RECENT NEWS

A case study describing the experiences of Niguarda Hospital, Milan, in assessing the new DxN VERIS Molecular Diagnostics System is now available from Beckman Coulter. The case study describes the workflow improvements and reduced turnaround times that the hospital’s molecular biology laboratory has achieved for viral load measurements using the DxN VERIS system.

The laboratories of the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (BHSCT) received a highly commended certificate at the Ulster University Placement Employer of the Year Awards ceremony, held last month. The laboratories in the trust facilitate a 52-week placement programme each year for up to eight Ulster University students undertaking the degree programme in biomedical sciences.

The British Society for Microbial Technology (BSMT) is offering a limited number of grants of up to £1000 to assist with the practical side of laboratory-orientated education. Whether to purchase kits or other consumables and reagents, to complete a research project or to undertake a service evaluation within a microbiology laboratory setting, the BSMT can help.

A novel way of synthesising a promising new antibiotic has been identified by scientists at the University of Bristol. By expressing the genes involved in the production of pleuromutilin in a different type of fungus, the researchers have been able to increase production by more than 2000%.

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Institute President Ian Sturdgess recently attended the launch of South West London Pathology’s new state-of-the-art laboratories at St George’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Ian was invited along with guests from South West London Pathology (SWLP) staff, hospital trusts, NHS England, the Medical Director for London Region, local GPs and CCG colleagues, and representatives from commercial companies.

To coincide with World Health Day, decontamination and infection control specialist Hygiene Solutions has produced an infographic to highlight healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) – what they are and how they spread – and what healthcare professionals and members of the public can do to help avoid the transmission of HAIs. The infographic, which can be viewed at the link below, is designed help spread awareness of HAIs such as Clostridium difficile (pictured) and how they can be contained and prevented.

Institute Fellow Dr Mustafa A Abu-Lisan has been appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea. Dr Abu-Lisan was appointed to the post by Her Majesty's Lord Lieutenant of Greater London, Kenneth Olisa.

Frances Hughes and Claire Swift, both senior biomedical scientists in molecular pathology, are part of the team at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust which won the award for Improving Quality and Efficiency through Workforce Transformation, for their work on the Molecular Pathology Diagnostic Service.

Mast will be exhibiting again at the BSMT Spring Meeting, to be held at Public Health England, Colindale, on Friday, 20 May 2016. The one-day symposium ‘Assessing the Impact of New Technology in Diagnostics on Global Epidemiology: How Laboratories Make a Difference’, will discuss how laboratories identify and quantify infectious disease globally and how advances in technology has permitted more accurate reporting.

Ceftaroline (Zinforo), manufactured by AstraZeneca, is a novel cephalosporin used in the treatment of skin and soft tissue infections. It has also been used successfully in the treatment of complicated skin infections.

Abbott’sARCHITECT STATHigh Sensitive Troponin-I (hsTnI) test may help clinicians detect twice as many cases of myocardial infarction (MI) in women. Results have shown that the test is able todiagnose an MI in 22% of cases for women compared to a standard of 11% when usinga gender-specific threshold (an approach to setting diagnostic thresholds which tailors treatment andtest thresholds by gender).

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A blood test may be able to provide early warning that patients with advanced melanoma skin cancer are relapsing, according to a study published recently in Cancer Discovery(Girotti MR, Gremel G, Lee R et al. Application of sequencing, liquid biopsies and patient-derived xenografts for personalized medicine in melanoma.Cancer Discov 2015 Dec 29. Pii: CD-15-1336 [Epub ahead of print]).

From its headquarters in Crumlin, Northern Ireland, Randox has grown into an international success story, at the frontline of improving healthcare in conditions such as stroke, dementia, diabetes, heart disease, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and respiratory infections through earlier and more accurate diagnosis.

The IBMS has published updated guidance on Patient Sample and Request Form Identification Criteria. The updated policy defines the minimum criteria that must be in place for the receipt and identification of samples.

IBMS President Ian Sturdgess joined the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee, MPs and scientists in Parliament recently to present the Silver Award in Biological and Biomedical Sciences at SET for Britain 2016.

New data from four studies demonstrate that post-prandial hyperglycaemia is associated with a negative physical and emotional impact on people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, greater use of healthcare resources, missed work time and reduced productivity. These results were presented recently at the World Diabetes Congress of the International Diabetes Federation.

Dr David Bennett, former head of NHS Foundation Trust regulator Monitor, has been appointed the new Chair of Viapath, the pathology joint venture owned by Guy’s and St Thomas’, King’s College Hospital and Serco.

An international team of scientists has reported important results using patients' own immune cells to fight cancer. In one trial, symptoms disappeared in 94% of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. In other types of blood cancer, response rates over 80% have been reported, and over half experienced complete remission.

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An Introduction to Clinical Anaerobic Bacteriology is a special guide that enables readers to isolate and identify 12 commonly occurring, clinically important anaerobic bacteria. Don Whitley Scientific is offering UK-based readers a free copy of the Library Edition of this publication. To apply for your free copy, please email the company or log on to its website and complete the contact form.

Rainin TerraRack pipette tip racks have achieved success in last year’s Green Apple Awards. The judges recognised the environmental benefits of this product range – which is designed to minimise the problem of plastic tip rack waste – selecting TerraRack from a field of more than 500 entries to receive a Bronze Award for Environmental Best Practice. The award was presented to EU market manager Ian Eaton-Taylor at a ceremony held at the Houses of Parliament last November.