Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:00:00 -0600 http://www.measurementdb.com/ Measurement R&D News en-us http://www.measurementdb.com/images/logo.gif http://www.measurementdb.com/ mdb@measurementdevices.com http://www.measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1080 [The tower in back supports the SOLIS instrument. Image links to a larger JPG. -- Click on image to view -- (Kim Streander, NSO/AURA/NSF)] Tucson, AZ, USA -- One of the world's most colorful solar instruments is moving across country for a new life dissecting the chemistry of comets and stars. The solar spectrum -- both artificial and real -- as reconstructed by the FTS. The artificial part is that the FTS does not spread white light into the rainbow, but measures intensities. The Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) recently ended its career with the National Solar Observatory (NSO) at Kitt Peak, AZ and is being shipped to Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA, with delivery scheduled for February 9th. "The FTS is one of the premier instruments for laboratory spectroscopy, high-resolution solar spectroscopy, and other research," Bernath said. "It is a fantastic instrument." Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:00:00 -0600 http://www.measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1079 Timely ends {Click to View Wikipedia Telomere Image & Article} Glasgow, Scotland -- New research led by a team at the University of Glasgow shows that a good indicator of how long individuals will live can be obtained from early in life using the length of specialised pieces of DNA called telomeres. Telomeres occur at the ends of the chromosomes, which contain our genetic code. They function a bit like the plastic caps at the end of shoelaces by marking the chromosome ends and protecting them from various process that gradually cause the ends to be worn away. This method of DNA protection is the same for most animals and plants, including humans, and the eventual loss of the telomere cap is known to cause cells to malfunction. This study is the first in which telomere length has been measured in the same individuals from early life and then repeatedly during the rest of their natural lives. Thu, 19 Jan 2012 08:40:00 -0600 http://www.measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1078 {NIST Sensor Improvement Brings Analysis Method into Mainstream Image Courtesy NIST & YouTube.com} Gaithersburg MD, USA & Waterloo ON, Canada -- An advance in sensor design* by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Waterloo's Institute of Quantum Computing (IQC) could unshackle a powerful, yet high-maintenance technique for exploring materials. The achievement could expand the technique, called neutron interferometryfrom a test of quantum mechanics to a tool for industry as well. Neutron beams can be used in dozens of ways to probe complex molecules and other advanced materials, but few of the analysis techniques require as much care as neutron interferometry. The technique treats neutrons as waves, a feature of quantum mechanics, and measures how the neutron is altered as it passes through a sample material. The results can reveal a variety of details about the magnetic, nuclear and structural properties of the sample. Neutron interferometry is extremely sensitive, but it carries a price: the instruments are so exquisitely sensitive to vibration and temperature that they must be built in a blockhouse the size of a garage, where they can be shielded from seismic activity and maintained at temperatures that are stable to within a few thousandths of a degree Celsius. Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:00:00 -0600 http://www.measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1077 Could Reveal Way to Observe Enigmatic Particle {Schematic drawing of collision between two BECs (the gray blobs) that have been “dressed” by laser light (brown arrows) and an additional magnetic field (green arrow). The fuzzy halo shows where atoms have been scattered. The non-uniform projection of the scattering halo on the graph beneath shows that some of the scattering has been d-wave and g-wave. High-Res Image} CREDIT: Joint Quantum Institute Gaithersburg MD & College Park, MD, USA -- Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have found a way to manipulate atoms’ internal states with lasers that dramatically influences their interactions in specific ways. Such light-tweaked atoms can be used as proxies to study important phenomena that would be difficult or impossible to study in other contexts. Their most recent work, appearing in Science,* demonstrates a new class of interactions thought to be important to the physics of superconductors that could be used for quantum computation. Particle interactions are fundamental to physics, determining, for example, how magnetic materials and high temperature superconductors work. Learning more about these interactions or creating new “effective” interactions will help scientists design materials with specific magnetic or superconducting properties. Fri, 09 Dec 2011 10:12:42 -0600 http://www.measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1076 Abingdon, UK & Lake Forest, CA, USA -- Available from AMSBIO, MagSi-proteomics beads are magnetic beads that are an ideal tool for the purification, concentration and desalting of peptides and protein digests. The surface of the beads has been modified with