Perceptive Instruments News

(1st Feb '12)Comet Assay IV: data processing is easy.

The Spreadsheet Generator is an Excel-based program which allows you to easily generate graphs and tables from the raw data produced by the Comet Assay IV program.

The Spreadsheet Generator will extract data from any number of source files you specify, create tables and draw charts.

Comet Assay IV incorporates all major measurement parameters, including Olive tail moment, tail % intensity and tail length - widely regarded as the most informative measures of DNA damage in the comet assay.

All the comet assay results files produced by the Comet Assay IV system can be used with the Spreadsheet Generator, which is supplied free with every Comet Assay IV system.

”I couldn’t imagine processing our comet data without the Spread Sheet Generator”
- CRO Scientist, UK.

“Wow, is this really free?”
- Group Leader, Germany.

Spreadsheet Generator features:

Create tables to compare data sets
Draw charts bespoke to your project’s needs
Amalgamate data from different experiments, studies or days, should you wish
Produce graphs including log transforms and frequency distribution graphs
Generate summary statistics over any set of result files you choose
Merge files for example, where there are several slides of the same dose and treatment
Compare data across dose ranges
Choose from a selection of BoxPlot and Histogram options
Flexibility to adjust chart layouts and use them in other applications (i.e. copy and paste into reports and presentations)
Customise your Spreadsheet Generator to include additional calculations and Excel charts (e.g. line and bar charts)

Find out more about the Spreadsheet Generator and Comet Assay IV.

(16th Jan '12)Comet assay website: www.scorecomets.com

Keep up-to-date with comet assay news, advice and information by regularly viewing our comet assay reference site www.scorecomets.com.

We’d love to hear from you! If you have any hints, tips or publications you would like to have featured on the site, please drop us a message at info@scorecomets.com

Check it out now!

(22nd Dec '11)Sorcerer Colony Counter in spearmint tea investigation

Spearmint (Mentha spicata) has long been considered beneficial to health. To study the anti-genotoxic effects of spearmint, the Ames test has been used.

The method involves administering two compounds simultaneously to the Salmonella strains involved within this well-known assay. The histidine-positive revertant colonies were then counted using a Sorcerer Colony Counter.

When combined with additional results, the findings of this study suggest that spearmint tea protects against the mutagenic activity of IQ (2-amino-3-methyl-3H-imidazo[4,5-f]quinolone) through the inhibition of carcinogen activation and via direct effects on the activated metabolite(s).

Read more on this story :
full case study
publication

(1st Dec '11)New reference site for the comet assay: www.scorecomets.com

Perceptive Instruments Ltd is proud to announce the launch of the new-look one-stop website for the comet assay: www.scorecomets.com. This online resource contains information regarding the comet assay method, theory and news articles detailing interesting applications for the comet assay.

Getting started... If you are new to the comet assay, there is a list of useful publications to help you begin your comet assay investigation. Also, find information on how the assay works and what equipment you will need to get started.

News and Publications... www.scorecomets.com has a news page which is kept up-to-date with interesting case studies, features and reports on recent publications and comet assay events.

Troubleshooting... If you are having issues with the comet assay, our online interactive troubleshooting guide is a good place to start problem solving.

(14th Nov '11)Where will GeneTox testing be in 30 years time?

Earlier this month, Perceptive Instruments attended the one-day event hosted by the Industrial Genotoxicology Group (IGG, a UKEMS interest group) entitled: “Where will Genetic Toxicology testing be in 30 years time?” The event was held at the Royal Society of Medicine, London, and speakers came from across the globe to share their thoughts and ideas on the future of GeneTox testing.

The intention of this year’s meeting was to highlight areas of current, on-going research that promise to advance or re-shape this field over the next decade. There was particular focus on Structure Activity Relationships (SAR) and other in silico prediction tools. The definite consensus of the delegates in attendance was that computer models to predict toxicity and efficient data sharing between groups are necessary developments for the future of GeneTox testing. The idea of using new stem-cell technology for drug discovery and toxicology was explored and there was a gripping presentation on epigenetics, one of the fastest moving fields in drug discovery. In addition, there was a presentation from the EPA defining the future of risk assessment and the use of emerging molecular and systems biology knowledge therein.

So, where will genetic toxicology be in 30 years time? The short answer is that no-one can be certain. We can be confident, that the Ames Test will remain a firm feature in the genetic toxicology testing suite and due to the rigorous legislation process involved with GeneTox testing, there will be adequate notice before any new assays are introduced. However, to speculate and to understand the recent advances and developments is interesting and will no doubt help the future of toxicology testing in the 21st century and beyond.

(28th Sep '11)New Sorcerer Colony Counter released

Sorcerer Colony Counter Perceptive Instruments is proud to announce the release of Sorcerer 3. The latest version includes a range of important enhancements and new features, making Sorcerer 3 one of the most powerful and flexible image analysis systems on the market.

