Captured on film: bacteria destroying cell wall in wine grape vines

Mar 16 | News

In the effort to study the movements of bacteria, Texas A&M plant experts observed the cell wall crashing behavior of Xylella fastidiosa, which causes a deadly wine grape plant disease. Electron microscopy helped them see this movement for the first time.

Faster method to detect bacterial contamination in coastal waters

Mar 3 | News

Engineers from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have sped up the process of analyzing bacterial concentrations to under one hour, through the development of a new in-field, rapid-detection method.

Agilent makes fish DNA ID fast, simple, accurate

Mar 2 | News

Agilent Technologies Inc. announced a system that speeds and simplifies the use of DNA to identify fish species in food products, making this technique feasible for routine verification of seafood labeling and detecting species substitutions.

Lab-on-a-chip stitched together with cotton thread and sewing needles

Feb 19 | News

Typical microfluidic devices require complicated etching of tiny channels into glass, silicon or metal. As Australian researchers have discovered, cotton thread can be an effective alternative. The fibers wick fluids effectively, and when attached to paper they form a low-cost sensor.

Small liquid sensor can detect cancer instantly

Feb 18 | News

A Univ. of Missouri researcher is developing a tiny sensor, known as an acoustic resonant sensor, that is smaller than a human hair and could test bodily fluids for a variety of diseases, including breast and prostate cancers.

Universal DNA reader to advance faster, cheaper sequencing efforts

Feb 12 | News

Arizona State scientists have come up with a new twist in their efforts to develop a faster and cheaper way to read the DNA genetic code. They have developed the first, versatile DNA reader that can discriminate between DNA's four core chemical components—the key to unlocking the vital code behind human heredity and health.

New sensor could help combat diabetes

Jan 22 | News

A tiny new sensor could provide fresh, inexpensive diagnosis and treatment methods for people suffering from a variety of diseases. Univ. of Florida engineers have designed and tested versions of the sensor for applications ranging from monitoring diabetics’ glucose levels via their breath to detecting possible indicators of breast cancer in saliva.

Robotics Brought to the Benchtop

12/21/2009 | Featured Articles

In life science applications, sample preparation is crucial to any research project. With that knowledge, Symyx (Sunnyvale, Calif.) created a benchtop platform system that excels in doing complex sample preparation for a variety of life science analytics.

Moving Life Science Research Out of the Dark

12/21/2009 | Featured Articles

When using a fluorescence imaging microscope, a staple for life science research, researchers usually have to invest in dark rooms. Knowing that researchers’ time is precious, as well as the space they work in, Olympus created the FSX100 and the FluoView FV10i microscopes, that allow researchers to actually save space in laboratories and remove the need for dark rooms for fluorescence imaging experiments.

A Micro Spectrophotometer

12/21/2009 | Featured Articles

While some companies make the decision to take floor-standing instruments down to the benchtop, other companies market their analytical products for the benchtop initially. One such company is Shimadzu Scientific Instruments. Benefiting the pharmaceutical, food and beverage, environmental, biochemistry, and polymer industries, the new UV-1800 is part of Shimadzu’s natural progression of spectrophotometers.

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Much ado about next to nothing

Mar 15

The recent review of the past 10 years of the National Nanotechnology Initiative--as presented by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology--suggested the rise of nanomanufacturing as the near future of nanotechnology. But the actual proposed funding reflects a cautious approach, even about nanotech in general.

Lunar tires, space MRSA, and resonating microfluidics

Mar 5

I typically attend the annual Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy each year in pursuit of specific coverage. This year, I sought out candidates for coverage in a vacuum technology article, and pulled together some instruments for a spectroscopy guide. But as busy as that kept me, it wasn’t all mass spectrometers and vacuum pumps on the show floor.  

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NuGard Coating Ashburn Hill

Jan 7

NuGard First Response Protective Clothing are lightweight coveralls, jackets, and pants that provide protection from heat and flame while keeping the wearers body temperature constant.

Multi-Touch Music Maker

Jan 7

Professor David Wessel shows his multi-touch interface that uses computer technologies that allow him to experiment with fine controls to "caress" the instrument.