Credit: © CNRI / Photo Researchers, Inc." /> Credit: © CNRI / Photo Researchers, Inc. User: Kay Pogue-Geile, National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project, Pittsburgh, Pa. Project: Developing prognostic profiles for breast cancer using tumor samples obtained from clinical trials. Problem: Nucleic acids are degraded and modified by the

Credit: © Pascal Goetgheluck / Photo Researchers, Inc." /> Credit: © Pascal Goetgheluck / Photo Researchers, Inc. User: Norma Nowak, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY Project: Conducting pre-implantation genetic diagnoses (PGD) on blastomere-derived cells. Problem: Cells harvested for PGD are traditionally put into a generic buffer and frozen. Th

Use mitochondrial DNA to identify ancient samples.When a creature has spent years in the back of a cave, "it basically is nutrients for all the microbes and worms in the environment," says Edward Rubin, director of the US Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute in Walnut Creek, Calif. With few intact cells remaining, the chances of finding nuclear DNA extraction are slim. However, there are a few thousand copies of the same m

Innovative solutions with small-scale microfluidics.

Three primary human neutrophils within a microfluidic channel responding to a gradient of Interleukin-8 (labeled with a green fluorophore) by chemotaxing to a higher concentration (left). Panels are frames from a movie, taken 10 minutes apart. Credit: Courtesy of Mary Lokuta / University of Wisconsin, Madison" />Three primary human neutrophils within a microfluidic channel responding to a gradient of Interleukin-8 (labeled with a green fluorophore) by chemotaxing to a higher concentration (left)

Phase contrast image of human microvascular epithelial cells grown in a single layer microfluidic cell culture chip under constant perfusion. Credit: Courtesy of Divya Nalayanda and Fizan Abdullah / Johns Hopkins Children's Center, Baltimore, Md." />Phase contrast image of human microvascular epithelial cells grown in a single layer microfluidic cell culture chip under constant perfusion. Credit: Courtesy of Divya Nalayanda and Fizan Abdullah / Johns Hopkins Children's Center, Baltimore, Md.

A confocal image of endothelial cells cultured in one of the microcapillaries of the biochip. Credit: Cellix Ltd." />A confocal image of endothelial cells cultured in one of the microcapillaries of the biochip. Credit: Cellix Ltd. User: Garry Walsh, University of Aberdeen School of Medicine, Scotland. Project: Examining adhesion of eosinophils under conditions of blood flow in the lungs. Problem: Eosinophils are relatively rare and difficult to

Florescent probes mark chromosomal breakpoints in FISH-on-a-Chip. Credit: Courtesy of Linda Pilarski / University of Alberta" />Florescent probes mark chromosomal breakpoints in FISH-on-a-Chip. Credit: Courtesy of Linda Pilarski / University of Alberta User: Linda Pilarski, University of Alberta Project: Investigating chromosomal breaks and translocations in individual cells from patients with multiple myeloma. Problem: An ideal technique for t

Related Articles Let it flow Source and sink Membrane interface Conservation max Scaling down Collaborate. Microfluidic engineering labs and even commercial companies often look for academics to "cross-validate" their work, notes Robert Freedman, CEO of HμREL Corporation, which is working on a prototype for cellular experiments. Comb the literature and ask around to find who is working on something your lab might need. Also, check out the MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Syst

A pluripotency marker is unexpectedly absent in adult stem cells, suggesting they rely on different regulators than ES cells

A neurodegenerative disease is the second disease caused by mutant RNA

Researchers design a regulator that can reversibly switch genes on and off and tune gene expression to a precise level