454 Life Sciences' Sequencing System Provides New Avenue in Prostate Cancer Research.
HEALTH AND BEAUTY CLOSE-UP-21 August 2008-454 Life Sciences' Sequencing System Provides New Avenue in Prostate Cancer Research(C)2008 - CloseUpMedia - newsdesk@closeupmedia.com Using the Genome Sequencer FLX system from 454 Life Sciences, a Roche company, investigators have identified a number of genetic variations potentially linked to prostate, breast,...

AOAC signs contract with NIST to revise sampling standard for collection of powders.
AOAC signed on May 16, 2008, the Association's first contract with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST; Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA) to revise ASTM E2458-06, Standard Practices for Bulk Sample Collection and Swab Sample Collection of Visible Powders Suspected of Being Biological Agents from Nonporous Surfaces (the current...

National awards.
Order of the Golden Microscope Judith Smith, MT North Carolina Medallion of Merit Bobbie-Rose Wilson, RMA Florida Technologist of the Year Julia Hardcastle, MT Kentucky RMA of the Year Polly Miller, RMA Missouri ...

Meetings.
September 22, 2008: Japan Section, AOAC Annual Meeting, Dallas Hyatt Regency, Dallas, Texas, USA (6:00 p.m. in Cumberland H). Contact: Takatoshi (Thomas) Moriyama, Tel: +81-3-3709-8289, tmoriyama1@mmm.com September 22, 2008: Latin American Section, AOAC Annual Meeting, Dallas Hyatt Regency, Dallas, Texas, USA (6:00 p.m. in Cumberland I). Contact:...

AOAC Board of Directors disbands inactive Peer-Verified Methods program.
With no activity in the Peer-Verified Methods[SM] (PVM) program for years and no prospect of AOAC issuing any new PVMs in the foreseeable future, the AOAC Board of Directors (BOD) recently voted unanimously to disband the methods program. The BOD's decision during its meeting on July 10-11, in Gaithersburg,...

Breeding range extension of the Coastal Plain Swamp Sparrow.
The Coastal Plain Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana nigrescens) is restricted to tidal fresh and brackish marshes of the mid-Atlantic coast. The form is distinctive in having a larger bill, grayer plumage, and more black in the crown and nape compared to other Swamp Sparrows (Bond and Stewart 1951, Greenberg...

First report of Ochetosoma aniarum (digenea: Ochetosomatidae) from the Brazos water snake, Nerodia harteri (Serpentes: Colubridae), in Texas, with a summary of definitive hosts of this parasite.
The Brazos water snake, Nerodia harteri, is a medium-sized colubrid endemic to the Brazos River system of 11 counties of northcentral Texas (Dorcas & Mendelson 1991; Conant & Collins 1998; Dixon 2000; Werler & Dixon 2000; Ernst & Ernst 2003). Discovered in 1936 in Palo Pinto County in the...

Osiris completes sale of Osteocel to NuVasive.
Following shareholder approval of the deal, Osiris Therapeutics Inc completed the sale of its Osteocel business to NuVasive Inc in a transaction worth up to US$137 million (see Biomedical Materials, June 2008). A motion for a temporary restraining order filed by Orthofix to prevent the closing was...

Workshop features process of reviewing and evaluating methods for sample collection, detection, and analysis of biological threat agents.
The newly formed AOAC Methods Committee on Biological Threat Agents (Committee L), chaired by Deborah Loveys of the Georgia Public Health Laboratory, met for the first time January 29-30, 2007, at AOAC headquarters in Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA. The 2 day training and orientation workshop was specifically designed to introduce...

USA Education, Inc./USA Funds Scholarship Program Awards $69,000 in Scholarships to Maryland Students.
INDIANAPOLIS, July 16 /PRNewswire/ -- USA Funds(R), the nation's largest student loan guarantor, and USA Education, Inc., the nation's leading provider of education funding, will jointly award 30 scholarships of $1,500 each to deserving college-bound students in Maryland. The USA Education, Inc./USA Funds Scholarship Program, formerly the...