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Environmental Testing by Chennai Testing Laboratory Private Limited, Chennai – Video

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Environmental Testing by Chennai Testing Laboratory Private Limited, Chennai
Welcome to Amba Recycler Private Limited, Offer Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Services. Established in 1984 at Chennai, we are an ISO 9001 2008, BI...

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Listeria Monocytogenes PCR Assay Offers Validated Method for Fast, Simple Detection of Food Pathogens

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AOAC-RI Performance Tested Method status granted for the SureTect Listeria monocytogenes Assay

BASINGSTOKE, United Kingdom--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Food microbiology laboratories can now confidently test to a recognized standard for Listeria monocytogenes with the Thermo Scientific SureTect Listeria monocytogenes Assay, which has been granted Performance Tested MethodSM status by the AOAC Research Institute.

We are delighted to have received validation of our Listeria monocytogenes PCR assay, which is one of a number of assays we offer for molecular food testing

Listeria monocytogenes can be present in a variety of foodstuffs, including some processed meats and cheeses, and in fresh foods such as cantaloupe melon and raw spinach.

The SureTect Listeria monocytogenes PCR Assay has proven to be comparable to the reference method ISO 11290-1:1996, including Amendment 1:2004 (Listeria monocytogenes). This follows the recent granting of AOAC-RI Performance Method status for the SureTect Salmonella species PCR Assay.

We are delighted to have received validation of our Listeria monocytogenes PCR assay, which is one of a number of assays we offer for molecular food testing, says Sumi Thaker, VP Global Marketing, Microbiology, Thermo Fisher Scientific. These assays are part of the SureTect Real-Time PCR System that has been designed to streamline test workflow and reduce time to result, which are primary considerations in todays pathogen test selection. We anticipate validation on a number of new assays over the next few months.

The SureTect System was developed to detect microorganisms quickly and accurately in a broad range of foods and associated samples. This unique solution combines:

For more information, please contact your local Thermo Scientific representative or visit http://www.thermoscientific.com/SureTect.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science. Our mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. With revenues of $13 billion, we have 39,000 employees and serve customers within pharmaceutical and biotech companies, hospitals and clinical diagnostic labs, universities, research institutions and government agencies, as well as in environmental and process control industries. We create value for our key stakeholders through three premier brands, Thermo Scientific, Fisher Scientific and Unity Lab Services, which offer a unique combination of innovative technologies, convenient purchasing options and a single solution for laboratory operations management. Our products and services help our customers solve complex analytical challenges, improve patient diagnostics and increase laboratory productivity. Visit http://www.thermofisher.com.

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Listeria Monocytogenes PCR Assay Offers Validated Method for Fast, Simple Detection of Food Pathogens

Food Safety Microbiology Testing Increases 40% in 5 Years to $2.9 Billion Worldwide

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Woodstock, VT (PRWEB) July 25, 2013

The food microbiology testing market is healthy and robust, driven by an increasingly global food supply and focus on safe food. According to a new report from Strategic Consulting, Inc., a leading information resource in food safety testing and industrial diagnostics, the market value of food microbiology testing will reach $2.9 billion in 2013an increase of 40%, or $832 million, in the past five years.

Food Micro, Eighth Edition: Microbiology Testing in the Global Food Industry (Food Micro8) tracks and compares test volumes, market values and methods used, and forecasts future volumes and market values through to 2018 for food microbiology testing by food producers around the world. The data is based on primary research interviews with more than 450 food producers in 19 countries, including the U.S., China and India.

Three key factors are driving increases in microbiology testing around the world. The volume of food commodities produced is growing, due mainly to increases in population. Second, the rate of food microbiology testing per unit of commodity is increasing, driven by factors such as new regulations, fear of recalls and process economics. Third, the average cost per test conducted is increasing as the overall market shifts from lower-cost, traditional food microbiology tests to newer, higher-cost test methods that are being developed to shorten the time required to get actionable results.

