Friday, August 29, 2014

Intracellular imaging gets interactive

JAPAN: A system of compounds has been developed that can signal the presence of certain chemical compounds critical to cellular energy metabolism, as well as activating them.

The work demonstrates an approach that the authors suggest could be used to control or investigate cells. They describe their approach as ‘bioparallel chemistry’, emphasising the contrast with widely known bioorthogonal chemical reactions that do not interfere with biological processes native to the cell.

The researchers, a collaboration of researchers at Keio University and the International Centre for Materials Nanoarchitectonics at the National Institute for Materials Science, imaged nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide derivatives – NADH and NADPH.

The phosphorylated form, NADPH, is used in photosynthesis and NADH has been identified as a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. The fluorescent compound developed to image NADH and NADPH was a molecule combining ubiquinone – an aromatic compound that has been shown to react NADH and NADPH in vitro – and the fluorophore rhodol.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Zebra introduces ZT400 series tabletop printers

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Zebra Technologies Corp. announced the launch of the new ZT400 series printers, Zebra’s latest mid-range printer offering that will replace all ZM series printers.

The ZT400 series was created in response to changing end-user needs, as more enterprises shift towards adopting a distributed printing model with operations stationed around the globe.

With added enhancements like its Link-OS capabilities and its easy-to-use interface, the ZT400 series greatly decreases the need for technical know-how on the end-user’s part, thus resolving multiple customer pain points in device management, lack of flexibility, operational downtime, and system integration.

“Industrial sector in India is growing rapidly and India’s manufacturing sector is expected to reach US$ 1 trillion by 2025*. This rapid growth needs to be backed with robust technology that can help businesses in operating more efficiently and provides better supervision. Thus, we are launching ZT400 in India as an ideal partner for industrial companies.” said Inderpreet Singh, head - Barcode and Supplies India and Sub-Continent, Zebra Technologies.

“In today’s increasingly competitive business environment, there is a strong need for businesses to gain real-time visibility and insights in order to maximize efficiency and efficacy. To achieve this, businesses need to gain end-to-end control and visibility over every touch point on their supply chain,” said Rod Rodericks, VP and MD at Zebra Technologies. “With the introduction of the ZT400 printers, we are expanding our suite of solutions available to help enterprises stay ahead of the competition, and in-tune with their customer’s needs, whilst helping solve many business pain points in their value chain.”