Initiative hopes to expedite cell-based treatments for Parkinson’s

An initiative which brings together some of the world’s leading Parkinson’s researchers aims to reduce further delays in using cells to treat Parkinson’s disease. The initiative will focus on refining cell-based therapy, which replaces the diseased cells with healthy cells.

Although the technique for using cell-based therapy to treat Parkinson’s has been around for over two decades, it has had dramatically varying outcomes. After treatment, some patients have been able to go drug-free with markedly improved symptoms and signs for many years. Other patients develop side effects from the treatment which can cause further distress and problems.

Researchers in this field recognised that there was a lack of consistency in previous trials as to when the treatment was administered (patients were of varying ages, different stages of the disease, etc). This prompted these experts to launch an initiative to examine why some procedures are successful and others are not. By reassessing the earlier trials, they intend to put together a protocol to increase the likelihood of success.

Reinnervate launches3D cell culture technology alvetex

Reinnervate today announced the first commercial launch of alvetex, its 3D cell culture technology.

Alvetex is a material that provides a robust and inert scaffold for cells to grow and form complex 3D cell structures in the laboratory, mimicking the normal growth and formation of tissues in the body.

Reinnervate has extensively tested and validated alvetex with a large number of cell types, including liver, skin, cancer and stem cells, all of which have important applications in basic research into cell development, disease modelling and drug safety screening.

Sigma Life Science collection of Prestige Antibodies exceeds 10,000

Sigma Life Science, the biological products and services business of Sigma-Aldrich, today announced the introduction of 1,700 new products to its collection of highly characterized Prestige Antibodies. The entire portfolio – now standing at over 10,000 antibodies and covering 8,400 protein targets – is available at www.wherebiobegins.com as part of an exclusive partnership with Atlas Antibodies AB.

As the industry’s most highly validated antibodies, each Prestige Antibody is supported by over 700 immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence and Western blot images, with complete data for each product publicly available through the Human Protein Atlas. The continued expansion of this collection is part of the Swedish Human Proteome Resource (HPR) program to develop at least one antibody to all non-redundant human proteins by 2015.

Dubai hosts ARABLAB 2011

Dubai will again host ARABLAB, the laboratory and instrumentation industry’s only major international show in 2011.

ARABLAB focuses on laboratory technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, environmental sciences, robotics and automation, analytical instrumentation, and measurement and testing. The show attracts some 10,000 visitors from more than 75 countries, and is the industry’s only event that covers all of the important growth markets of the Middle East, China, the Indian sub-continent, south-east Asia and Africa.

Complementing the exhibition itself is ARABLAB’s packed seminar programme – MediLab, BioLab, EnviroLab, and PetroLab – which offers unrivalled opportunities to gain information about all the very latest developments.

ARABLAB will be held at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre from 7 to 10 March 2011. More information can be obtained the show at www.arablab.com

GE Healthcare extends HiScreen prepacked column range

GE Healthcare has extended its range of HiScreen prepacked chromatography columns, taking the total number of media now available in this format to 23. The four new columns are packed with a range of BioProcess chromatography media.

HiScreen columns provide a solution for fast, easy separations in a convenient format. The columns are packed with robust media, allowing repeated use with reproducible results. The 10 cm bed height is suitable for method optimization and parameter screening (e.g. for selectivity and capacity), and the columns are easily connected in series to give a 20 cm bed height.

HiScreen columns have a small bed volume (4.7 ml), reducing the cost of sample and buffer consumption. In addition, the columns are made of biocompatible polypropylene that does not interact with biomolecules.