Over the past decade, food processing companies have made investments in plants, equipment, and training for food safety testing. The investments, and resulting improvements, are not consistent in all parts of the world, however the increasing globalization of the food supply continues to drive changes and improvements. Major foodborne outbreaks like the one in Germany in 2011, when more than 4,000 people became ill and 50 people died due to E. coli O104:H4, as well as the increased media attention paid to food safety issues, as seen recently in reports of contamination of food in China, increase the pressure on food companies and retailers to make continued investments in food safety.

Food Micro8 is based on detailed primary research with 450 food plants around the globe, including 140 interviews in the Asian countries of China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. According to Tom Weschler, president of Strategic Consulting, Given Asias 4.1 billion population and growing importance in the global food trade, it is clearly a critical region to understand with regard to current and forecasted food microbiology testing practices.

The Report shows that food microbiology testing is reasonably spread around the world, but testing practices within geographic regions vary significantly. Europe conducts the greatest volume of food microbiology tests at 299.4 million tests, but projects the slowest future growth in test volumes and market value. Asia is currently responsible for just 29.0% of total test volume, but has the greatest potential for growth, particularly in pathogen testing.

Food Micro8 provides detailed breakdowns by microorganisms, food segments (meat, dairy, fruit/vegetable and processed foods) and geographic regions, and summarizes key trends and concerns in food microbiology testing. The data is based on primary research interviews with more than 450 food producers in 19 countries, including the U.S., China and India. An appendix with profiles of 17 of the primary diagnostic companies in the food microbiology testing market is included.

To download a detailed prospectus for Food Micro, Eighth Edition: Microbiology Testing in the Global Food Industry (Food Micro8) visit http://www.Strategic-Consult.com.

About Strategic Consulting, Inc.

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Food Safety Microbiology Testing Increases 40% in 5 Years to $2.9 Billion Worldwide

Seminar deciphers significance of microbes

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A national seminar on Microbes and Human Welfare organised by the Department of Microbiology, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchi, in association with National Academy of Biological Science (NABS), highlighted the role of microbes in agricultural and forestry; human and animal health, and biotechnological innovations, besides focusing on diversity and conservation of microbes.

The two-day seminar on Saturday and Sunday that was inaugurated by former Vice Chancellor of Bharathidasan University K.Meena benefitted more than 300 research scholars, PG students, and university teachers.

V.A. Parthasarathy, president of NABS and former director of Indian Institute of Spice Research, Kozhikode, presided over the inaugural session.

Sixth in its series on the theme, the workshop featured interactions involving participation of postgraduate students and young researchers. Sixty papers were orally presented and 33 through posters.

K.Ramasamy, Vice-chancellor, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, handed over the first copy of the abstract to D.P. Ray, former Vice-Chancellor, Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, and delivered the key-note address. P.Gunaskaran, Vice-Chancellor, Thiruvalluvar University, Vellore, released news letter and books and delivered a special address.

News letter

The books and the news letter were received by K.V. Peter, director, World Noni Research Foundation.

Vice-Chancellor of Periyar University, Salem, K.Muthuchelian conferred the memorial award instituted in 2012 in the name of Prof.Kannaiyan, the founder of NABS, on Dr.Kirti Singh, chairperson, World Noni Research Foundation, Chennai. P.I. Peter, founder and chairman, Noni Biotech, Chennai, presented the NABS-Best Research Paper Award to Dr. D.Prasath of Indian Institute of Spices Research, Kozhikode.

G.Subramanian, founder director, National Facility for Marine Cyanobacteria, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, delivered the valedictory address.

He dwelt on multidrug resistance emergence patterns, and stressed the importance of microbiology in research.

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Seminar deciphers significance of microbes

Natural pest control protein effective against hookworm: A billion could benefit

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Public release date: 23-Jul-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Jim Sliwa jsliwa@asmusa.org 202-942-9297 American Society for Microbiology

A benign crystal protein, produced naturally by bacteria and used as an organic pesticide, could be a safe, inexpensive treatment for parasitic worms in humans and provide effective relief to over a billion people around the world. Researchers from the University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, report on this potentially promising solution in a study published ahead of print in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

Hookworms, and other intestinal parasites known as helminths infect more than 1 billion people in poverty-stricken, tropical nations, sucking the vitality from the body, and leaving hundreds of millions of children physically and mentally stunted. Current drugs are insufficiently effective, and resistance is rising, but little effort has been made to develop better drugs because the relevant populations do not represent a profitable market for drug companies.

