GENEVA, SWITZERLAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Acrongenomics Inc. (OTCBB:AGNM) is pleased to announce that its partner Molecular Vision has reached its target of sub-molecular detection of fluorescent dye.

Using the small-scale demonstrator devices first shown on March 8th 2007, Molecular Vision has continued to develop the detection of fluorescent dyes in a head-on geometry using its proprietary detection system based on organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), microfluidic chips and organic photodetectors. Dye concentrations of 0.1 micromolar have now been reliably measured.

With further improvements in the detection system, it is expected to achieve a detection limit of 0.01 micromolar in the near future.

Chris Wright, Executive Chairman of Molecular Vision, stated, “Breaking through the micromolar detection limit is a significant achievement for Molecular Vision as it is thought to represent a world-first for the compact, low cost head-on geometry employed by Molecular Vision.”


Read full article: 'Molecular Vision Reaches Target of Sub-Micromolar Detection of Fluorescent Dye'

Photo Caption: Atoms interfering with themselves. After ultracold atoms are maneuvered into superpositions—each one located in two places simultaneously—they are released to allow interference of each atom’s two “selves.”

They are then illuminated with light, which casts a shadow, revealing a characteristic interference pattern, with red representing higher atom density. The variations in density are caused by the alternating constructive and destructive interference between the two “parts” of each atom, magnified by thousands of atoms acting in unison. Credit: NISTGaithersburg MD, USA -- Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a novel way of making atoms interfere with each other, recreating a famous experiment originally done with light while also making the atoms do things that light just won’t do.

Their experiments showcase some of the extraordinary behavior taken for granted in the quantum world—atoms acting like waves and appearing in two places at once, for starters—and demonstrate a new technique that could be useful in quantum computing with neutral atoms and further studies of atomic hijinks.


Read full article: 'NIST Atom Interferometry Displays New Quantum Tricks'

New substance combines characteristics of superconductors with those of a laser

PITTSBURGH PA, USA -- Physicists at the University of Pittsburgh have demonstrated a new form of matter that melds the characteristics of lasers with those of the world’s best electrical conductors. The work introduces a new method of moving energy from one point to another as well as a low-energy means of producing a light beam like that from a laser.

The Pitt researchers and their collaborators at the Bell Labs of Alcatel-Lucent in New Jersey detail the process in the May 18 issue of the journal Science.

The new state is a solid filled with a collection of energy particles known as polaritons that have been trapped and slowed, explained lead investigator David Snoke, an associate professor in the physics and astronomy department in Pitt’s School of Arts and Sciences. Snoke worked with Pitt graduate students Ryan Balili and Vincent Hartwell on the project.

Using specially designed optical structures with nanometer-thick layers—which allow polaritons to move freely inside the solid—Snoke and his colleagues captured the polaritons in the form of a superfluid. In superfluids and in their solid counterparts, superconductors, matter consolidates to act as a single energy wave rather than as individual particles.

In superconductors, this allows for the perfect flow of electricity. In the new state of matter demonstrated at Pitt—which can be called a polariton superfluid—the wave behavior leads to a pure light beam similar to that from a laser but is much more energy efficient.

Read full article: 'Pitt researchers create new form of matter'

The first time that a dark matter distribution has been found that differs substantially from the distribution of ordinary matter
Washington DC, USA -- Using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, a NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope team of astronomers has discovered a ghostly ring of dark matter that formed long ago during a titanic collision between two massive galaxy clusters.

The ring's discovery is among the strongest evidence yet that dark matter exists.

Astronomers have long suspected the existence of the invisible substance as the source of additional gravity that holds together galaxy clusters. Such clusters would fly apart if they relied only on the gravity from their visible stars. Although astronomers don't know what dark matter is made of, they hypothesize that it is a type of elementary particle that pervades the universe.

"This is the first time we have detected dark matter as having a unique structure that is different from both the gas and galaxies in the cluster," said team member M. James Jee of the Henry A. Rowland Department of Physics and Astronomy at The Johns Hopkins University.

Read full article: 'Johns Hopkins Team Finds Ring of Dark Matter'

Marburg, Germany & Buena Park, CA, USA -- Sacher Lasertechnik offers a new generation of automatically tunable laser system in Littman/Metcalf configuration.

The laser systems offers a high output power of typically 100mW over a large tuning range with complete user remote control.

