Quantitative microscopy, stereology, and virtual slides in biological research
Our latest webinar “Introduction to WormLab” is now available for streaming. Go to our website to watch Dr. Susan Hendricks and Vice President Jeff Sprenger demonstrate WormLab, our new software for tracking and analyzing the behavior of C. elegans.
Find out more about how WormLab can help with your research by visiting our WormLab page at mbfbioscience.com. Contact us for a free trial or for a quote!
To find out about upcoming webinars, like MBF Bioscience on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
Music training benefits babies’ brains
“Early musical training benefits children even before they can walk or talk, says the first-ever study of its kind.”
www.khaleejtimes.com (05/13/2012)
Journey to the centre of the brain
“Researchers have a goal so ambitious it is almost unthinkable – learning how all 85 billion neurons in the human brain are wired up.” The Sydney Morning Herald reports of Harvard University Neuroscientist Dr. Jeff Lichtman’s Connectome Project.
www.smh.com.au (05/10/2012)
Reducing brain activity improves memory after cognitive decline
“A study led by a Johns Hopkins neuroscientist suggests a potential new therapeutic approach for improving memory and interrupting disease progression in patients with a form of cognitive impairment that often leads to full-blown Alzheimer’s disease.”
esciencenews.com (05/10/2012)
Why We Talk About Ourselves: The Brain Likes It
“Science has now proved what kindergarten teachers, reality-show fans and Catholic priests discover anew every day: humans can’t help talking about themselves. It just feels too good.”
healthland.time.com (05/08/2012)
Study finds psychopaths have distinct brain structure
“Scientists who scanned the brains of men convicted of murder, rape and violent assaults have found the strongest evidence yet that psychopaths have structural abnormalities in their brains.”
www.chicagotribune.com (05/07/2012)
Learn how to use WormLab, our new software for tracking and analyzing the movement of C. elegans by taking our free webinar, Thursday, May 10, at 12pm EDT. Staff Scientist Dr. Susan Hendricks and Vice President of Research and Development Jeffrey Sprenger will lead an hour-long practical demonstration that will include:
• the detection, tracking, and analysis of single or multiple worms, even during interaction events;
• viewing the many metrics and behaviors that are automatically calculated, including worm count, speed, direction, reversals, and omega bends;
• capturing videos of worms on agar plates; and automatically loading and analyzing these videos.
Released last month, WormLab is a user-friendly new tool that facilitates the analysis of C. elegans locomotive behavior. Our Introduction to WormLab webinar will provide an excellent overview to the software, while providing current and prospective users an opportunity to ask any questions they may have.
Please register in advance for the free webinar, and visit the WormLab page on our website for more information about the software and to watch a video demonstration.
Brain Scans Give Glimpse of How Your Dog Thinks
“Brain scans of dogs could give researchers a new tool for studying what happens in the mind of man’s best friend.”
www.wired.com (05/04/2012)
Injection offers Alzheimer’s hope
“Hopes have been raised for new Alzheimer’s treatments after scientists found an injection could stop the body from killing brain cells by “cutting off” their protein supply.”
www.telegraph.co.uk (05/07/2012)
Did a Copying Mistake Make Humans So Smart?
“Mistakes made during cell division long ago may have lead to the sophistication of the modern human”
news.discovery.com (05/06/2012)
Omega-3 Fatty Acids May Lower Alzheimer’s Risk, Study Suggests
“Foods high in omega-3s could help to protect your brain as you age, a new study suggests.”
www.huffingtonpost.com (05/06/2012)
UVM researcher goes inside the brains of teenagers
“Just what is it that goes on in the brain of an impulsive, risk-taking teenager? Thirty-two international researchers — including two from the University of Vermont — have managed to shed some light on this question.”
www.burlingtonfreepress.com (04/29/2012)
The Bilingual Brain Is Sharper and More Focused, Study Says
“The ability to speak two languages can make bilingual people better able to pay attention than those who can only speak one language, a new study suggests.”
blogs.wsj.com (04/30/2012)
Study Sheds Light on How Birds Navigate by Magnetic Field
“Researchers have identifying cells in a pigeon’s brain that record detailed information on the earth’s magnetic field.”
www.nytimes.com (04/26/2012)
Link between cell phones and cancer may be unjustified
“A new U.K. science review says not to worry about brain tumors while chatting on mobile phones because “evidence overall has not demonstrated any adverse effects on human health.”
news.cnet.com (04/26/2012)
Blood Flow Fingered in Ice Cream Headaches
“The anterior cerebral artery widens just before brain freeze, sending warming blood to the brain but increasing the pressure to painful levels.”
www.scientificamerican.com (04/25/2012)
Religion & Brain: Belief Decreases With Analytical Thinking, Study Shows
“A new study finds that prompting people to engage in analytical thinking can cause their religious beliefs to waver, if only a little.”
www.huffingtonpost.com (04/27/2012)
Scientists to build entire ‘human brain’
Scientists are to create the world’s first simulation of a whole human brain, using the most powerful computer built.
www.nation.co.ke (04/27/2012)
Name: Erica Cannon
Position: Operations Administrator
How long have you been working at MBF Bioscience? 4.5 years
What does your job entail? I work with a team of four people in the operations department. One of my biggest responsibilities is handling new orders. This involves processing, ordering equipment, invoicing, and shipping.
I handle most of the company’s shipments including international shipments which can get pretty involved due to the customs regulations for the many different countries we sell our systems to. I also arrange the freight transportation of our equipment to trade shows we attend to ensure our equipment stays safe and arrives at each show on time. I also help answer the phones and have the pleasure of assisting colleagues and customers with their various needs.
