Langton Howarth client Bio-Rad has won the praises of California University doctors after its precast gels advanced studies of the BRCA2 gene.

Dr Ryan Jensen used Bio-Rad’s Mini Protean TGX (Tris-Glycine Extended) precast gels to analyse the biochemistry of the BRCA2 protein – a product of a gene whose mutations lead to breast and ovarian cancers.

Dr Jensen had previously been using his own hand-cast polyacrylamide gels to trace the purification of BRCA2 but found higher weight proteins disappeared.

“'When I hand-poured my gels to analyse the purification of BRCA2, I wasn't always confident that it would show up,” Dr Jensen told LaboratoryTalk.com.

“With Bio-Rad's TGX gels, I could count on the fact that BRCA2 would show up every time,' he added.

“The TGX gels provide a facile solution for producing publication-quality figures.”

Find scientific jobs at companies like Bio-Rad on Langton Howarth's Job Board.

Online job sites are the preferred method of looking for a new job, according to research by Recruitment Genius.

A survey by the recruitment specialist found that 61 per cent of respondents look for new jobs online when they are seeking a move, while just six per cent said they visit their local job centre.

Recruitment agencies were named by 20 per cent of respondents as being their chosen method of looking for a new job, although with companies like Langton Howarth operating online as well as using traditional recruitment methods, there may be a significant amount of crossover in the results.

The findings are in keeping with social and technological trends, which place broadband penetration in the UK at 29.5 per cent of the population, meaning job vacancies posted online are easily accessible for almost one in three UK residents.

Scientific recruitment specialists Langton Howarth regularly update their job board with vacancies in healthcare, life science and consumer health and beauty industries.

Sigma Life Science has entered the genetically modified cell market with a range of engineered cell lines.

The mammalian cell lines being launched by the Langton Howarth client are expected to provide exciting new tools for drug discovery, compound screening and research applications.

The range, which includes immortalized cell lines for a number of applications, has been launched with the aim of helping biological scientists answer specific questions.

Dr. Supriya Shivakumar, Global Commercial Marketing Manager for Functional Genomics at Sigma Life Science, hailed the CompoZr finger nuclease (ZFN) technology used in the new product range.

He said: “CompoZr ZFN technology is a significant breakthrough for cell-based research. It enables scientists to generate precisely controlled additions, deletions and modifications to the genome of a living cell.”

He added: “Leveraging this innovative and powerful technology to develop ready-to-use, validated cell lines is part of Sigma's ongoing commitment to furthering our understanding of biology."

Langton Howarth client PerkinElmer has been marked as a potential buyer for Genzyme Corp's reproductive and oncology genetic testing business.

Genzyme specialises in creating expensive drugs for rare genetic diseases and is selling the unit, which generated sales of $371million last year, along with its diagnostics business, which had sales of $167million.

PerkinElmer has been selling its non-core lighting business and expects nearly $500million in cash by year end, but could face competition for Genzyme's units from Thermo Fisher Scientific, which failed to acquire Millipore earlier this year.

Genzyme Chief Executive Henri Termeer told Reuters: "The processes are continuing and we expect transactions to close by year end. We are stopping no development at this stage."

Medical Device jobs was the most active sector in the ZRG Global Life Science hiring index for Q2 2010.

Of 12,000 Global Life Science employment opportunities, 46% fell under the Medical Device and Supply category, while 37% were in Life Science Pharma and 17% in Outsourcing and Services.

The ZRG report cited sales and marketing talent as the top need for Medical Device and Supply firms, while Life Science and Pharma companies are mainly seeking accounting, finance and IT staff.

The index was launched in January 2010 with the aim of providing an “aggregated look at the state of global hiring within the broad Life Sciences and Medical segments.”

The baseline index number for the Q2 report is 66.77, showing an increase in hiring from Q1 to Q2 2010.

Life scientists at North Caroline State University have developed an extremely small microneedle that may lead to new techniques for diagnosing conditions such as skin cancer.

The needle, which is less than one millimeter in length can be used to deliver nanoscale dyes, called quantum dots, into skin.

Lead researcher Dr. Roger Narayan, told Biocompare.com: “We were able to fabricate hollow, plastic microneedles using a laser-based rapid-prototyping approach and found that we could deliver a solution containing quantum dots using these microneedles.”

Dr. Narayan and his team captured images of the quantum dots entering skin using multiphoton microscopy. These images show the mechanism by which the quantum dots enter the layers of skin, allowing the researchers to verify the effectiveness of the new medical devices as a delivery mechanism for quantum dots.

