15.05.2012

Telomerase Gene Therapy Slows Ageing

Gene therapy allows older mice to live longer, healthier lives report researchers in a new study published in EMBO Molecular Medicine. Mice that received a single gene-therapy treatment to deliver telomerase to different cells in the body showed drastic improvements in health, fitness and longevity. Telomerase is an enzyme that helps to maintain the physical integrity of the ends of chromosomes. more14.05.2012

G.I.T. InnovationsAward 2012 - The Final!

The time has come: G.I.T. InnovationsAward 2012 - the final! Many manufacturers have submitted their innovative lab solutions for the G.I.T. InnovationsAward 2012. Our independent jury consisting of established scientists from all over Germany has narrowed down the choice from a large number of submissions. more11.05.2012

Robyn Lindley’s Adventure Journey

Robyn A. Lindley, we are proud to present you an overview on her career. ­Having educated herself multidisciplinary, she gained an extremely broad overview on several aspects of natural sciences. In the past years she increasingly worked on evolutionary questions. more26.04.2012

EMBL-EBI: Bacteria Evolved Way to Safeguard Crucial Genetic Material

EMBL-EBI (European Molecular Biology Laboratory's European Bioinformatics Institute) researchers found out that cells prioritise which genes they guard most closely. The study, published online in Nature, shows that bacteria have evolved a mechanism that protects important genes from random mutation, effectively reducing the risk of self-destruction. The findings answer a question that has been under debate for half a century and provide insights into how disease-causing mutations arise and pathogens evolve. more20.04.2012

Roche Steps Back from Illumina Acquisition

F. Hoffman-La Roche dropped its bid to buy the gene-sequencing leader Illumina this week after Illumina's shareholders made it clear at the company's annual meeting that the terms were inadequate. Roche had made a $51 per share tender offer for San Diego-based Illumina, but will allow the offer to expire today. Late last year Roche offered $40/share for Illumina, eventually increasing the offer to $44.50 and then $51 per share. more17.04.2012

Auriga Laser: Combination of FIB/SEM Technology with Laser Ablation for Fast Sample Preparation

The Auriga Laser is nominated in the category B of the G.I.T. InnovationsAward 2012. This laser combines the advantages of the CrossBeam (FIB-SEM) workstation with the capabilities of a pulsed micro-focus laser for fast ablation of material. The system is suited for the microscopic examination of samples where the target structure is buried under material layers. To gain access to the target structure this material needs to be removed. more12.04.2012

Roche Ratchets up the Pressure on Illumina

If there is an axiom to describe F. Hoffman-La Roche, it is that what Roche wants, it gets. The Swiss-based multinational pharmaceutical company bought a majority stake in Genentech in 1990 and decided in 2008 that they wanted the rest of the company. In July 2008, Roche offered $43.7 billion for the 44% of Genentech that it did not already own. Roche went hostile in January of 2009, cutting its bid to $42.5 billion, but eventually relented and paid $46.8 billion in March 2009. The final price represented a 10% premium over the January bid. more10.04.2012

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences Joins Life Science Platform of Danaher Operating Companies

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, part of Beckman Coulter, and a Danaher operating company, stands today as a leader in the markets that serves and is strengthened by its position in the Danaher Corporation. The newly aligned organization continues Beckman Coulter's deep heritage of serving researchers and will further the company's ability to quickly and efficiently respond to market demands. more30.03.2012

Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer: Cancer Death Rates Decline in the United States

Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2008: this report shows that death rates from all cancers combined for men, women, and children continued to decline in the United States between 2004 and 2008. The overall rate of new cancer diagnoses, also known as incidence, among men decreased by an average of 0.6 percent per year between 2004 and 2008. Overall cancer incidence rates among women declined 0.5 percent per year from 1998 through 2006 with rates leveling off from 2006 through 2008. Read the full report: more30.03.2012

Max-Planck-Institute: Artificial Thymus Tissue Enables Maturation of Immune Cells

Max-Planck Institute of Immunology and Epigenetics in Freiburg, Germany, scientists at this Institute showed that four signalling substances control the transformation of T cells. more