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Use of the SCID-hu mouse — an immunodeficient mouse transplanted with relevant organs of the human immune system — as a preclinical testing system for human therapeutics is discussed.
Next week's conference sponsored by the American Society for Biological Chemistry and Molecular Biology/American Society for Cell Biology will be held in San Diego, California. Year-end products include a cDNAsynthesis kit and an image processing system that offers a more affordable approach to confocal microscopy.
DNA extraction cartridges, a dual-purpose electrophoresis/electroblotter unit, and a cytocentrifuge that makes light work of preparing cell monolayers on microscope slides — innovative ideas for separation devices.
The RNA polymerases from T7 and related bacteriophages, in conjunction with elements of DNA and RNA viruses, can be used in novel ways for expression of genes in mammalian cells.
A kit for the direct cloning of PCR-amplified nucleic acids, a novel DNA sequencing technology and mRNA spin columns — new tools for the molecular biologist.
The computational capabilities of a single neuron depend to a large extent upon the structural and electrical properties of its dendritic branches. New modelling algorithms and a new generation of powerful UNIX workstations are being applied to the study of neuronal information processing.
Neuroscientists will convene in St Louis, Missouri, next week for the 20th Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. Product exhibits will include an implantable osmotic pump for controlled drug delivery, pocket-sized data loggers and monoclonal antibodies for detecting microtubule-associated proteins.
Use of Escherichia coli as an expression host has opened up new possibilities in antibody research and its applications. It greatly facilitates rational engineering and random mutagenesis.
A miniblot system with disposable cassettes, monoclonal antibodies to dystrophin and a new fluorochrome for flow cytometry — new product news for the immunologist.
Sequencing DNA is a labour intensive and expensive process. At an estimated cost of $3–5 (US) per base pair, it would require about $25 million (US) to complete the sequence of Escherichia coli1.
New lines in laboratory hardware, including a video image recorder and a low-volume evaporator, will be on display at next week's British Laboratory Week exhibition to be held in London.
Over 500 exhibitors will be represented at next week's Biotechnica '90 to be held in Hannover, West Germany. Featured exhibits will include a primer analysis software package and a hollow-fibre bioreactor for monoclonal antibody production.
Essential lipid mixtures can substitute for vertebrate serum in the culture of invertebrate — and some vertebrate — cells, tissues, parasites and pathogens. The resulting membrane lipid modifications promote hormonal signalling.
The availability of user-friendly scientific image analysis software for the Macintosh II has made the application of digital imaging techniques both practical and cost-effective in many areas of research.
The Scientific Computing and Automation Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 18–20 September, will feature software for numeric computation and curve-fitting applications.