Special features are: High optical power
* output power up to 150mW
* excellent quantum efficiency
* high fiber coupling efficiency

Excellent tuning behavior
* coarse and fine tuning modes
* fine tuning via piezo actuator with a resolution better than 10MHz
* coarse tuning via DC servo motor up to 30nm at 780nm or 830nm
* large mode-hop free tuning range of up to 100GHz and more

Plug & Play configuration
* automated wavelength tuning with wavelength and power read-out
* remote control via GPIB, RS232 and USB


Read full article: 'TEC 530 Motorized Littman/Metcalf Laser System: LION'

New study identifies a critical link influencing the ocean's ability
to store carbon dioxide
{Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution}Woods Hole MA, USA -- A major study has shed new light on the dim layer of the ocean called the "twilight zone" – where mysterious processes affect the ocean's ability to absorb and store carbon dioxide accumulating in our atmosphere.

The results of two international research expeditions to the Pacific Ocean, published April 27 in the journal Science, show that carbon dioxide – taken up by photosynthesizing marine plants in the sunlit ocean surface layer – does not necessarily sink to the depths, where it is stored and prevented from re-entering the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas. Instead, carbon transported to the depths on sinking marine particles is often consumed by animals and bacteria and recycled in the twilight zone – 100 to 1,000 meters below the surface – and never reaches the deep ocean.

Using new technology, the researchers found that only 20 percent of the total carbon in the ocean surface made it through the twilight zone off Hawaii, while 50 percent did in the northwest Pacific near Japan.


Read full article: 'Ocean Ocean's ‘Twilight Zone' Plays Important Role in Climate Change'

CLOSES GAP ON ARCTIC RESEARCH
NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory will expand its Arctic observation with the addition of a new location in Tiksi, Russia, joining five existing laboratories placed internationally along the Arctic rim.

It will be an important component of NOAA’s Arctic Atmospheric Observatory Program, closing a significant gap in vital Arctic atmospheric research. Construction of the climate observatory will begin this summer.

Located in north-central Siberia, nearly two miles northwest of the newly completed Tiksi weather station, it will take its place among the cluster of other observing research stations currently operating in Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia, and the United States. With more locations, the international science community can develop a more complete understanding of how Polar Regions ultimately influence our oceans, atmosphere and ecosystems.

“Observations are vital to our understanding of the Earth’s systems, and our current observations of the Arctic are revealing its importance to the health of the planet’s atmosphere and oceans,” said retired Navy Vice Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher, Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator.


Read full article: ' NEW NOAA CLIMATE OBSERVATORY IN RUSSIA'

Revolutionary circuit fires thousands of times without flaw

ALBUQUERQUE N.M, USA -- An electrical circuit that should carry enough power to produce the long-sought goal of controlled high-yield nuclear fusion and, equally important, do it every 10 seconds, has undergone extensive preliminary experiments and computer simulations at Sandia National Laboratories' Z machine facility.

Z, when it fires, is already the largest producer of X-rays on Earth and has been used to produce fusion neutrons. But rapid bursts are necessary for future generating plants to produce electrical power from sea water. This had not been thought achievable till now.


Read full article: 'Sandia Z method nears goal of high-yield fusion'

Ultrasound-like technique spots earthquakes, oil supplies
CAMBRIDGE MA, USA -- High-resolution images that reveal unexpected details of the Earth's internal structure are among the results reported by MIT and Purdue scientists in the March 30 issue of Science.

The researchers adapted technology developed for near-surface exploration of reservoirs of oil and gas to image the core-mantle boundary some 2,900 kilometers, or 1,800 miles, beneath Central and North America.

"Rather than depth, it's the resolution and lateral scale that are unique in this work," said lead author Rob van der Hilst, professor of earth, atmospheric and planetary sciences (EAPS) and director of MIT's Earth Resources Laboratory. "This could lead to a new era in seismology and all the other deep Earth sciences. In addition, our new expertise may be able to improve how we look for oil in or beneath geologically complex structures such as the Gulf of Mexico salt domes," he said.

The technique-akin to medical imaging such as ultrasounds and CAT scans-led to detailed new images of the boundary between the Earth's core and mantle. These images, in turn, help researchers better understand how and where the Earth's internal heat is produced and how it is transported to the surface. They also provide insight into the Earth's giant heat engine-a constant cycle of heat production, heat transfer and cooling.


Read full article: 'High-res images spell new era in Earth sciences'

Ipswich, UK & Valley Cottage NY, USA -- Genevac have released a new application report that discusses an effective method, using an HT-Series centrifugal evaporator, for preparing weighable samples from difficult to dry HPLC purification fractions.

Today HPLC is probably the purification method of choice within the Pharmaceutical industry. However many pharmaceutical companies regularly encounter a significant number of samples that do not dry well post purification.

Typically, these stubborn samples form a gum or oil that creates problems including accelerated sample degradation (due to residual solvent) and difficulty in accurate weight determination.


