Source: Laser Focus World

Conventional images of biomolecules, cellular components, and similar targets come with two severe drawbacks: they exist in two dimensions and at a single point in time. Several research groups have now begun to develop optical technologies that yield images in extra dimensions. Three new methods in particular are providing new ways of viewing difficult-to-detect structures in three dimensions and monitoring them over time.

A group at Harvard University (Cambridge, MA) has adapted its stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM) fluorescence technique to provide extraordinarily clear 3-D images of cells’ interiors. Led by Xiaowei Zhuang, professor of chemistry and chemical biology and of physics and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, the team developed STORM in 2006.

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Source:optics.org

Researchers have shown that high-dispersion mirrors can replace prisms and gratings to produce efficient laser output from a compact source.

Ti:sapphire femtosecond lasers currently use optical systems based on prisms or diffraction gratings to stretch and recompress pulses before and after amplification. These optical systems are complex, rather lossy and alignment sensitive. Researchers from Ferenc Krausz’s group at the Ludwig-Maximilians University and Max-Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, both in Garching, Germany, believe high-dispersion mirrors (HDMs) are the solution (Optics Express 16 10220).

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Source:optics.org

Researchers have built the first deformable liquid mirror from a magnetic liquid, which could be used to help astronomers to correct for atmospheric aberration.

A team of scientists in Canada have for the first time engineered a liquid mirror that changes shape according to an applied magnetic field. The group from the Centre of Optics, Photonics and Lasers at Laval University in Quebec believes that its deformable mirror could be used to compensate for distortion in the images of telescopes and other optical devices (arXiv:0807.2397).

Liquid mirrors are nothing new. The Large Zenith Telescope in Canada, for example, has a 6 m-diameter mirror that is a rotating dish filled with mercury. As the mercury spins around, its profile forms a perfect parabola.

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Source: Biophotonics International, July

Ever smaller endoscopic tools are improving the way surgeons will visualize tissue and perform operations without large incisions.

On y parle du groupe du gastroenterologste Dr Michael Wallace du Mayo Clinic qui utilise le produit de Mauna Kea, page 27!

Source: Biophotonics.com

Researchers at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., have developed a flow cytometer that relies on a microfluidic chip and coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS). Although in its early stages, their work offers the potential of the increased sensitivity of the CARS signal as well as the small sample size and versatility of microfluidics.

Flow cytometers are one of the mainstays of chemical analysis. They can analyze thousands of cells or other analytes rapidly and then sort them based on the analysis. They typically are used to tag a target cell with a fluorescent label. Then, as that cell moves through the flow and fluoresces, it can be counted selectively and sorted from the flow.
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Acambis accepts £276M takeover by Sanofi-Aventis
Sanofi-Aventis agreed to pay £276 million to acquire Acambis, a British vaccine manufacturer. The French company’s Sanofi Pasteur unit has been working with Acambis to develop and market vaccines against dengue, Japanese encephalitis and West Nile virus. The takeover is “a logical step” that builds on the companies’ long-standing partnership, said Wayne Pisano, CEO of Sanofi Pasteur. Financial Times (free content) (7/25)

Courtesy: Bio Smart Brief

July 25, 2008
Sanofi-aventis to acquire Acambis
Last Updated:July 25, 2008 17:14

Sanofi pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis, and Acambis announced that they entered into an agreement whereby the French company will acquire Acambis for about 276 million pounds ($549 million) in cash. As part of the deal, sanofi pasteur gains a ten-year contract won by Acambis earlier this year to supply the US government with its ACAM2000 smallpox vaccine.

Read more here.

Courtest FirstWord Plus

GSK, Harvard University enter stem cell deal worth $25M

GlaxoSmithKline agreed to invest $25 million in Harvard University’s Stem Cell Institute as part of a five-year deal to develop drug-screening techniques. Stem cell research “has great potential to aid the discovery of new medicines by improving the screening, identification and development of new compounds,” a GSK official said.

The Boston Globe (7/25)

Courtesy BioSmartBrief

Breaking News: Roche reported that it offered to acquire the remaining stake in Genentech that it doesn’t already own for $43.7 billion.