"The challenge is that any cure must be very cheap, it must have the ability to be mass produced in tremendous quantities, safe, and able to withstand rough conditions, including lack of refrigeration, extreme heat, and remote locations," says Raffi Aroian, a researcher on the study.

In earlier research, Aroian and his collaborators described a protein, Cry5B, that can kill intestinal nematode parasitessuch as human hookwormsin infected test animals (hamsters). Cry5B belongs to a family of proteins that are generally accepted as safe for humans. These proteins are produced naturally in Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), a bacterium which is applied to crops as a natural insecticide on some organic farms, and CryB proteins have been engineered into food crops such as corn and rice, to render them pest resistant.

As shown for the first time in this paper, Cry5B can also be expressed in a species of bacterium, Bacillus subtilis, which is closely related to Bacillus thuringiensis, and which is also related to bacteria which are present in some probiotics, says Aroian. In the current research researchers showed that a small dose of Cry5B, expressed in this bacterium can achieve a 93 percent elimination of hookworm parasites from infected hamsters. That, says Aroian, is substantially better than current drugs.

The scientific significance of the research, he says, is that "bacteria similar to those that are food gradewhich are cheap and can readily be mass produced--can be engineered to produce molecules that can cure parasitic diseases."

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Aroian notes that both the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the American taxpayer, via the National Institutes of Health, played an essential role in funding the research.

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Natural pest control protein effective against hookworm: A billion could benefit

Microbiologist Norman Dondero dies at age 95

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Jul. 17, 2013

Norman C. Dondero, Ph.D. 52, Cornell professor emeritus of microbiology who taught and pursued research in the field of microbiology of water, water pollution and biological waste treatment, died July 10 at Kendal at Ithaca. He was 95.

A scientist, artist and naturalist, Dondero grew up in Massachusetts, earning his B.S. (1941) at the University of Massachusetts; he earned his M.S. (1943) at the University of Connecticut and Ph.D. (1952) at Cornell.

From 1943 to 1946, he served in the U.S. Army. From 1954 to 1966, he taught at Rutgers University and joined the Cornell faculty in 1966; he retired from Cornell in 1984.

Dondero was predeceased by his wife, Wilma Mehlenbacher Hyde; he is survived by a son and extended family members.

At his request there will be no calling hours, and a private family graveside service is planned. Donations in his memory can be made to the Finger Lakes Land Trust, the Nature Conservancy or any environmental conservation group.

You can view his memorial or express condolences to the family online at http://www.Royce-Chedzoy.com.

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Microbiologist Norman Dondero dies at age 95

Connect, Collaborate, Solve with Thermo Scientific Pharmaceutical Microbiology Solutions – Video

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Connect, Collaborate, Solve with Thermo Scientific Pharmaceutical Microbiology Solutions
Thermo Scientific Pharmaceutical Microbiology Solutions include a full range of quality Thermo Scientific Oxoid and Remel products for your pharmaceutical mi...

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Connect, Collaborate, Solve with Thermo Scientific Pharmaceutical Microbiology Solutions - Video

American Academy of Microbiology publishes West Nile virus report

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Public release date: 18-Jul-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Garth Hogan ghogan@asmusa.org 202-942-9389 American Society for Microbiology

Where does the virus come from? How is it spread? Can we predict when and where outbreaks will occur? What factors determine how sick a person will become if they are infected with West Nile virus?

To help answer the many questions people have about this multi-faceted virus, the American Academy of Microbiology has issued a new report entitled FAQ: West Nile Virus. The Academy convened twenty-two of the world's leading experts on West Nile virus in March, 2013 to consider and answer some of the most frequently asked questions about West Nile virus. The resultant report provides non-technical, science-based answers to questions that people may have about the virus.