What do you love most about your job? Learning. I learn something new every day! A new day brings a new experience whether it be running errands for the office or spending the day wrapped-up in international shipping documentation. I love the pace of my daily tasks which vary from day to day. The variety of my day keeps me interested and engaged.
Tell us about the last vacation you took. I brought my two boys to Hampton Beach, New Hampshire to see the ocean. Seeing them experience the ocean for the first time was amazing. They wandered the beach for hours looking for any living sea creatures and were absolutely amazed at how many crabs and starfish they saw. I love sharing new adventures with my children every year.
How do you spend your free time? My family has a small backyard sugar house. Each spring, we tap the trees, collect the sap, boil, and bottle all by hand. During the summer months, I love to go camping. I love being outdoors and spending time with my friends and family.
If you enjoyed this article, like MBF Bioscience on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
How Exercise Could Lead to a Better Brain
“For more than a decade, neuroscientists and physiologists have been gathering evidence of the beneficial relationship between exercise and brainpower. But the newest findings make it clear that this isn’t just a relationship; it is the relationship.”
www.nytimes.com (04/18/2012)
No ‘God Spot’ In Brain, Spirituality Linked To Right Parietal Lobe
“Scientists have speculated that the human brain features a “God spot,” one distinct area of the brain responsible for spirituality. Now, University of Missouri researchers have completed research that indicates spirituality is a complex phenomenon, and multiple areas of the brain are responsible for the many aspects of spiritual experiences.”
www.huffingtonpost.com (04/20/2012)
Brain Implant Helps Paralyzed Hand Move
“Scientists at Northwestern University built a device that can send signals from the brain directly to paralyzed muscles, causing them to move by thought.”
news.discovery.com (04/21/2012)
Porn-Brain Study: Erotic Movies Make Brain Regions ‘Shut Down’
“Watching pornography would seem to be a vision-intensive task. But new research finds that looking at erotic movies can actually quiet the part of the brain that processes visual stimuli.”
www.huffingtonpost.com (04/18/2012)
Neuroscientists discover key protein responsible for controlling nerve cell protection
“A key protein, which may be activated to protect nerve cells from damage during heart failure or epileptic seizure, has been found to regulate the transfer of information between nerve cells in the brain.”
www.healthcanal.com (04/22/2012)
Brain Tumor Vaccine Shows Promise in Early Trial
“A vaccine made from brain cancer patients’ own tumor cells led to a nearly 50 percent improvement in survival times for those stricken with glioblastoma multiforme, the same malignancy that claimed the life of U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, a new study suggests.”
health.usnews.com (04/17/2012)
{Photo Credit: Mike Baird from Morro Bay, USA Mike Baird bairdphotos.com [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons}
There’s a groundbreaking new tool in town. It’s called WormLab and it’s going to revolutionize the way scientists analyze the behavior of C. elegans – tiny worms used as model organisms in research studies.
WormLab helps scientists analyze the locomotion and behavior of C. elegans by providing precise information and analyses about their speed, direction, position, and wavelength. The software can track multiple worms as they interact and become entangled, giving scientists more data than what they would find in other software options.
“WormLab provides a user independent way to objectively measure phenotypes. This is a significant advance for quantitative phenotyping packaged in a user friendly platform,” said University of Washington Research Biologist Dr. Brian Kraemer.
Learn more about WormLab by:
…And keep checking back for an announcement about an upcoming webinar on WormLab.
Matisse was a neuroscientist
“Modern art is an explosion of colors, smooth lines, flat portraits — and it turns out, neuroscience. It also once triggered some strong psychology”
www.tucsoncitizen.com (04/14/2012)
Groundbreaking Brain Injection For Parkinson’s Disease Brings Fresh Hope To Sufferers
“A brand new form of ‘gene therapy’ for Parkinson’s disease has excited experts today, after it was revealed that it could revolutionise the way the neurodegenerative disease is treated.”
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk (04/12/2012)
UW work helps pinpoint autism indicator in infants’ brains
“In what appears to be the earliest biomarker for autism, researchers at the University of Washington and other study sites found differences in brain “wiring” of children just 6 months old.”
seattletimes.nwsource.com (04/14/2012)
Researchers Map Brain Regions Linked to Intelligence
“Study of head injury patients helps identify regions involved in thinking abilities”
health.usnews.com (04/13/2012)
Personality Traits Correlate With Brain Activity
“Patterns of brain activity reflect our character”
www.scientificamerican.com (04/14/2012)
Image: Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
MBF Bioscience Vice President of Research Jeff Sprenger captured this exceptional image of c.elegans worms while testing out the Lumenera CCD Lu135M digital camera. He was working with our new WormLab software, which is set for release next week. Here Jeff shares the details about how he captured the image:
This image was captured on our experimental WormLab setup, using a macro-imaging stand and setup devised here at MBF Bioscience. The c. elegans worms are trapped in a drop of liquid on an agar plate (60mm petri dish). We’re testing a Lumenera CCD Lu135M digital camera, using an exposure time of 120 ms and gain of 2.0X with no gamma adjustment for this image. The lens is a Canon Macro zoom MPE-65mm, with c-mount adapter. The light source is an MBF Bioscience LED light plate, with a custom diaphragm and polarizing filter to increase contrast.
WormLab, software for tracking crawling microscopic worms, is set for official release next week. C. elegans (caenorhabditis elegans) are commonly used by geneticists and neuroscientist to study life span, regulation of metabolism, behavior and development.
Learn more about WormLab on our website.
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