Click here for more information about this news

Courtesy First Word

Source: Virtual Journal of Ultrafast science, July 2008

Notre ami Dongjoo Lee…

Effect—and removal—of an ultrashort pulse’s spatial profile on the single-shot measurement of its temporal profile
Dongjoo Lee, Ziyang Wang, Xun Gu, and Rick Trebino
Journal of the Optical Society of America B 25,A93-A100 . Pour lire l’abstract, cliquer ici.

Rick Trebino, tres prolifique…

Measurement of Ultrashort Electromagnetic Pulses
John M. Dudley, Ian A. Walmsley, and Rick Trebino
Journal of the Optical Society of America B 25,MU1-MU2 . Lire l’Abstract .

Single-frame measurement of the complete spatiotemporal intensity and phase of ultrashort laser pulses using wavelength-multiplexed digital holography
Pablo Gabolde and Rick Trebino
Journal of the Optical Society of America B 25,A25-A33 . Lire l’Abstract

Toward single-shot measurement of a broadband ultrafast continuum
Dongjoo Lee, Pablo Gabolde, and Rick Trebino
Journal of the Optical Society of America B 25,A34-A40 . Lire l’Abstract

Simulations of frequency-resolved optical gating for measuring very complex pulses
Lina Xu, Erik Zeek, and Rick Trebino
Journal of the Optical Society of America B 25,A70-A80 . Lire l’Abstract

Murnane - Kapteyn…

Time-resolved momentum imaging system for molecular dynamics studies using a tabletop ultrafast extreme-ultraviolet light source
Etienne Gagnon, Arvinder S. Sandhu, Ariel Paul, Kim Hagen, Achim Czasch, Till Jahnke, Predrag Ranitovic, C. Lewis Cocke, Barry Walker, Margaret M. Murnane, and Henry C. Kapteyn
Review of Scientific Instruments 79,063102 (14 pages)

Source: Optics.org

A development of Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography allows high-resolution non-contact imaging of the eye that could help glaucoma diagnosis.

A team at Duke University has shown for the first time that a full-range Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography (FDOCT) system can provide high-speed high-resolution in vivo imaging of the eye’s anterior drainage chamber.

“This provides a tool to improve our understanding of the pathogenesis of narrow angle glaucoma, and may allow new research into open angle glaucoma as well,” Sanjay Asrani of the University’s Medical Centre told optics.org.

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Source: Laser Focus World

A research team at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH; Boston, MA) has developed a laser-based technique that, because it can visualize deposits of plaque, macrophages, and other dangerous components inside coronary arteries quickly, accurately, and in three dimensions, holds the promise of helping to diagnose the early stages of heart disease in real time. The technique-optical frequency-domain imaging (OFDI)-has proved successful in initial tests on live pigs. Now, its developers have started the first clinical trials of the method on human patients. These include a project in collaboration with doctors at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, MA.

If the trials and subsequent research prove successful, the technology would give cardiologists a fresh, noninvasive diagnostic tool. “This is a fundamentally new way of looking at coronary disease,” Gary Tearney, associate professor in the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at MGH, told a seminar in Boston University’s Photonics Center.

The method also has potential for detecting early signs of certain cancers, such as that of the esophagus. Ultimately, the developers suggest, it might be possible to link OFDI with the delivery of laser treatment for cancers detected in their early stages. “Our hope is that, through one minimally invasive probe, clinicians will be able to diagnose and precisely treat diseased tissue while sparing adjacent healthy tissue,” explains Tearney’s colleague Brett Bouma.

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Source: Boston Business Journal

More foreign tech cos. see geographic advantage in Massachusetts.Greater Boston’s mix of technology companies has always been diverse, but recently it has developed a distinct international flavor.

A combination of a weak dollar and strong desire to tap the U.S. market has many foreign firms, particularly from Europe, jumping at the opportunity to set up U.S. or North American headquarters. And while Silicon Valley and other tech hubs are also vying for the facilities, Boston has a distinct geographic advantage.

“California or Boston, either one of those places has the talent. (But) with easy access by air (to Switzerland), we have the advantage,” said Nicholas Economou, president of the ALIS business unit of Switzerland’s Carl Zeiss SMT, which moved its U.S. headquarters to Peabody. “The East Coast is definitely the place to be if you’re from Europe.”