"West Nile virus is the most significant exotic mosquito-borne disease that has come to the contiguous United States in the last century," according to Dr. Lyle Peterson, Director of the Division of Vector-borne Infectious Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Outbreaks have proven extremely difficult to predict and control and have been associated with considerable morbidity. The large outbreak in 2012, which caught many by surprise, indicates that West Nile virus will remain a formidable public health challenge for years to come."

Indeed, 2012 marked the largest outbreak of West Nile virus in the United States since 2003, and already in 2013, mosquitos infected with this potentially deadly virus have been detected in 21 states with human cases of West Nile infection reported in California, Mississippi, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas. Where does the virus come from? How is it spread? Can we predict when and where outbreaks will occur? What factors determine how sick a person will become if they are infected with West Nile virus?

"We desperately need to better understand the ecology, epidemiology, and pathogenesis of this virus in order to develop effective preventive measures and antiviral therapy," says Dr. Ken Tyler, University of Colorado in Denver.

To help answer the many questions people have about this multi-faceted virus, the American Academy of Microbiology has issued a new report entitled FAQ: West Nile Virus. The Academy convened twenty-two of the world's leading experts on West Nile virus in March, 2013 to consider and answer some of the most frequently asked questions about West Nile virus. The resultant report provides non-technical, science-based answers to questions that people may have about the virus.

Some of the questions the report considers include:

FAQ: West Nile virus is the latest offering in a series of reports designed to provide a rapid response to emerging issues or to highlight the role of microbes in daily life. Previous FAQ reports have covered topics like the role of microorganisms in cleaning up oil spills and the central role of yeast in the production of beer.

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American Academy of Microbiology publishes West Nile virus report

Research and Scholarship

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UCR Celebrates First Undergraduate Microbiology Grad

Cristian Carrera

The undergraduate microbiology major, which was launched in fall 2011, has its first graduate: Cristian Carrera, who received his bachelor of arts degree last June. Carrera, who grew up in Chino, is interested in pursuing a career in microbiology.

I want to learn more about bacteria, viruses and other microscopic organisms, he said. I am also interested in immunology.

The first person in his family to graduate from college, Carrera wasnt expecting to make UCR history.

I am proud to be the first graduate in the microbiology major, he said. I didnt know I had this honor until only very recently.

Carrera plans to become a professor in microbiology. He is interested, too, in teaching at a high school for a few years.

I used to run cross-country and play soccer, he said. Teaching at a high school will give me a chance to coach.

The steering committee for the microbiology major James Borneman, Katherine Borkovich and Marylynn Yates presented Carrera with a plaque to commemorate the milestone the microbiology major has reached.

I had the pleasure of having Cristian as one of my students in my new research-based course Experimental Microbiology during the Spring 2013 quarter, Borkovich said. Cristian was an excellent student and will be a great representative for both UCR and the new microbiology major out in the larger community. I wish him well as he embarks on the next stage of his career.

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Research and Scholarship

Scientific breakthrough unlocks secrets of microbes

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Scientists in the US have made a breakthrough in microbiology that represents a major step towards a better understanding of biological evolution on our planet.

The findings, published in the journal Nature, involve the genetic sequencing of hitherto almost entirely unexplored branches of the tree of life, in an area known as microbial dark matter.

Attempts to research the precise nature of whole swathes of single-celled microorganisms, the most diverse and abundant variety of species on Earth, had been limited by the fact that they are notoriously difficult to reproduce in a laboratory.

This is despite the fact that they are known to thrive in the worlds most hostile environments, including the polar ice, the driest parts of deserts and the deepest stretches of the oceans.

But scientists have been able to use new technology to work from just a single cell of a microbe and then sequence its complete genetic code.

The report said they had successfully applied the technique to 201 different species of microorganism, and said that: Genome sequencing enhances our understanding of the biological world by providing blueprints for the evolutionary and functional diversity that shapes the biosphere.

The California-based team said they were able to challenge established boundaries between the three domains of life made up of single-celled archaea and bacteria, and more complex eukaryota which include animals, plants, and the majority of other organisms we are familiar with.

