Category: <span>Research</span>

This article examines two interrelated animal welfare topics: the transportation of pregnant cattle, and the collection of fetal bovine serum (FBS). The occurrence of pregnant cattle at slaughter is unavoidable because of health, management, and economic reasons, or because farmers may be unaware of their pregnancy status. Since cattle are often sold to slaughterhouses through intermediaries, the pregnancy status of the cow is usually unknown until after it has been slaughtered and the uterus exposed. In slaughterhouses where fetal blood is collected, technicians are responsible for the detection and proper handling of fetuses, making sure they remain inside the uterus until dead, or are immediately euthanized. The harvesting of fetal blood also provides a possible source of information, which upon request, may help farmers improve the management of their livestock operations. The serum industry endorses the animal welfare standards set forth by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), as well as all existing local and national standards relating to the transportation of pregnant cattle and the collection of fetal blood. This article concludes that there is nothing negative or unethical about collecting blood from a dead fetus. Rather it would be unethical not to utilize available fetal tissues obtained from the slaughter of pregnant cattle, especially since FBS, used as an ingredient in cell culture media, contributes greatly to the advancement of the life sciences industry, as well as the replacement and reduction of live animals used in research and testing…

Regulatory Research

How much new business does it take to add $100,000 or even $1 million to the bottom line? Even with tax deadlines looming for companies that filed extensions, there is still time to maximize the benefits of all available tax credits and incentives. A powerful tax incentive known as the research and development (R&D) tax credit is available in the United States at both the federal and state levels to help manufacturers recover a significant amount of R&D costs…

Manufacturing Research

Propagation and culturing of animal cells is fundamental to biomedical research. Over the past decade, there has been an increased demand for cell lines for usage as both research tools and models by academic and industrial scientists. Cell culture is a critical tool in such areas as cell biology, gene therapy, genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics. The increased demand for cells and cell-based assays has triggered a remarkable boost in cell culture activities, which in turn has lead to a greater incidence of misidentified and contaminated cell cultures…

Research

Fresh on the heels of Mission #3 at the stiflingly hot Death Valley National Park, the ARTEL Extreme Pipetting Expedition team looked forward to visiting the temperate and humid Olympic National Park. Known for its lush, rainforest-like conditions, Olympic is home to 266 glaciers, more than 60 miles of rugged Pacific coastline, and over 140 inches of rainfall each year. It also has the Northwest’s largest remaining acreage of undisturbed rain forests…

Research

As the ARTEL Extreme Pipetting Expedition team set out for Mission #3, only one thing was certain — it was about to get much hotter. Heading to Death Valley National Park in the desert spanning Nevada and California, the Expedition’s goal was to test the effect of dry heat on pipetted volumes. As the sun beat down and the temperature rose, the cold temperatures of Mt. Washington (Mission #1) and the mild climate at Yellowstone National Park (Mission #2) seemed like distant memories to the Expedition team…

Research

Beginning with the production of the very first ­recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecule in 1972 and continuing through the ­following decade, DNA-focused molecular biology researchers firmly positioned themselves on the cutting edge of ­scientific inquiry. With each passing day, month and year, these researchers made ­significant leaps forward in understanding, modifying and manipulating the key roles that DNA plays in all living organisms. Some of the key milestones…

Nucleic Acids Research

In October 8, 2008, the Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded to Osamu Shimomura, Martin Chalfie, and Roger Tsien ­ostensibly for the discovery, cloning, and applications of green-fluorescent protein (GFP). This protein is ­associated with bioluminescence in ­coelenterates, including jellyfish and sea­ pansies. This award is as much a ­celebration of basic research as it is an acknowledg­ement of the achievements of three ­accomplished researchers…

Research

After braving the home of the world’s worst weather to study the affect of barometric pressure on pipette volumes, the ARTEL Extreme Pipetting Expedition team embarked on its next mission to explore the impact of another environmental condition on laboratory data. The destination: Yellowstone National Park, boasting the world’s largest active geyser field, and more than 10,000 geysers, steam vents and mud pots. The ARTEL team landed in the 2.2 million acre park and realized they were certainly not in Mount Washington, New Hampshire anymore (the venue for Mission #1). As hot springs bubbled and a geyser spewed steam up to 135 feet in the air just a short distance from Expedition members, the thermal variation at Yellowstone National P­­­ark was evident…

Research

One cold day in early winter, a group of scientists prepared to trek to the top of Mount Washington, the highest peak in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. At an elevation of 6,288 feet, this mountain is known as the “home of the world’s worst weather.” Clocking the globe’s highest recorded surface wind speed of 231 miles per hour, an average year-round temperature that is below freezing, and 21 feet of snow per year, Mount Washington is no paradise. Despite these extremes, ARTEL scientists loaded their equipment and prepared for the three-hour journey to the summit…

Research

As scientific research has become more sophisticated, the field of bioinformatics — where computer technology and biology meet — has become increasingly critical to our understanding of the natural world. Entire databases of biological data are ­created, indexed, organized, and analyzed, requiring sophisticated and robust tools. Bioinformatics often make use of mathematical computations, ­algorithms, artificial intelligence, modeling, and other complex applications…

Bioinformatics Research