May 9, 2014 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Big Data will play major role as Venter’s team sets out to build world’s largest database of human genotypes, microbiomes and phenotypes
For the second time in recent months, another prominent figure has declared his intention to crack the code of human aging. This time it is scientist and entrepreneur J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., known for his role in sequencing the first whole human genome.
Venter will pursue this goal through a brand new company he launched, called Human Longevity, Inc. (HLI), based in La Jolla, California.
Human Longevity, Inc. Will Compete Against Calico
This is a noteworthy development. Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers already know Venter’s competition in this race is a company called Calico that was founded by several entrepreneurs linked to Google. (more…)
Jun 9, 2010 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Use of plasma technology will give healthcare workers another way to clean their hands
Even Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon would be amazed to learn that plasma technology is about to deliver a way for healthcare workers to sanitize their hands without using soap and water! Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers will be interested to learn about a novel device that bathes hands with plasma as a way to reduce the spread of microorganisms by healthcare workers, including superbugs like MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant strain of Staphylococcus aureus.
Prototypes already exist and are designed to be simple for healthcare workers to use. They would simply stick their hands into a small box that bathes the hands with plasma that is specifically engineered to zap bacteria, viruses and fungi. The plasma used in the hand sanitizer is a gas similar to that used in fluorescent lights, neon signs, and televisions, but works at room temperature and pressure.
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Mar 19, 2010 | Digital Pathology, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Human Microbiome Project is expected to trigger many new molecular diagnostic assays
Meet the human microbiome, considered by some medical researchers to be the newest biomedical frontier. A major effort to map the human microbiome is expected to identify a significant number of new biomarkers that will be useful in both clinical pathology diagnostic tests and therapeutic drug development.
Known as the Human Microbiome Project, the five-year program is funded with $115 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Researchers are well on their way to produce a comprehensive inventory of microbes—bacteria, viruses, yeast and fungi—that live in or on the human body, along with information about their role in disease development or prevention. The overall goal of this international effort is to identify which microbes are harmful and figure out ways to prevent or treat diseases they cause.
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Dec 18, 2009 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Researchers say Mobidiag’s microarray-based diagnostic test technology looks promising
There’s a new DNA-based microarray platform that could speed identification of blood-borne pathogens. By allowing clinical laboratories to deliver test results in just 18 hours, use of this new microarray could improve early detection and management of sepsis patients.
In a study headed by Päivi Tissari, M.D., of the Division of Clinical Microbiology, Helsinki University Hospital Laboratory in Finland, the Prove-it sepsis assay, manufactured by Helsinki-based Mobidiag, demonstrated 94.7% clinical sensitivity, 98.8% specificity, along with 100% sensitivity and specificity for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia. The conventional process of growing a culture—the medical laboratory’s gold standard—typically takes between one to three days to become positive and two more days to identify the bacteria and their antibiotic sensitivity patterns. Mobidiag’s Prove-it sepsis assay returns results in only 18 hours.
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