(…)

Helping global companies make the move are a number of foreign economic development arms that, with the state, provide a go-between for those looking to put down roots in the area.

“A lot of companies are looking for access to the U.S. market,” said Prya Radhakrishnan of HubTech 21, a Cambridge group that helps smaller Parisian life sciences and optical electronics companies locate in the area. “(A weak U.S. dollar) definitely makes things easier. It always requires an investment to come here, and the euro goes a lot farther now.”

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Source: Site RTEC

Rudolph Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: RTEC), a leading provider of process characterization equipment and software for both front-end and back-end inspection and metrology solutions, today pre-announced that its second quarter 2008 revenue will exceed the high end of Company guidance and finish above $38 million. Earnings per share guidance for the second quarter 2008 remains unchanged. Furthermore, the Company now anticipates quarterly sequential revenue growth in the 2008 third quarter.

Source; site web ESI

Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq: ESIO), a leading provider of world-class photonic and laser systems for micro-engineering applications, today introduced “Cignis,” a laser-based system for wafer singulation. The system utilizes ESI’s patented technology and includes a picosecond, “Ultrafast” laser to enable fully automated wafer scribing and full-cut dicing, on a variety of processes, and provides high-performance and high yields. Production shipments of the system are expected to begin during the Company’s third fiscal 2009 quarter.

(…)

Cignis provides fully automated scribing and full-cut dicing of wafers of up to 400 microns in thickness. The system is optimized for wafers that are 100 microns or less. Cignis features one of the most powerful picosecond lasers to provide true cold ablation, with minimal heat-affected zone (HAZ), debris, and industry-leading throughput. Also, the tool can be integrated into existing production lines. The application of high-powered, “Ultrafast” lasers, coupled with ESI’s patented and world-class beam positioning approach, delivers superior performance.

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Source: optics.org

An unprecedented near-uniform supercontinuum spanning 270 to 1000 nm will help researchers gain an insight into electron motion.

Near-uniform supercontinuum

By sending laser pulses with a duration of just 5 femtoseconds through a helium cell held at high pressure, researchers have created a coherent supercontinuum with near-uniform spectral intensity spanning the range 270 to 1000 nm. The result relies on a process known as self-channeling and gives the team a new tool with which to explore electron motion inside atoms (Optics Letters 33 1407).

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La pub pour SL-Sysneo d’Imagine Optic dans le Laser Focus World de ce mois-ci, en page 79!

Source: Military and Aerospace

ICx Technologies, a developer of advanced sensor technologies for homeland security, force protection, and commercial applications, won a $14 million contract as part of the U.S Army’s multibillion dollar Base Expeditionary Targeting and Surveillance Sensors-Combined (BETSS-C) program, run by the Asymmetric Warfare Office.

ICx’ Cerberus towers are integrated mobile surveillance units that combine advanced, high-resolution radars with thermal and imaging cameras on a common software platform, making it easier to identify and track potential intruders.

ICx developed Cerberus jointly with the Army’s RDECOM, CERDEC Night Vision, Electronic Sensors Directorate, and Customs and Border Patrol. Twenty-two Cerberus units will be deployed to provide advanced security by providing superior situational awareness on flexible, mobile platforms for bases in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Our military is facing the new reality of asymmetric warfare that requires superior situational awareness. Combining and integrating advanced sensors on mobile platforms will become an increasingly important tool for our troops to fight those challenges,” says Adam Strange, president of ICx Tactical Platforms.

Source: Federal Computer Week

The MDA COI got under way with the Navy and Coast Guard providing executive sponsorship. The focus then shifted to technology. The group chose service-oriented architecture as the technical underpinning for sharing AIS data. The goal was to share an infrastructure and Web services rather than linking data sources through one-off, point-to-point integrations.

A company called Solers is using the Defense Information Systems Agency’s Net-Centric Enterprise Services, said Trey Rhiddlehoover, the company’s director of Global Information Grid solutions. The Arlington, Va.-based company has a contract with the Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center.
DISA’s Net-Centric Enterprise Services aims to provide a SOA-based mechanism for data sharing.

