The Pittsburgh Conference 2017 will be held at the McCormick Place West Hall in Chicago from March 5 to 9. With a variety of symposia, short courses and a exhibition with over 750 companies it will mark the start of the analytical and laboratory year 2017.

Researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in the USA have mentioned in a study that women with higher levels of optimism tend to live longer. The study suggests that positive psychological factors such as optimism helps women across diverse groups to age in a healthy manner and live longer.

A new study by the University of Southern California (USC) have disclosed that stress in everyday life can quickly lead to aging of the immune system and potentially increase a person's risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease and illness from infections. Improved diet, exercise and cytomegalovirus vaccination could help to offset the immune aging associated with stress.

Despite this significant role, research into the diversity of microorganisms found in the ocean has thus far been only rudimentary. This also includes the chemical compounds they produce. Could such compounds benefit humans as well?

A robot operating with a popular Internet-based artificial intelligence system consistently gravitates to men over women, white people over people of color, and jumps to conclusions about peoples’ jobs after a glance at their face, a study led by Johns Hopkins University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and University of Washington researchers finds.

Researchers at the Riken Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research in Japan have created a robotic artificial intelligence (AI) system for autonomously determining the optimal conditions for growing replacement retina layers necessary for vision. The system was used to conduct a trial-and-error process which helped in improving cell culture recipes used in regenerative medicine.

Scientists at the UC Riverside and the University of Delaware have developed a process by which plants can produce food without the need of sunlight. Artificial photosynthesis is a process which is carried out in the dark and can help to increase food production across the globe. Interestingly, it also has the potential to grow food on Mars.

Peristaltic pumps find wide application in modern labs, they are considered inexpensive, easy to use and maintain and, most important of all, are extremely reliable and flexible. The range of application is huge, from simple transfer of a liquid from one container to another in HPLC and Ion chromatographs, to more complex usage as dispensing tools for reagents in flow chemistry. Despite all known limitations related to inferior performance in presence of high back pressure, peristaltic pumps can be considered the ‘go to’ choice for lab pumps, easy to adapt to specific tasks just by the selection of different tube internal diameter (I.D) and materials.

Memmert has recently introduced its new brand – m360 for custom-made products in the field of temperature and climate control technology. Focusing on international customers, the brand aims to assist industry players looking for specialised solutions by providing them with products that are not available in the market.

Researchers at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust) have partnered with scientists at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (Jamstec) to carry out research on the red sea. The team is making use of specialized technologies in order to better understand the deep-water environment.

A new technique developed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) uses artificial intelligence to efficiently update the vegetation maps that are relied on by wildfire computer models to accurately predict fire behavior and spread.

Due to global warming, temperatures in the Arctic are climbing rapidly. As a result, the treeline for Siberian larch forests is steadily advancing to the north, gradually supplanting the broad expanses of tundra which are home to a unique mix of flora and fauna.

Reef health can be measured with the help of sound recordings. Scientists at the University of Exeter conducted a study in which a computer algorithm was trained to identify healthy and degraded reefs based on numerous recordings. The result showed that the computer successfully identified reef health 92 % of the time.

Product recalls not only cause financial damage, but can also lead to image loss and severely damage trade relations. This applies particularly to food production. Minebea Intec, a leading manufacturer of weighing and inspection solutions, offers products that minimize the risk of recalls, helping plant constructors and manufacturers in the food industry to safeguard production processes.

Indian scientists have identified the next-generation probiotic bacterium Lactobacillus Plantarum JBC5 from a dairy product which is expected to promote healthy aging. To make this probiotic bacterium accessible to the common man, the team has developed a yogurt which can be consumed in order to enjoy the health benefits.

Healthy adults who eat a diverse diet with at least 8-10 grams of soluble fiber a day have fewer antibiotic-resistant microbes in their guts, according to a study published by Agricultural Research Service scientists and their colleagues in mBio.

Thermo Fisher Scientific has introduced its new Dionex Ionpac CS21 ion exchange column which offers reliable, accurate and compliant food safety analysis. The ion exchange column will enable in quat pesticide determination and quantitation workflows to protect food supply.

People who received at least one influenza vaccine were 40 percent less likely than their non-vaccinated peers to develop Alzheimer’s disease over the course of four years, according to a new study from UT Health Houston.

Researchers at the UT Southwestern Medical Center have developed a blood test to predict the risk of liver cancer in patients that have the nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. The protein levels in the blood samples of these patients determine if they can develop the deadly disease.

Researchers at the Baylor College of Medicine, Stanford School of Medicine as well as other institutions have identified a molecule in the blood which is produced during exercise and helps to reduce food intake and obesity.

Over-the-counter Covid tests can quickly show whether you are infected with SARS-CoV-2. But if you have a positive result, there’s no equivalent at-home test to assess how long you’re protected against reinfection. Researchers now report a simple, accurate glucose-meter-based test incorporating a novel fusion protein.

A density determination can be carried out with a balance. A new poster by Mettler Toledo gives tips on how to set up the density measurement.

Today’s busy laboratories are under pressure to produce, and spilled materials are often an unwelcome show-stopper when weighing. Not anymore. With an new patented lattice weighing pan, laboratory workers keep working while maintaining the accuracy your process requires to enhance productivity and throughput.

Weighing is an important act in every laboratory — but it can become tedious and even uncomfortable. The design of the new, smaller XPR Analytical balance gives a deeper access to the weighing chamber.

Laboratory technicians often don't know which test weights and weight class they should choose to check the performance of their balances and scales. The free Mettler Toledo GWP Recommendation service specifies the correct test weights and weight class based on the degree of accuracy you need to satisfy your specific process tolerances.