C4, C8 and C18-alkyl groups that are optimised for reversed phase applications. Sample purity and throughput are areas of key importance for proteomics researchers. Magnetic beads offer a convenient solid support for a variety of assays and procedures based on affinity purification. They are especially well suited for automated procedures because instrumentation is available to easily mix, incubate and separate the magnetic beads in 96-well plates without columns or centrifugation. Wed, 07 Dec 2011 11:15:00 -0600 http://www.measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1075 Trig, UK -- The Specialised Imaging Multi-Channel Framing Camera (SIM) has established itself as the ultra high-speed camera of choice for many leading university research groups around the world through its proven unmatched performance, reliability, ease-of-use and wide applications flexibility. Using high-resolution image intensifiers, no-compromise optical design, and double pulsing - SIM Cameras offer the ultimate in ultra-high-speed imaging performance to scientists and engineers. The high throughput SIM camera optical design offers up to 16 separate channels without compromising resolution, shading, or parallax. Wed, 23 Nov 2011 08:00:00 -0600 http://www.measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1074 {CAPTION:LROC WAC color shaded relief of the lunar farside (NASA/GSFC/DLR/Arizona State University - click for a larger image).} Global topography -- a boon to lunar scientists and explorers around the world! The LROC team has released Version 1 of the Wide Angle Camera (WAC) topographic map of the Moon. This amazing map shows you the ups and downs over nearly the entire Moon, at a scale of 100 meters across the surface, and 20 meters or better vertically. Despite the diminutive size of the WAC (it fits in the palm of one's hand), it images nearly the entire Moon every month. Every month? Yes! Redundant data? No! Each month the Moon's lighting changes, so the WAC methodically builds up a record of how different rocks reflect light under different conditions, and adds to the LROC library of stereo observations. Thu, 17 Nov 2011 18:00:00 -0600 http://www.measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1073 Research Triangle Park NC, USA — The Automation Federation (AF) have announced today that AF and the International Society of Automation (ISA) will exhibit at the 2nd USA Science & Engineering Festival, which will be held 28–29 April 2012, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and other key locations in Washington, D.C.,USA. The festival is a celebration of science and engineering and will feature more than 1500 hands-on activities and more than 75 performances. The USA Science & Engineering Festival is the country’s largest national science festival. It was developed to increase public awareness of the importance of science and to encourage youth to pursue careers in science and engineering by celebrating science the same way people celebrate Hollywood celebrities, professional athletes and pop stars. Sun, 13 Nov 2011 17:00:00 -0600 http://www.measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1072 Abingdon, UK & Lake Forest CA, USA -- AMSBIO has added mouse Leukemia Inhibitory Factor (mLIF) to its extensive range of stem cell research products. Functionally tested with mouse ES cells, the affordably-priced AMSBIO recombinant mLIF combines both high quality and high activity. Mouse Leukemia Inhibitory Factor is a lymphoid factor involved in a number of biological processes including neural and hematopoietic cell differentiation, bone and fat metabolism, and mitogenesis of certain factor dependent cell lines. Mouse Leukemia Inhibitory Factor has a variety of effects on different cell types in vitro, inhibiting the differentiation of embryonic stem cells and promoting the survival and/or proliferation of primitive hematopoietic precursors and primordial germ cells. Fri, 04 Nov 2011 11:00:00 -0500 http://www.measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1071 NigeriaSat-2's 2.5 m resolution images Kenley, UK -- The first high resolution satellite imagery has been released from NigeriaSat-2, a 300 kg class earth observation satellite manufactured by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) for the Nigerian space agency (NASRDA). Benefiting from a high performance Camera with optical components manufactured by Optical Surfaces Ltd (Kenley, UK), the satellite has been able to capture stunning 2.5 m resolution images enabling detailed analysis of ground structures, aircraft and vehicles. NigeriaSat-2 carries two imagers: a 2.5 m resolution panchromatic and a 5 m resolution multispectral with a swath width of 20 kilometres. Thu, 27 Oct 2011 02:00:00 -0500 http://www.measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1070 Lelystad, The Netherlands & McMurray PA, USA -- Micronic Europe BV has launched a traceable sample management system for donor organisations and banks looking to streamline the storage of blood, bone, allograft and tissue bank materials. For tissue, bone, blood and allograft organizations, the integrity and handling of each sample is critical. Drawing upon over 25 years experience of supplying sample storage and management solutions to pharmaceutical, biobanking and forensic labs worldwide, Micronic have developed a traceable sample storage system for donor organizations and tissue banks comprising storage tubes, tube screw