Phil Hugenholtz, a contributor to the research and director of the Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, told the BBC: "For almost 20 years now we have been astonished by how little there is known about massive regions of the tree of life. This project is the first systematic effort to address this enormous knowledge gap.

The scientists said they had found unexpected metabolic features in both archaea and bacteria, which extend our understanding of biology.

They nonetheless acknowledge that the research is just a beginning, given estimates that there are many millions of different microbe species. They said they believed a further 16,000 genomes from all over the world would need to be sequenced if we are to have an understanding of just 50 per cent of the different phyla branches of species that exist on the planet.

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Scientific breakthrough unlocks secrets of microbes

H7N9 influenza strain resistant to antivirals, but tests fail to identify resistance

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Public release date: 16-Jul-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Jim Sliwa jsliwa@asmusa.org 202-942-9297 American Society for Microbiology

Some strains of the avian H7N9 influenza that emerged in China this year have developed resistance to the only antiviral drugs available to treat the infection, but testing for antiviral resistance can give misleading results, helping hasten the spread of resistant strains.

The authors of a study published in mBio, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, characterized viruses taken from the first person known to be stricken with H7N9 influenza and found that 35% of those viruses are resistant to oseltamivir (commercially known as Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza), front line drugs used for treating H7N9 infections. However, lab testing of the viruses, which detects the activity of a viral enzyme, fails to detect that these strains are resistant, so monitoring for the development of resistance using this technique would prove futile.

"If H7N9 does acquire human-to-human transmissibility, what do we have to treat it with until we have a vaccine? Oseltamivir. We would be in big trouble," says corresponding author Robert Webster of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Resistant strains of H7N9 can flourish in patients treated with oseltamivir or zanamivir, he says, inadvertently leading to the spread of resistant infections.

In the mBio study, the authors tested antiviral susceptibility of an H7N9 strain isolated from the first confirmed human case of avian H7N9 influenza using a method that tests the activity of the neuraminidase enzyme. The reassuring results were, unfortunately, misleading: the enzyme-based test indicated that the flu strain was susceptible to NA inhibiting antiviral drugs, but it is not.

A closer look at the viral isolate revealed it is actually made up of two distinct types of H7N9 viruses. Roughly 35% of the viruses carry the R292K mutation, making them resistant to NA inhibitors, and 65% are sensitive to these same drugs. The enzyme-based testing gave misleading results, says Webster, because the functioning wild-type enzymes masked the presence of the non-functioning mutant enzymes.

Using NA inhibitors to treat a patient infected with a resistant strain of H7N9 only encourages the virus to proliferate and can lead to enhanced spread of the resistant strain. The authors write that these results prove that it is crucial to use a gene-based surveillance technique that can detect these resistant influenza strains in a mixed infection.

H7N9 first emerged in China in early 2013, in some cases infecting individuals who had been in contact with poultry or with places where poultry are housed. The virus has since been detected in poultry at live markets near where human infections have been reported. After the closure of many live poultry markets in China and with the start of the warm season, which is not conducive to influenza spread, the infection rate appears to have slowed. As of July 12, the number of infections stands at 132 and the number of deaths at 43.

A recent study found that antiviral treatment failed in two patients infected with a strain of H7N9 influenza that carries a mutation called R292K, and that these patients had a poor clinical outcome. The mutation causes a change in the neuraminidase gene and makes the virus resistant to neuraminidase (NA) inhibitors, including Tamiflu and Relenza. NA inhibitors have been the front line therapeutic option for treating H7N9 influenza because the virus is already resistant to M2 ion channel blockers Amantadine (Symmetrel) and its methyl derivative Rimantadine (Flumadine). Considering the severity of H7N9 flu infection and the fact that so few options exist for treatment, it is important to continue to evaluate the sensitivity of clinical isolates to NA inhibitors and to monitor for the emergence of resistant variants.

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H7N9 influenza strain resistant to antivirals, but tests fail to identify resistance


  1. Microbiology