In an 18-month period, 249 samples of amniotic fluid were used experimentally in attempts to enhance success in cell cultures. None ofthe experimental situations proved entirely satisfactory in this aim. Emphasis is laid on the quality ofserum used in culture. Particularly satisfactory serum should be retained for use in amniotic fluid cell cultures which are dependent on unknown growth stimula...

Recent analysis of genetic alterations in human cancer points to a major role for selection in neoplastic development but provides few details about the dynamics of the process. Many such details, however, have emerged from quantitative studies of spontaneous transformation among mammalian cells in culture. The chief insight of these studies is that there is a continuous generation of variants ...

Gelatinous zooplankton are the least understood of all planktonic animal groups. This is partly due to their fragility, which typically precludes the capture of intact specimens with nets or trawls. Specialized tools and techniques have been developed that allow researchers and aquarists to collect intact gelatinous animals at sea and to maintain many of these alive in the laboratory. This pape...

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To identify novel inhibitors of tyrosinase, a fluorescent assay was developed which is suitable for high-throughput screening. In the assay, oxidation of the substrate by tyrosinase leads to the release of a fluorescent coumarin. Several small molecules were identified that inhibited mushroom tyrosinase in vitro and human tyrosinase in cell culture. These compounds may represent lead structures...

Surveillance requires time for analysis and for the communication to physicians. In order to reduce this delay, a new surveillance system based on the use of a near patient test (NPT) has been evaluated. The high specificity of NPT together with the rapidity in obtaining the results, make these tests attractive for surveillance of influenza epidemic in community practice. Such surveillance has ...

Optophysiological imaging methods can be used to record the activity in vivo of groups of neurons from particular areas of the nervous system (e.g. the brain) or of cell cultures. Such methods are used, for example, in the spatio-temporal coding and processing of sensory information. However, the data generated by optophysiological methods must be processed carefully if relevant results are to ...