News & Opinion

Covering the life sciences inside and out

In the midst of a brutal influenza season, researchers are working toward a single vaccine that could ward off multiple strains of the virus.

After years of obscurity, strains of mice with mutations in particular genes are thrust to the fore of autism research.

Researchers use the technique to turn on Oct4 or Sox2 in mouse embryonic fibroblasts and convert them into pluripotent cells. 

The findings more than double the number of known defense mechanisms, piquing the interests of molecular biology tool developers.

The Nutshell

Daily News Roundup

The tissue, grown on a 3-D scaffold and seeded from the kids’ own cells, was transplanted to correct deformities in their cartilage.

News reports reveal that Volkswagen, Daimler, and BMW funded the organization that conducted the studies.

MinION achieved the longest reads of DNA sequences to date. 

The rise occurred in areas with confirmed local transmission, according to a new CDC report. 

Current Issue

January 2018

Issue Cover: The Science of Pain

Immune-like cells in the central nervous system are now recognized as key participants in the creation and maintenance of persistent pain.

The race to develop analgesic drugs that inhibit sodium channel NaV1.7 is revealing a complex sensory role for the protein.

A cornucopia of toxins in the animal kingdom could provide inspiration for novel painkillers, but so far, effective drugs have proven elusive.  

Decades after their discovery by bioprospectors, amphibian-derived analgesics continue to attract scientific attention.

Multimedia

Video, Slideshows, Infographics

The instrument presents a new option for researchers working on large-scale fly behavior studies.

Since the mid-2000s, the voltage-gated sodium channel NaV1.7 has emerged as a promising target for a new class of analgesics.

The Marketplace

Sponsored Product Updates

Cell microencapsulation is a novel and promising strategy in various disease settings. Syringe-based infusion pump apparatuses provide for a controlled release of the bioactive agents.

In collaboration with the National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) at the University of California San Diego, ZEISS releases a new Focal Charge Compensation module for block face imaging with ZEISS GeminiSEM and 3View® from Gatan, Inc.

Avacta Group plc (AIM: AVCT), the developer of Affimer® biotherapeutics and reagents, and OncoSec Medical Incorporated ("OncoSec") (NASDAQ: ONCS), a company developing intratumoral cancer immunotherapies, are pleased to announce they have entered into a research collaboration to combine Avacta’s Affimer protein platform with OncoSec’s gene delivery technology ImmunoPulse®.

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences launched a family of FormaPure reagent kits for extracting nucleic acid from often challenging formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues. FormaPure reagent kits represent a single chemistry system designed and optimized for use in next-generation sequencing (NGS) and other downstream applications, including qPCR/ddPCR/PCR. 

IONTAS Limited (IONTAS), a leader in the discovery and optimisation of fully human antibodies, announced today that it has signed an agreement with Sanofi to discover antibodies using IONTAS’ proprietary Mammalian Display Technology.

10x Genomics, Inc., a company focused on accelerating genomic discovery, today launched a new version of their de novo assembly solution to provide the fastest most cost-effective solution for creating high-quality de novo assemblies at scale for plants and animals.

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Featured Comment

Sad day for the research community on cell division. What a disservice to science.

Sonia Rossell, commenting on The Scientist's Facebook page about renowned Univeristy of Tokyo cell biologist Yoshinori Watanabe being found guilty of manipulating images in five research papers from his lab.

Investigation Finds Cell Biologist Guilty of Misconduct
AAAS