caps, racks, tube readers and sample management software. With a unique 2-dimensional code laser encrypted on the tube bottom, the new Micronic 6 ml storage tubes enable easy and unambiguous identification and storage of your donor and transplant samples. Sun, 23 Oct 2011 09:42:19 -0500 http://www.measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1069 Villebon sur Yvette, France & South San Francisco CA, USA -- Fluidigm Corporation has announced that Rujin Hospital in Shanghai, China has used the company's integrated fluidic circuits (IFCs) to help validate two new susceptibility loci for Graves' disease. Researchers applied the unique properties of the Fluidigm 96.96 Dynamic Array™ IFC and the EP1™ System to re-genotype selected SNPs for the replication study. In a paper entitled: "A genome-wide association study identifies two new risk loci for Graves' disease", published in the August 14, 2011 issue of Nature Genetics Magazine, researchers confirmed four previously reported loci and identified two new susceptibility loci for Graves' disease. Graves' disease is a common autoimmune disorder characterized by thyroid stimulating hormone receptor autoantibodies and hyperthyroidism. Fri, 14 Oct 2011 02:00:00 -0500 http://www.measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1068 Abingdon, UK & Lake Forest CA, USA -- AMSBIO has introduced GeneIn™, a new transfection reagent specifically designed to transfect stem cells and primary cells. Comparative studies against other commercially available reagents show GeneIn™ to be superior in transfection efficiency with minimum cytotoxicity. Delivery of nucleic acids into mammalian cells is often a critical task in the area of cell and molecular biology. Stem cells and primary cells have traditionally proven to be very difficult to transfect. GeneIn™ is a novel cationic transfection reagent formulated from proprietary compounds that are chemically defined and are of animal-free origin. Tue, 11 Oct 2011 10:00:00 -0500 http://www.measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1067 Glasfreie pH-Elektrode mit integriertem RTD für die Nahrungsmittelindustrie. Schwerzenbach, Switzerland – At a German cheese producer, glass-free pH sensors, InPro 3300, from METTLER TOLEDO are being successfully used to control cultivation of starter culture in fermentation reactors. The sensor fully meets strict process safety requirements. German Dairy Producer Producing cheeses such as Camembert and Brie, the company has highly modern installations, strict hygienic procedures and quality checks to accompany the complete production process. The factory is certified in accordance with the internationally recognized standards DIN EN ISO 9001, American Institute of Baking, British Retail Consortium and International Food Standard. The factory is dependent upon an intact environment being maintained and therefore pays close attention to protection both of the environment and resources. Mon, 10 Oct 2011 01:00:00 -0500 http://www.measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1066 The Solar Orbiter Heliospheric Imager (SoloHI) & The Heavy Ion Sensor (HIS) A coronal mass ejection bursting off the left side of the sun. This image was captured by the SOlar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) at 6:05 PM ET on September 21, 2011. | Credit: ESA/NASA/SOHO | › View larger WASHINGTON DC, USA -- NASA will begin development and testing of two science instruments, in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA), to be placed on ESA's newly selected Solar Orbiter mission. The spacecraft will study the sun from a closer distance than any previous mission. At its closest approach, the European-led project will operate approximately 21 million miles from the sun's surface, near the orbit of Mercury, roughly 25 percent of the distance from the sun to the Earth. This unique vantage point will enhance the ability to forecast space weather. Space weather produces disturbances in electromagnetic fields on Earth that can induce extreme currents in wires, disrupt power lines and cause widespread blackouts. These sun storms can interfere with communications between ground controllers and satellites and with airplane pilots flying near Earth's poles. Radio noise from the storms also can disrupt cell phone service. "Solar Orbiter is an exciting mission that will improve our understanding of the sun and its environment," said Barbara Giles, director for NASA's Heliophysics Division in Washington. "This collaboration will create a new chapter in heliophysics research and continue a strong partnership with the international science community to complement future robotic and human exploration activities." Fri, 07 Oct 2011 13:54:05 -0500 http://www.measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1065 Prode Properties thermodynamic server, version 1.18a available for download Milano, Italy -- Prode Properties has been designed (first public version, 1994) to provide advanced features as those available in process simulators within common applications as Microsoft Excel , Matlab, etc. - a free "student" version is available. Base version has a cost of 249 euro including large data banks (more than 1500 components and 25000 BIPs ). This tool can calculate properties of pure fluids and mixtures (gas, vapor, liquid, solid states) as cp, cv, density, viscosity, thermal conductivity, speed of sound, Joule Thomson, isothermal compressibility etc., It can solve distillation columns, phase equilibrium separations, print phase envelopes, phase diagrams, critical points, cricondentherm, cricondenbar, cloud point and more. Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1064 {The first global map of the salinity, or saltiness, of Earth’s ocean surface produced by NASA's new Aquarius instrument reveals a rich tapestry of global salinity patterns, demonstrating Aquarius' ability to resolve large-scale salinity distribution features clearly and with sharp contrast. Image credit: NASA/GSFC/JPL-Caltech › Full image and caption} PASADENA CA, USA – NASA's new Aquarius instrument has produced its first global map of the salinity of the ocean surface, providing an early glimpse of the mission's anticipated discoveries. Aquarius, which is aboard the Aquarius/SAC-D (Satélite de Aplicaciones Científicas) observatory, is making NASA's first space observations of ocean surface salinity variations -- a key component of Earth's climate. Salinity changes are linked to the cycling of freshwater around the planet and influence ocean circulation. "Aquarius' salinity data are showing much higher quality than we expected to see this early in the mission," said Aquarius Principal Investigator Gary Lagerloef of Earth & Space Research in Seattle. "Aquarius soon will allow scientists to explore the connections between global rainfall, ocean currents and climate variations." The new map, which shows a tapestry of salinity patterns, demonstrates Aquarius' ability to detect large-scale salinity distribution features clearly and with sharp contrast. The map is a composite of the data since Aquarius became operational on Aug. 25. The mission was launched June 10 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Aquarius/SAC-D is a collaboration between NASA and Argentina's space agency, Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE). Fri, 23 Sep 2011 13:32:18 -0500 http://www.measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1063 Information from Tagged Birds Available to The Public {Loon Photo- Image courtesy USGS} Reston VA, USA -- Loon migratory movements from current and previous studies using satellite transmitters can be followed online at the U.S. Geological Survey Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) website at www.umesc.usgs.gov/terrestrial/migratory_birds/loons/migrations.html. Several common loons breeding in the Upper Midwest are sporting satellite transmitters in order for researchers to study the migration of these fish-eating water birds through the Great Lakes toward their southern winter homes. By using satellite tracking devices implanted in the loons from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Michigan Upper Peninsula, USGS scientists expect to learn information about avian botulism essential for managers to develop loon conservation strategies. “This study will also help managers better understand how loons fare as they head to their wintering grounds along the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coasts,” said USGS scientist Kevin Kenow of UMESC in La Crosse, Wisc. Mon, 12 Sep 2011 01:00:00 -0500 http://www.measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1062 Illustration of a a complex biological sample such as dissolved dirt or whole blood is pushed by an electric field toward a microchannel. Buffer fluid flowing in the opposite direction acts as a gate. Gradually reducing the bufffer flow slowly 'opens' the gate, allowing individual components from the sample to enter the microchannel when the pressure becomes weaker than the electric force pushing each component molecule. These molecules then travel past a detector that analyzes them. Unwanted components are kept out of the microchannel. Credit: Strychalski, NIST View hi-resolution image Gaithersburg MD, USA -- It’s not often that someone can claim that going from a positive to a negative is a step forward, but that’s the case for a team of scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and private industry. In a recent paper,* the group significantly extended the reach of their novel microfluidic system for analyzing the chemical components of complex samples The new work shows how the system, meant to analyze real-world, crude mixtures such as dirt or whole blood, can work for negatively charged components as well as it has in the past for positively charged ones. In previous work,** NIST researchers Elizabeth Strychalski and David Ross, in collaboration with Alyssa Henry of Applied Research Associates Inc. (Alexandria, Va.), demonstrated the use of a technique called GEMBE (for “gradient elution moving boundary electrophoresis”) for analyzing complex samples. The NIST-developed system combines a simple microfluidic structure (two reservoirs connected by a microchannel), electrophoresis (which uses electricity to move sample components through a fluid) and pressure-driven flow. Mon, 05 Sep 2011 09:34:54 -0500 http://www.measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1061 Leatherhead, UK -- Porvair Sciences Ltd has announced that it has chosen the forthcoming Biotechnica 2011 exhibition in Hannover, Germany (11th-13th October) to launch a comprehensive range of new products for Epigenetics and Cell Biology. Steve Knight, Marketing Manager commented, "Visitors to our Biotechnica Stand A29, Hall 9 will have the opportunity to come to the launch of an Epigenetics / Cell Biology product range that uniquely