RECENT NEWS

Recent research has shed new light on how the fetal brain develops.

Oral ingestion of pomegranate extract reduces the production of chemicals that cause inflammation suggests a study published in BioMed Central’s open-access Journal of Inflammation.

Professor Lord Winston, one of the UK’s foremost medical academics and the presenter of BBC series such as The Human Body and Child of Our Time, has been named patron of a fundraising campaign to create a new facility for world-class drug research and development at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.

Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys has received a Gold Award from the Association of Colleges (AoC). Sir Alec studied biochemistry at Merton College, Oxford, and then in 1997 moved to the University of Leicester, where he developed genetic fingerprinting and DNA profiling.

Innovation should be the life blood of the NHS and no-one is better placed to conceive new ways of improving patient care than those who deliver it. However, despite being brilliant at generating ideas, healthcare staff often lack the contacts, know-how or time to take their ideas forward. Lack of a joined-up approach between managers and frontline staff often leads to apathy, with the words innovation and National Health Service often being regarded as an oxymoron.

Formerly part of Barloworld Scientific, Sterilin is a newly formed independent business specialising in the manufacture of single-use laboratory plastics.

A life-science background and five years’ experience in two previous roles at Eppendorf have given Geoff Simmons in-depth knowledge of the company’s applications, products, sales channels and customers. As Eppendorf brand marketing specialist since 2005, Geoff has applied his marketing and communication skills to advertising, global and local promotions, marketing and exhibition management.

The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has accepted Pradaxa (dabigatran etexilate), the first oral anticoagulant to be licensed in the UK for more than 50 years, for routine use in the NHS in Scotland for patients undergoing hip and knee replacements. The SMC decision is the first recommendation for NHS use of Pradaxa in the UK and was welcomed by the manufacturer, Boehringer Ingelheim.

The success of any polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method depends on the functionality of the cycler. No two thermal cyclers function identically but periodic and continuous validation with DRIFTCON, available from Anachem, offers a convenient and easy means to check if PCR tests are working within predetermined parameters.

The recent Microscience 2008 meeting saw the first formal collaboration between the Royal Microscopical Society (RMS) and the Society for General Microbiology (SfGM) with the introduction of a new satellite meeting at this major biennial event. The one-day SfGM meeting concentrated on the cellular aspects of infection and consider both cell invasion processes and the ‘tussle’ that takes place when a host cell tries to fight against a pathogen replicating within the cell.

Every webcast from Abbott Diagnostics now attracts continuing professional development (CPD) credits from the IBMS. Throughout June, webcast users were able to develop their knowledge of hepatitis C diagnosis, learn how changes in the HIV-1 virus will affect diagnostics and patient management, and also improve their understanding of myocardial infarction, all from the comfort of their own desk. These live, interactive presentations were led by prominent doctors, subject matter experts and Abbott professionals.

Following the installation of an ABX Pentra 400 chemistry analyser at the University of Oxford, researchers in the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics are already seeing the benefits. Researching the role of diet and exercise on heart function, the team is analysing plasma metabolite levels, lactate, triglycerides, ketones and fatty acids in blood on a daily basis.

In collaboration with the Japanese company Hamamatsu Photonics, the Hamamatsu Tissue Imaging and Analysis (TIGA) centre has been opened at the University of Heidelberg.

The Randox International Quality Assessment Scheme (RIQAS) is the largest EQA scheme in the world. Now, three new programmes have been added, making external quality control easier than ever.

Beckman Coulter UK has appointed Lisa Truslove as its national sales manager across the company’s expanding clinical diagnostics business.

A company launched in 2005 to provide a rapid diagnostic reporting service for histopathology and cytology is seeing its workload grow month on month. Backlogs online reporting service is being used increasingly by hospital pathology departments as a cost-effective alternative to locum recruitment, short-term holiday cover or longer-term support.

Randox Laboratories has built a reputation for customer support services of the highest standard, and maintains this reputation by providing customers with what they need, when they need it. Randox has been recognised for this through the BelfastTelegraph Service to Business Award, which recognises the best in the market.

The latest generation of water purification technology from Purite is enabling Siemens Medical Solutions to ensure the quality of the reagents produced for use with its blood gas analysers. Siemens Medical Solutions provides performance-driven diagnostics solutions that assist in the diagnosis, monitoring and management of disease. Its products and services incorporate the latest in science and technology to provide healthcare professionals with the vital information they need. In particular, the company's blood gas analysers are designed to improve patient care by providing medical professionals with laboratory-quality results at the point of care.

Pulse has unveiled its new website for connecting clients with a skilled base of healthcare and social care professionals. Already attracting more than 60,000 visits a month to its UK site, Pulse consistently comes top of the league for healthcare and social care staff searching for jobs.

LGC has launched a new website to provide public access to the outputs of the UK National Measurement System (NMS) Chemical and Biological Metrology programme. The website also contains the outputs from the previous Valid Analytical Measurement (VAM) and Measurements for Biotechnology (MfB) programmes. The NMS Chemical and Biological Metrology programme aims to develop new approaches to measurement which will lead to standardisation and thus improved comparability of measurement results.