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Source: optics.org

An optical tweezer has for the first time been engineered to move nanometre-sized particles.

Researchers have made the first nano-optical tweezers that can trap and move objects on the nanoscale. Said to offer many advantages over traditional optical tweezers, the new technique could open the way to manipulating fragile biological cells and making structures from nanoscale building blocks (Nature Photonics 2 365).

Traditional optical tweezers, which have been around for decades, are one of the most important modern-day tools in biology, physics and chemistry. They work by trapping micron-scale objects near the focus of a laser beam. The technique allows objects to be picked up and moved to another place using just light.

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Source: optics.org

An image-guided femtosecond laser is allowing surgeons to remove individual cancer cells while adjacent cells remain intact

Researchers from the universities of Texas and Stanford, US, have demonstrated a miniaturized probe that enables ablation of single cells and subcellular structures at high precision. The tool combines two-photon microscopy and femtosecond laser microsurgery in a 10 x 15 x 40 mm housing (Optics Express 16 9996).

In the approach, high-energy pulses sear the targeted cell so rapidly and accurately that the heat has no time to spread and damage nearby healthy cells. To fully realize the technique’s clinical potential, however, this ablation process needs to be guided and monitored by an equally precise and penetrating 3D imaging technique, such as two-photon fluorescence microscopy.

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Analysts predict more M&A as capital shrinks

By John Carroll

A shortage of new money is likely to drive more and more life sciences companies into mergers and acquisitions, say some of the industry’s top analysts. Money raised from IPOs, venture capital companies and stock sales dropped to a meager $6.5 billion in the first half of this year, less than a third of the amount posted in the first half of last year. And they cited Invitrogen’s acquisition of Applied Biosystems as a prime example of what lies ahead.

Two bright spots: Expanding markets in China and India will help the field as the U.S. economy softens and federal funding of the NIH will grow regardless of who is elected.

Related Articls:
Biotech M&A has yet to reach its peak
Should Pharma take the M&A cure?
Pharma goes mad for biotech deals
Burrill bullish on M&As
M&A activity heats up as biotech IPOs struggle

Courtesy: Fierce Biotech

Imgine Optic, “star product” dans la newsletter d’optics.org!

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The complete solution for precise wavefront characterization of miniature high NA optics.
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Source: Military and Aerospace

FLIR Systems in Wilsonville, Ore., will supply 12 of the company’s ThermoVision 2000 long-range thermal infrared imaging sensor systems to the Malaysian Ministry of Defense for a thermal camera surveillance network that will support a counter-insurgency network along the Malaysian coastline, FLIR officials announced.

Officials of the Malaysian MOD chose the ThermoVision 2000 forward-looking infrared (IR) system because of its reliability and range performance, even in smoke and dust, FLIR officials say. Deliveries will begin this summer.

The ThermoVision 2000 is a cooled infrared thermal imaging camera sensor with multi-sensor capabilities with a range of as far as 13 miles. The thermal imaging scope provides an autofocus option to minimize operator fatigue, and is plug-and-play compatible with multiple video networking systems.

Source: Laser Focus World

David Richardson, deputy director of the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC), University of Southampton, England, reviews the basic principles of high-power fiber-laser operation and discusses various pulse-shaping and control strategies, before giving an overview of the current state-of-the-art technology of fiber lasers operating in the nanosecond through femtosecond regimes.

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Source: Laser Focus World

The power-handling capabilities of the main amplifier in a fiber laser reveal a potential performance of gigawatt peak power at megahertz repetition rate; that is, a kilowatt of average power in a pulsed laser source with millijoule pulse energy and subpicosecond pulse duration.

Fiber-based laser systems are well known for laser architectures that offer scalable average power. Because of their outstanding efficiency, excellent light confinement in the waveguide structures, and rapid heat dissipation, several kilowatts of continuous-wave power have been demonstrated in a diffraction-limited beam.

In contrast, ultrafast fiber lasers lag behind their bulky solid-state counterparts in terms of performance and have not been considered the optimal choice for a high-peak-power laser source. Fiber-based generation of high-energy femtosecond pulses is thus the ultimate challenge; if successful, the combination of high energy and high average power would enable paramount performance.

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