, CRITFC can process 96 SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) markers with 96 salmon DNA samples to provide 9,216 simultaneous reactions per chip. A fully configured EP1 System can process more than 200,000 genotypes per day using TaqMan® assays. Fri, 10 Apr 2009 02:00:00 -0500