combines top quality and value-for-money." He added, "For labs interested in these products we will be offering free samples for evaluation." At this important meeting - Porvair Sciences will also be showing the MiniSeal Plus™, its latest entry-level semi-automated thermal sealer developed for laboratories sealing small to medium batches of microplates. Wed, 24 Aug 2011 01:00:00 -0500 http://www.measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1060 Vancouver BC, Canada -- UBC researchers have invented a silicone chip that could make genetic analysis far more sensitive, rapid, and cost-effective by allowing individual cells to fall into place like balls in a pinball machine. The UBC device – about the size of a nine-volt battery – allows scientists to simultaneously analyze 300 cells individually by routing fluid carrying cells through microscopic tubes and valves. Once isolated into their separate chambers, the cells’ RNA can be extracted and replicated for further analysis. By enabling such “single-cell analysis,” the device could accelerate genetic research and hasten the use of far more detailed tests for diagnosing cancer. Single-cell analysis is emerging as the gold standard of genetic research because tissue samples, even those taken from a single tumour, contain a mixture of normal cells and various types of cancer cells – the most important of which may be present in only very small numbers and impossible to distinguish. Thu, 04 Aug 2011 09:15:00 -0500 http://www.measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1059 {Diagram of the geodetic and frame-dragging effects being measured by GP-B - Image Courtesy: Stanford Information Technology Services} WASHINGTON DC, USA -- NASA's Gravity Probe B (GP-B) mission has confirmed two key predictions derived from Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, which the spacecraft was designed to test. The experiment, launched in 2004, used four ultra-precise gyroscopes to measure the hypothesized geodetic effect, the warping of space and time around a gravitational body, and frame-dragging, the amount a spinning object pulls space and time with it as it rotates. GP-B determined both effects with unprecedented precision by pointing at a single star, IM Pegasi, while in a polar orbit around Earth. If gravity did not affect space and time, GP-B's gyroscopes would point in the same direction forever while in orbit. But in confirmation of Einstein's theories, the gyroscopes experienced measurable, minute changes in the direction of their spin, while Earth's gravity pulled at them. The findings are online in the journal Physical Review Letters. Sat, 09 Jul 2011 04:00:00 -0500 http://www.measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1058 Segensworth, UK -- Porvair Filtration Group working in collaboration with the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, UK has produced an alternative, high performance Solid Phase Affinity Matrix for Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays. The research at Essex University evaluating the new BioVyon - Protein A material in ChIP assays is published in the May 2011 issue of Analytical Biochemistry. Over the past 8 years - researchers at the University of Essex and Porvair Filtration Group have pioneered techniques to chemically functionalise the surface of microporous High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) to enable its use in a growing number of new biochemical applications. Chemical functionalisation of Porvair Filtration's unique HDPE material (BioVyon™) can endow it with internal surface properties than can be individually configured to capture and separate target species out of difficult mixtures. Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1057 NIST Tunes 'Metasurface' with Fluid Gaithersburg MD, USA -- Like an opera singer hitting a note that shatters a glass, a signal at a particular resonant frequency can concentrate energy in a material and change its properties. And as with 18th century "musical glasses," adding a little water can change the critical pitch. Echoing both phenomena, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a unique fluid-tuned "metasurface," a concept that may be useful in biomedical sensors and microwave-assisted chemistry. A metasurface or metafilm is a two-dimensional version of a metamaterial, popularized recently in technologies with seemingly unnatural properties, such as the illusion of invisibility. Metamaterials have special properties not found in nature, often because of a novel structure. Sun, 19 Jun 2011 03:00:00 -0500 http://www.measurementdb.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1056 Tring, UK -- Specialised Imaging Ltd has recently supplied a dual channel 450 KV Flash X-Ray System to the UK Ministry of Defence's Defence Science & Technology Laboratory (DSTL). The system was fully containerised to allow the flexibility of moving it to different locations. Details of the target applications were not disclosed. DSTL leads the science and technology sector's response to the UK Ministry of Defence's current and future needs. DSTL's work saves lives in the UK, overseas and on the frontline. DSTL maximises the impact of science and technology for defence and security requirements, working with industry and academia to deliver battle-winning technologies - identifying science and technology advances and pulling ideas rapidly into service. Thu, 16 Jun 2011 10:00:00 -0500