Latest Articles
Emerging Classes of Next-generation Biotherapeutics
ArticleWe are entering uncharted territory in biopharmaceutical development. Emerging new classes of treatments are harnessing the natural power of viruses and cells and engineering them to fight human diseases. As our arsenal of conventional therapies begins to fail, a new army of biotherapeutics is on the horizon. Here, we look at two new classes of treatments leading the charge.
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Care in the Community – How Biofilms Improve Bacterial Survival
ArticleA single bacterial cell on its own is vulnerable to attack and like many living things they can benefit from safety in numbers. But bacteria take communal living to a whole new level, forming veritable civilizations - the bacterial biofilm.
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Antigenic Drift vs Antigenic Shift
ArticleAs part of the host-pathogen arms race, viruses are continually evolving to evade the host immune response, be it from previous infection or immunity acquired through vaccination. Here we take a look at the processes of antigenic drift and antigenic shift.
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Through the Looking Glass of Single Cell Proteomics
ArticleTo pick apart the differences between individual cells in complex multicellular organisms, we need to look at cells one-by-one. This article takes a look at how several scientists in North America are using single cell proteomics (SCP) technologies to discern disease pathogenesis and enhance directed stem-cell differentiation.
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Understanding the Lytic Cycle – What Are the Steps?
ArticleBacteriophage (phage) are viruses that specifically infect bacteria. They have a two-phase lifecycle, residing in a dormant state within the host genome (lysogenic cycle) or hijacking the host cellular machinery for their own replication (lytic cycle). Here we will explore the important steps of the lytic cycle.
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Cold Plasma for Seed, Fruit and Vegetable Decontamination and Plant Disease Control
ArticleAn effective way to increase crop yield is to minimize losses to pathogenic microorganisms by improving the disease resistance of crop plants. A recently emerging alternative to conventional methods for improving plant disease resistance is cold plasma.
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Chemical Snapshots and Molecular Maps with Mass Spec Imaging
ArticleMass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is a powerful tool increasingly being used in many fields including cancer research, biomarker discovery and drug development. This article explains why MSI is the technique of choice in many labs, discusses its use in research, and covers how some inherent challenges are being addressed.
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MALDI Imaging Mass Spectrometry (MALDI IMS): A Marriage of Mass Spectrometry and Morphological Spatial Resolution
ArticleMatrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization imaging mass spectrometry (MALDI IMS) is a powerful analytical technique that enjoys the sensitivity of mass spectrometry coupled with spatial distribution information.
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Three Ways to Turn Life Science Suppliers into Partners
ArticleA growing number of life science businesses are turning to greater supply chain collaboration for benefits like accelerated time to market, improved quality, reduced risk and more rapid and widespread innovation. But while 68% of executives in this industry say active and meaningful engagement with suppliers is essential to success, far too many, over a third, struggle to implement it.
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Host Cell Protein Analysis in Biopharma
ArticlePresence of host cell protein (HCP) contaminants in the final product, even at very low levels, may elicit unpredictable and serious immunogenic response in humans. The accurate detection, identification and quantification of HCPs during biotherapeutic development is thus critical in ensuring patient safety, and is a regulatory requirement.
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