RECENT NEWS

A new approach to the detection of immunity to Ebola virus infection has been developed by researchers in a collaboration between University College London (UCL) and Imperial College London. Published in ACS Nano, the new approach uses lateral-flow technology, coupled with smartphones to provide a promising alternative to laboratory-based testing.

Caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheriae, diphtheria is an infection the signs and symptoms of which may vary from mild to severe. They usually start two to five days after exposure. Symptoms often come on fairly gradually, beginning with a sore throat and fever. Although popularly considered a disease of the past, widespread infection in South East Asia has brought the condition in sharp focus, as did a poster on the subject displayed at the IBMS Biomedical Science Congress last year.

This year is the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the 1918 influenza pandemic (also known as Spanish flu). It was an unusually deadly influenza pandemic, the first of the two pandemics involving the H1N1 influenza virus. It infected 500 million people around the world, including remote Pacific islands and the Arctic, and resulted in the deaths of 50–100 million people, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in human history.

The fifth in the series of articles on individual aspects of the assessment of uncertainty of measurement is scheduled for publication in the February issue of Pathology in Practice, and will see Stephen MacDonald consider some of the more difficult questions that may be faced in relation to measurement uncertainty

The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) has welcomed the launch of Jabs for the Boys, an initiative that aims to increase awareness of diseases in men caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). This virus causes thousands of cases of cancer in men every year in the UK, such as p16-positive, HPV-associated squamous cell carcinoma (pictured), but there is very little public awareness of the virus, especially in relation to men.

Two of the key organisations in the UK and Russia leading efforts to combat the global problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) have announced a formal agreement to work together. The AMR Centre (AMRC), located at Alderley Park, Cheshire, is to collaborate with Russian science and technology organisation, the Skolkovo Foundation, which is based in Moscow. They will work in partnership to identify opportunities for joint UK-Russian funding to support collaborative projects between organisations in both countries.

Labcold, the UK medical refrigeration organisation, is working with Ideagen to centralise its quality management systems in order to solidify corrective action management and customer feedback. The Basingstoke-based company, which was the first blood bank refrigeration manufacturer in the UK to gain a medical device certification, is to implement Ideagen’s Q-Pulse software across its UK operations.

Ebola virus causes severe haemorrhagic fever with a high fatality rate. Human-to-human transmission is through contact with body fluids, and recent well-documented outbreaks occurred during 2013–2015 in West Africa. The natural reservoir of this RNA virus is thought to be bats, and several strains of the virus have emerged, including the Zaire, Sudan and Bundi variants.

A University of Manchester spin-out behind a medical device designed to detect life-threatening infections will begin its first clinical trial following a £1.4 million investment boost. Through its iPad mini-sized device, MicroBioSensor aims to help people with kidney failure undergoing peritoneal dialysis.

An innovative study from the University of Surrey and the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge has uncovered the secrets of the circadian rhythms in red blood cells and identified potassium as the key to unravelling the mystery.

The UK has more childhood deaths from treatable infections than comparable European countries, and new research will investigate why fatal delays in hospitalisation occurs. Sweden and Italy both have better survival rates from conditions such as pneumonia and sepsis, and the hope is that this project will identify ways to speed up admissions, and ultimately save lives.

A single protein from a worm parasite may one day offer new therapeutic options for treating inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis (pictured), which avoid the potentially serious side effects of current immunosuppressant medications. The study, published recently in Nature Communications (A structurally distinct TGF-β mimic from an intestinal helminth parasite potently induces regulatory T cells), demonstrates the discovery of a distinct new worm protein that mimics the human cytokine transforming growth factor- β (TGF-β).

Leeds Beckett University and global research and development company Axxonet Global have announced an official partnership which will see the organisations collaborate on cutting-edge medical diagnostics and technology, forensic science and digital security projects.

In the fourth in the series of Pathology in Practice articles on aspects of determining measurement uncertainty (see page 19 of the November issue), Stephen MacDonald considers internal quality control (IQC), the most commonly used method to determine MU, and focuses on imprecision.

Harvey’s Gang invites youngsters with cancer and other serious illnesses to become trainee biomedical scientists for a day, and tour pathology laboratories with their families. Now taking place in a number of NHS hospitals around the country, Harvey’s Gang laboratory tours were launched at Worthing Hospital when leukaemia sufferer Harvey Baldwin asked what happened to his blood samples.

TxCell recently announced new preclinical data in a presentation at the 18th Congress of the European Society for Organ Transplantation (ESOT), held in Barcelona last September. An oral presentation on alloantigen-specific regulatory T-cells (Treg) generated with a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) reported on development of a CAR-Treg-based cellular immunotherapy for the prevention of graft rejection in the context of solid organ transplantation.

A recently completed randomised controlled trial evaluated the real life performance and clinical utility of the Roche Elecsys sFlt-1/PlGF ratio test in the guidance of admission of patients with suspicion of pre-eclampsia (PE), a life-threatening condition in pregnant women.

New research has shown that ribonucleic acid (RNA) can be genetically engineered to allow scientists to programme the actions of a cell. As well as fighting disease and injury in humans, this technique could also be used to control plant cells and reverse environmental and agricultural issues, making plants more resilient to disease and pests. In this research, undertaken at the University of Warwick, Professor Alfonso Jaramillo and his team have shown that these molecules can be produced and organised into tailor-made sequences of commands, similar to codes for computer software.

A biomedical scientist based at the Northern General Hospital has won a prestigious award from the Science Council for continuing to meet high professional standards in her practice. Daisy Shale, who has a background in clinical chemistry, received the award in recognition of the exemplary standards she has set as a senior medical examiner’s officer.

As part of an overall managed service contract to support the largest pathology group in the UK, North West London Pathology (NWLP), announced recently by Abbott, Stago UK is to be the third-party supplier providing haemostasis solutions.