Read full article: 'Preparing weighable samples from difficult to dry HPLC purification fractions'

MADISON WI, USA- By mimicking Nature's way of distinguishing one type of cell from another, University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists now report they can more effectively seek out and kill cancer cells while sparing healthy ones.

The new tumor targeting strategy, presented today (March 25) at the annual national meeting of the American Chemical Society, cleverly harnesses one of the body's natural antibodies and immune responses. "The killing agent we chose is already in us," says UW-Madison chemistry professor Laura Kiesslin, who led the work with postdoctoral researcher Coby Carlson. "It's just not usually directed toward tumor cells."

In a series of cell-based experiments, the researchers' system recognized and killed only those cells displaying high levels of receptors known as integrins. These molecules, which tend to bedeck the surfaces of cancer cells and tumor vasculature in large numbers, have become important targets in cancer research.

In contrast, an established tumor-homing agent linked to the cell toxin doxorubicin destroyed cells even when they expressed very little integrin, indicating this strategy has the potential to kill cancerous and healthy cells indiscriminately.

"This study suggests that the cell recognition mode we used can direct an endogenous immune response to destroy cancer cells selectively," says Kiessling. "We think this could lead to a new class of therapeutic agents not only for cancer but also for other diseases involving harmful cells."


Read full article: 'Targeting tumors the natural way'

Makes ACD/Labs Lipophilicity Predictions Available to All
Chemistry software provider adds to its collection of free tools for chemists and educators
Toronto, Canada (March 25, 2007)— Advanced Chemistry Development, Inc., (ACD/Labs) today announced the release of a new freeware offering, downloadable from the ACD/Labs website.

ACD/LogP, a software tool for predicting the lipophilicity of compounds based on their chemical structure, will now be available as an add-on (ACD/LogP Freeware) to the free and commercially-available chemical drawing package, ACD/ChemSketch.

LogP, the octanol-water partition coefficient, is a constant which provides a measure of the lipophilic nature of compounds, and is based on the distribution of a particular compound between the two solvents.


Read full article: 'New Freeware Offering by ACD/Labs'

Kenley, UK -- Optical Surfaces Ltd. (www.optisurf.com) has announced the delivery of a pair of ground-breaking target chamber focusing mirrors for the ASTRA Gemini dual-beam Petawatt laser facility at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) in the UK.

The highly aspheric, f1.6, 175mm diameter off-axis parabolic mirrors have a focal length of 285mm coupled with an off axis angle of 27 degrees.

To achieve the demanding specification and close matching, the pair were cut from an f0.6, 450mm diameter Zerodur parent. Despite the extreme aspheric correction of 1.8mm a form accuracy of lambda/13 and slope errors of less than lambda/10 per cm were achieved, reinforcing the position of Optical Surfaces, as a world leader in the manufacture of large aspheric optics.


Read full article: 'Large aspheric optics delivered to Rutherford Appelton laser lab'

May also influence human fondness for sunshine
{Caption: Photos of skin with and without p53 before and after exposure to ultraviolet light-Photo by Rutao Cui, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.}
Boston MA, USA -- A protein known as the "master watchman of the genome" for its ability to guard against cancer-causing DNA damage has been found to provide an entirely different level of cancer protection: By prompting the skin to tan in response to ultraviolet light from the sun, it deters the development of melanoma skin cancer, the fastest-increasing form of cancer in the world.

In a study in the March 9 issue of the journal Cell, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute report that the protein, p53, is not only linked to skin tanning, but also may play a role in people's seemingly universal desire to be in the sun — an activity that, by promoting tanning, can reduce one's risk of melanoma.

"The number one risk factor for melanoma is an inability to tan; people who tan easily or have dark pigmentation are far less likely to develop the disease," says the study's senior author, David E. Fisher, MD, PhD, director of the Melanoma Program at Dana-Farber and a professor in pediatrics at Children's Hospital Boston. "This study suggests that p53, one of the best-known tumor-suppressor proteins in our body, has a powerful role in protecting us against sun damage in the skin."


Read full article: '"Guardian of the genome" protein found to underlie skin tanning'

For Basic Research in their studies of some of the most violent phenomena in the Universe.

H.E.S.S. is the High Energy Stereoscopic System telescopes in Namibia,
South-West Africa. The H.E.S.S. team currently operates the most sensitive telescopes in the world for the study of very high energy (VHE) gamma rays – which are only emitted in very energetic violent processes, such as near black holes and in supernovae.

In the first years of operation, the H.E.S.S. collaboration has greatly advanced the young field of gamma ray astronomy, discovering several new types of source and making the first maps of the sky in VHE gamma-rays.

The Descartes Prize(worth £226,000) is awarded in recognition of the breakthroughs made by H.E.S.S. in this field.



Read full article: 'The H.E.S.S. team wins the Descartes Prize'