Sorcerer now comes as standard with a new high resolution FireWire camera capable of detecting and measuring colonies with diameters as small as 80 microns. The new camera allows more accurate shape discrimination and object separation while retaining the live video display that allows rapid throughput of samples.

The system has been developed with reference to a wide range of regulatory guidelines and is designed to be fully compliant with Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) standards as set down by the OECD.

Sorcerer has long been established as the system of choice for many laboratories and contract research organisations that need to comply with the FDA 21 CFR part 11 regulations on electronic signatures. The new, enhanced Sorcerer 3 system boasts increased database security and heightened flexibility in data entry configuration. Users can be prompted to justify all auditable actions in a customised manner, resulting in a robust, but adaptable, approach to achieving compliance.

With Sorcerer 3's enhanced image processing functions, users can build a sequence of powerful image processing functions to extract the measurement information needed for a specific application. The system configuration can be saved so that Sorcerer can tackle a range of different applications by simply recalling the appropriate configuration.

Custom measurement frames can now be saved for reuse - this is useful for situations in which a certain area, such as a moulding mark on a Petri-dish, needs to be excluded in multiple measurements.

(26th Sep '11)Visit us at the EMS 42nd Annual Meeting and International Conference on Occupational and Environmental Health

Perceptive Instruments is sponsoring and exhibiting at both the Environmental Mutagen Society (EMS) 42^nd Annual Meeting and the International Conference on Occupational and Environmental Health (ICOEH) in October 2011.

The EMS Annual Meeting, the theme of which is “Environmental Impacts on the Genome and Epigenome: Mechanisms and Risks”, will be held in Montreal, Quebec, from 15^th-19^th October.

The ICOEH will be held in Porto, Portugal, from 17^th – 19^th October. Themes to be discussed include Occupational Exposure to Nanoparticles, Biomonitoring and Biomarkers, Epidemiology and Public Health and Occupational and Environmental Risk Assessment.

As proud sponsors of both conferences, Perceptive Instruments will also be exhibiting, giving attendees the chance to see the latest versions of Comet Assay IV, Sorcerer and Ames Study Manager software in action.

More information

EMS 4nd Annual Meeting: http://www.ems-us.org/AM2011/index.asp
ICOEH: http://icoeh2011.webnode.pt/

(23rd Sep '11)Our report on the 9th International Comet Assay Workshop

In September 2011, the 9^th International Comet Assay Workshop (ICAW) took place in Kusadasi, Turkey. The workshop is a scientist-organised, independent and successful scientific conference on the comet assay which has been established for 16 years. As proud sponsors of the workshop, Perceptive Instruments had the opportunity to demonstrate the latest version of Comet Assay IV to the delegates.

The oral presentations given over the four-day conference were of excellent quality and covered a number of interesting and exciting research fields applicable to the comet assay. In addition, sixty scientific posters were presented, and with scientists arriving from all corners of the globe (Russia, Mexico, South Africa and Malaysia, to name a few) it was sure to be an exciting opportunity to discuss the future of the comet assay in the stunning setting of Turkey

Read our full report

(25th Aug '11)New Ames Report Generator Released

An integral part of the Ames Study Manager software suite for regulatory Ames testing, the Ames Report Generator module has been re-written from the ground up with a modular approach that lets you create reports that exactly match your own requirements.

Available as a free upgrade to customers with maintenance contracts in place, the new Ames Report Generator can present data from multiple experiments and automatically merge tables into your own study reports. Perceptive Instruments will customise your reports free of charge*, helping you create reports that present data the way you want.

Customise all aspects of your reports
Integrate Ames Study Manager data within your own existing study reports
Now includes Dunnetts T-test calculations
Include information from the Ames Study Manager database anywhere in your report
Report customisation free of charge*
Report on multiple experiments within the same study simultaneously
Grant user access to individual report formats

If you are interested in upgrading to the latest version of the Ames Report Generator or just want to find out more, please get in contact via the online support area or by emailing us at support@perceptive.co.uk.

* Report customisation free of charge to customers under warranty or with maintenance contracts in place.

(27th Jul '11)9th International Comet Assay Workshop

The 9th International Comet Assay Workshop (ICAW), the latest in a successful series of conferences dedicated to the comet assay, is just around the corner. Held in Kusadasi, Turkey from 13-16th September 2011, the workshop will give attendees the opportunity to meet the leading authorities in the field and to discuss recent developments of the assay.

With sessions on theory and practice, technical advances and new applications of the comet assay, the workshop will provide the ideal forum for specialists from both the academic and industrial sectors wishing to stay at the forefront of this rapidly developing field.

As proud sponsors of the workshop, Perceptive Instruments will also be exhibiting, giving attendees the chance to see the latest version of Comet Assay IV in action.

For more information about the 9th International Comet Assay Workshop, including how to attend, please visit www.icaw2011.org.