He continued: “The motivation for the study was to see whether we could use microneedles to deliver quantum dots into the skin. Our findings are significant, in part, because this technology will potentially enable researchers to deliver quantum dots, suspended in solution, to deeper layers of skin. That could be useful for the diagnosis and treatment of skin cancers, among other conditions.”

Langton Howarth client Illamasqua has released a special pencil to support the Sophie Lancaster Foundation.

This month marks three years since the death of Sophie Lancaster, who was kicked to death by attackers who didn't like the way she looked.

All sales of Illamasqua's black medium eyeliner pencil will include a £3 donation to the Foundation, which has been set up in Sophie's memory, with the aim of increasing awareness of alternative subcultures and stamping out intolerance.

A statement on Illamasqua's website said: "As a brand that promotes the right to experiment and self-express through the way you look, three years after her death Illamasqua remains committed to changing attitudes towards subcultures.

"Stand up for Sophie – act now and buy an Illamasqua Sophie pencil, wristband or make a donation. £3 from the Sophie Pencil purchased and all proceeds from the wristband sales go directly to the Foundation."

Read more about Illamasqua's support for the Sophie Lancaster Foundation here

Leading medical devices developer Protectus has appointed Dr. Dan Hartley as the company’s Medical Director.

Dr. Hartley, a physician/surgeon with over 20 years of senior level experience in the monitoring of pharmaceutical and medical devices, will establish the Protectus Medical Advisory Board and help to establish Protectus as the world leader in medical safety devices, such as its patented Safety Syringe.

Protectus CEO and President Dr. John Salstroms said: "Dr. Hartley will bring unmatched experience, passion, and commitment toward achieving our goal of developing the safest needle devices in the healthcare workplace to protect the health and well-being of workers and patients worldwide."

Cosmetics giant Elizabeth Arden has posted an increase in net sales after reporting $228.2m for the fourth quarter ended June 30.

The figures mark a 7.4% increase on this quarter in the previous fiscal year, putting net sales for the full year at $1.1bn.

E. Scott Beattie, Chairman, President and CEO of Elizabeth Arden, told CosmeticsBusiness.com: “Just over two years ago, we embarked on a global re-engineering of our major business processes and the implementation of a new enterprise software system to improve the efficiencies and scalability of our business.

“The progress we have made with these initiatives is evident in our results as we exceeded our targets for our key metrics the year. Specifically for fiscal 2010, adjusted gross margin increased by 260 basis points, adjusted EBITDA margin improved by 100 basis points, EPS (adjusted) grew by 85% and operating cash flow tripled to $114m, while we increased net working capital by 7%.”

A new report suggests ‘truly natural’ products hold the key to long term success in the personal care market in Asia.

The report, by market research company Kline, highlighted the increased awareness of ‘natural’ products and suggested that while foreign brands may be viewed favourably by consumers in Asia, they should not favour profits over ethics.

Nancy Mills, Kline’s industry manager for consumer health and beauty products, told CosmeticsDesign.com: “In Asia there are some countries that don’t have restrictions on the ingredients used in personal care products and they don’t have requirements for divulging ingredients on product labels.

“We have found that companies have very little motivation to formulate with these more expensive natural ingredients.”

She went on to say that labelling requirements and regulations similar to those that exist in Europe could be introduced in Asia to force the issue.

“Certification started in Europe, it is growing in America, it is starting to take off in Brazil and we believe Asia will be following.

“Companies need to be reformulating and working towards being more truly natural if they want to be successful in the long term in this market.”

Select Biosciences has announced the Matrix Building in Biopolis, Singapore, as the venue for the RNAi/Screening Asia conference.

The conference, on November 15 and 16, will be chaired by Bing Lim of the Genome Institute of Singapore and will feature keynote speeches from John Mattick, Professor at the University of Queensland, and Alan Sachs, Vice President of RNA Therapeutics at Merck Research Laboratories.

The conference agenda topics include target and discovery validation, transfection and mircoRNAs in disease biology, diagnostics, virology and stem cell biology.

Langton Howarth is proud to be working in partnership with Select Biosciences, providing scientific recruitment solutions and science job listings for the industry.

LH Consumer Health and Beauty client Puig has teamed up with Aldeasa to bring passengers at three Spanish airports a “retailainment” concept to promote Carolina Herrera’s new 212 VIP fragrance.

