Cancer prevention and nutrition

What role does epigenetics play? - von Dr Clarissa Gerhäuser

Detoxification, anti-inflammatory agents, radical scavengers, antioxi- dants, anti-hormonal effects, cell growth inhibition, programmed cell death – all are terms that have been connected with the prevention of cancer by drugs or nutritional factors over the last thirty years. For the last ten years or so, the focus has been turning to a new field: epigenetics.

Does increased LC peak capacity equal increased value for complex sample analysis?

The meaning of peak capacity - von Dr Frank Steiner

Despite the strength of liquid chromatography (LC) to separate compounds through well tunable selective retention, its efficiency lags behind gas chromatography (GC) that can deliver up to several millions of plates per column. Resolution improvement in LC should thus be addressed with selectivity optimization first. If samples get too complex, however, this approach is no longer feasible, as improving selectivity in one part of the chromatogram will...

Ebola outbreak in West Africa

A mysterious fever - von Dr Thomas Strecker, Dr Gordian Schudt, Dr Svenja Wolff, Anne Kelterbaum, Dr Markus Eickmann, Prof. Dr Stephan Becker

In early March this year, deep in the forest region of southeast Guinea, cases started to accumulate for a mysterious fever that claimed many lives among its sufferers. Muscle pain, high fever, vomiting and severe diarrhoea – all symptoms that doctors often observe in Africa's hospitals, but this time, all attempts to treat them proved futile.

Isothermal amplification in food analysis – a real alternative to conventional PCR

Trust, but verify - von Dr Kurt Brunner, Celine Zahradnik

Inherited genetic material – deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA for short – is unique to every living thing and can therefore be utilised like a fingerprint for identification purposes. DNA analysis has thus become an indispensable tool within food safety, and in the real-time testing of both raw materials and finished products. The ­established method for confirmation of specified target DNA in a sample is the polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

OMI (Organic Molecule Identification) in water using LC-MS(/MS): Steps from “unknown” to “identified”: a contribution to the discussion

In a class of its own - von PD Dr Thomas Letzel, Thomas Lucke, Dr Wolfgang Schulz, Dr Manfred Sengl, Dr Marion Letzel

The analysis of small organic molecules in water is highly demanding,
on account of the presence of varia­bility in the water matrix (rain-, ground- and drinking water, plus ­surface and waste water) and the spectrum of chemical structures, present in a wide range of concentrations. In the Lab & More International, 2014, 1 (pp. 14–18), we introduced the water analysis methods of target screening, suspects screening and non-target screening,...

Precisely targeted regulation

lab&more in conversation with Stefan Miltenyi, CEO of Miltenyi Biotec GmbH, Germany

The biomedical community is euphoric about recent results in clinical trials of new treatment modalities for genetic diseases and oncological indications: T cells with modified chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) have been genetically modified with the aid of lentiviral technology and hold out the prospect of a novel form of cancer immunotherapy. Lentiviral technology itself is currently regarded as the most effective way of inserting genetic material...

Sasai’s Death

von Prof. Dr Paul G. Layer

It was a Tuesday morning in early August. I’d just returned to my office from a trip to the US. I’d been at an eye conference, ISER 2014 in San Francisco, where I’d heard about recent work in growing human retinal tissue from stem cells. Still reeling from all the new data and numbed by jetlag, I’m trying to marshal my thought processes, writing endless mails to colleagues and making a pig’s ear of my travel expense forms. As I am putting...

Take a look at HPLC 2014 New Orleans

Check out what's new at HPLC 2014 New Orleans, the largest global, multidisciplinary Liquid-phase Separations Conference & Expo of the Year! This exciting event covers all areas of liquid-phase separations in multiple disciplines and features strong content, expanded program of the world's experts, training programs, poster sessions, largest comprehensive exhibition of its kind, and abundant networking opportunities! If you want to learn about new...