The Japanese government has introduced two new programs to support research centers. The World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI) will provide yearly funding of ¥500 million–¥2 billion ($4–$17 million) for five top-level research centers for at least 10 years. For Japanese fiscal year (JFY) 2007 (April 2007–March 2008), WPI’s budget is ¥3.5 billion ($30 […]

In March, the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health and Society prepared a draft report called “Realizing the Promise of Pharmacogenomics.” The report recommends that the National Institutes of Health make greater allocations to basic research into the biochemistry and genetics involved in drug metabolism, action and effectiveness. In addition, […]

The Indian prime minister’s office has assigned responsibility for the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, which will establish a central regulatory body for the food industry (see IBO 8/31/06), to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The regulatory body will be created in August or September. According to the Indian government, INR […]

Once exclusively large, cumbersome instruments, both gas chromatographs (GC) and mass spectrometers (MS) have shrunk dramatically in size and power requirements. This has led to the development of GC/MS systems that can be operated outside of the laboratory. However, most of these instruments have been mobile, but not truly “man-portable” until more recently. . The […]

In February, biosensor developer NanoSensors signed a letter of intent to acquire the assets of DKL International, a provider of passive detection technology. SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems contracted with ilochip A/S to develop a lab-on-a-chip system for detecting and identifying airborne biological pathogens. The $125.6 million jury verdict against L-3 Communications, resulting from its […]

Carlsbad, CA 5/1/07—Invitrogen announced in its first quarter conference call that it has purchased Cascade Biologics. The company, based in Portland, Oregon, produces primary human cell culture systems and reagents for use in basic research, cosmetics testing and cell therapy. According to Gregory Lucier, CEO and chairman of Invitrogen, the acquisition “sets us up for […]

San Francisco, CA 5/1/07—TIBCO Software, a provider of enterprise software, has agreed to acquire Spotfire for $195 million in cash. Spotfire specializes in data visualization analytics software. Its DecisonSite software, which features specific products for functional genomics, microarray analysis and lead discovery, is widely used by life science researchers. TIBCO will retain the Spotfire name […]

LUM GmbH named Twinson International as a Chinese distributor and Lih-Yuan Enterprise as a Taiwanese distributor. Asia accounts for more than 30% of the company’s sales. Under an OEM agreement, Micro Imaging Technology will supply its tabletop rapid microbial identification system as an option for JMAR’s BioSentry Water Monitoring System. Particle size analyzer company NanoSight […]

Nanotechnology has been a familiar buzzword for a number of years, but the field itself has yet to meet its impressive potential. While there is no shortage of companies involved in nanotechnology, Nanosys, based in Palo Alto, California, has attracted considerable attention since its founding in 2001. In March, Nanosys partnered with Bruker Daltonics for […]

Illumina launched the HumanCNV370-Duo DNA Analysis BeadChip, developed in collaboration with deCODE genetics, to target novel regions of the genome that show copy number variation. It enables the analysis of two samples simultaneously. Illumina released the BeadXpress System detection platform, based on VeraCode digital microbead technology, for low to mid-multiplex experiments. Illumina launched a custom-content […]