BioHelix building new facility at Cummings Center in Beverly Sep 30, 2009
BioHelix has developed novel methods for in-vitro DNA amplification, providing instrument-free nucleic acid tests at the point-of-care. The company has concentrated on the infectious disease market, with agreements and awards to develop diagnostic tests for staph infections, HIV and STDs. (Beverly Citizen, MA)
'Eureka' moment Sep 10, 2009
"The sheer power of DNA amplification meant it was possible to get a read out from less than a thousandth part of a millionth part of a gram of DNA... we got a read out and compared them to DNA of Mengele's wife and son who were living in Germany.". Standard procedure. (BBC News -- UK)
NIST calculations may improve temperature measures for microfluidics Sep 10, 2009
Microfluidic DNA amplification (production of numerous copies of DNA from a tiny sample) by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is one procedure that could benefit from the new NIST calculations, Shah says. "PCR requires a microfluidic device to be cycled through temperatures at three different zones starting around 65 degrees Celsius, so a useful dye intensity-to-temperature ratio would have to be based on that temperature and not a reference point of 23 degrees Celsius," she explains. (EurekAlert!)
Better Test To Detect DNA For Diagnosing Disease, Investigating Crimes Sep 4, 2009
In laboratory tests, the sensor showed "excellent" sensitivity at detecting trace amounts of human DNA and may eliminate the need for DNA amplification altogether, the researchers say. Journal reference. (Science Daily)
ESHRE launches international study of polar body screening Jun 29, 2009
24sure, the novel molecular technique to be used in both phases of the trial was developed by BlueGnome and is based on DNA amplification and microarray technology, which enables scientists to look at all the chromosomes at the same time. This is, in theory, far more powerful than the method of fluorescent in situ hybridisation or FISH, which has been used thus far. (EurekAlert! -- Business News)
Cepheid Receives Health Canada License for Xpert(R) HemosIL(R) FII & FV Test Jun 3, 2009
The company's easy-to-use systems integrate a number of complicated and time-intensive steps, including sample preparation, DNA amplification and detection, which enable the analysis of complex biological samples in its proprietary test cartridges. Through its strong molecular biology capabilities, the company is focusing on those applications where rapid molecular testing is particularly important, such as identifying infectious disease and cancer in the clinical market; food, agricultural, and... (Canada Newswire)
