October 2012 - Posts

Live from AMP: Addressing Reference Material Challenges
October 26, 2012 1:26 PM by Kelly Bocich

The morning plenary at AMP today was an excellent one: "Issues Surrounding Lack of Laboratory Reference Materials: Impact on Assay Development and Validation, QC and Proficiency Testing." This three-prong session looked at the challenges surrounding the Read More...

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AMP's Expanding Audience
October 25, 2012 5:50 PM by Kelly Bocich

The AMP 2012 Annual Meeting on Genomic Medicine officially kicked off this morning with opening remarks from AMP President Iris Schrijver, MD, and Program Chair Dan Farkas, PhD, HCLD, and the presentation of the AMP Award for Excellence in Molecular Diagnostics Read More...

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Next Group to Battle Obesity? Pets
October 23, 2012 10:16 AM by Valerie Newitt

I heard on the radio just this week that the obesity epidemic among Americans --- human Americans -- is slowing down a bit. That's great news, but perhaps in an attemp to cut our own calorie intake we've been throwing a few too many scraps to our pets. Read More...

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Value of Mission Statements
October 19, 2012 9:57 AM by Kelly Bocich

Does your laboratory or parent organization have a mission statement? Do you have a personal mission statement? Mission statements proclaim the purpose, the raison d'etre of an organization or group. These statements lay out goals and guide an organization's Read More...

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How Does Prostate Cancer Outsmart Therapy?
October 15, 2012 11:38 AM by Valerie Newitt

A recent news release from Newswise caught my eye. It said: ‘Dream Team' wins $10 million grant to probe mystery of advanced prostate cancer." It went on to explain that while many men survive prostate cancer, thousands of others -- whose cancer spreads Read More...

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Do-It-Yourself Lab Equipment!
October 9, 2012 9:49 AM by Valerie Newitt

There's a lot of interest in do-it-yourself (DIY) projects in the home. So I suppose it was only a matter of time until it infiltrated the lab. OK, so it's not quite as relaxing as a DIY spa treatment and may lack the eye appeal of a DIY couturier frock. Read More...

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Rapid Identification of Pandemics
October 5, 2012 8:49 AM by Kelly Bocich

Are we better prepared today to identify unknown pathogens with pandemic potential? A recent press release from Dr. Andrew S. Thompson, GlobalData's senior analyst, says yes -- but cautiously. A new coronavirus strain originating from the Arabian Peninsula Read More...

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Labs Need Some Rockin' Pop Culture
October 1, 2012 1:12 PM by Valerie Newitt

We get so much of our "common knowledge" from pop culture. But having done a quick Google search to see where labs show up in movies, TV, videos, etc., I can tell you they don't fare so well. The only filmdom labs I could find were those malevolent research Read More...

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