The ‘Paparazzi Booth’, which will be appearing at Palma de Mallorca, Malaga and Barcelona airports, transports shoppers to a scene outside a New York nightclub, where they receive the VIP treatment as they strut past the queue and strike a pose in front of press photographers.

The promotion allows customers to collect their VIP photo as they sample the new fragrance, while a specially mixed summer soundtrack adds to the atmosphere.

Puig general manager Patrick Bouchard told DFNI Online: “Puig is honoured to have the responsibility of launching 212 VIP to the world, in partnership with Aldeasa.”

He added: “Being a VIP is really a state of mind. Here, customers can escape from the everyday and sample just a little bit of that VIP aspiration we all have deep down.”

Aldeasa commercial director Eugenio Andrades said: “Aldeasa is committed to bringing its stores to life through innovative, interactive promotions and events as part of Aldeasa’s Shopping Experience initiative.

“We are proud to be the first place customers can find Carolina Herrera 212 VUP and firmly believe that this newness and energetic activity in-store is what our customers really want to see.”

He added: “We think our customers should all be treated as VIPs, but together with Puig we have taken that philosophy to a whole new level.”

For careers in the health and beauty industry with companies like Puig, visit Langton Howarth's science jobs page.

Pharmaceutical workers at Astra Zeneca have voted to strike following a row over pensions.

Staff at the Macclesfield factory voted in favour of a strike by almost three to one and the GMB union is set to announce dates for industrial action later this week.

The row centered on Astra Zeneca’s reported plans to end its final salary pension scheme for 2,500 staff and around 500 workers were balloted , of which around 70 per cent voted in favour of industrial action.

Astra Zeneca said the results of the ballot resulted in less than two per cent of its UK employees voting for a strike.

A spokesperson told Reuters: “It is our firm belief that strike action would not be in anyone’s best interests.”

GMB national officer Allan Black said: “This clear mandate for a strike in the midst of the current economic circumstances ought to be a wake-up call to Astra Zeneca to resume negotiations with GMB.”

The build up to the 2010 ELRIG Drug Discovery Conference has begun and Langton Howarth has the honour of sponsoring the event's delegate page.

ELRIG (European Laboratory Robotics Interest Group) is building up to it's fourth annual conference on September 1st and 2nd at Coventry's Ricoh Arena and Langton Howarth are busy preparing the 'Career Zone' workshops taking place at the conference.

Langton Howarth General Manager Allen Wrigglesworth is leading the Career Zone event, where he will be offering career advice to anyone seeking a scientific job.

He said: "We will cover all the do's and don'ts of presentations and there will be plenty of helpful tips and advice. Everybody will get something positive out of this session."

Delegates can find all the information they need about the conference at the Delegate Information Download Page, sponsored by Langton Howarth.

LH Consumer Health and Beauty client Illamasqua is set to open its first standalone store in London's Soho next month.

Illamasqua specialise in high pigment lip, skin and eye products and the company says the new store will demonstrate its position at the forefront of professional make-up.

The company's School of Make-Up and Art (SOMUA) courses will take place at the new store, along with foundation courses and transformation courses for stage, film and HD TV.

Illamasqua founder Julian Kynaston told Cosmetics Business: "This has been our ultimate aim since launching at the end of 2008 and I'm so glad we've achieved it so soon.

"SOMUA is part of our ongoing commitment to bring truly professional night-time make-up to anyone who wants to self-express. We're the only brand on the high street to do that."

David Horne, director of new product development at Illamasqua, said: "SOMUA is an epicentre of inspiration, colours, textures and discussion. The store represents a creative haven, a make-up mecca where any expression with make-up is possible, likely or just a pot or pan away from grasp."

Leading International scientific recruiter Langton Howarth Ltd is exhibiting in the Career Zone at ELRIG 2010.

In-person access to LH consultants means help is at hand whether you are seeking a new career or recruiting.

On September 2nd, Langton Howarth will host a series of workshops.

General Manager and Trainer, Allen Wrigglesworth, will run 'Delivering Successful Presentations' at 11am and 11.45am, while Founder Emma Howarth will run one-to-one Career & Recruitment Clinics from 12.30pm - 2.30pm.

A CV Masterclass at 3pm will maximise your chance of securing your dream job. Places are free! Call now to book + 44 (0)113 243 3499 or email emma@langtonhowarth.com

Langton Howarth client Dako has signed an agreement with Royal Philips Electronics to provide a selection of image analysis applications as part of the company’s digital pathology solutions.

Danish company Dako, which specialises in tissue-based cancer diagnostics, expressed its excitement about the agreement, which outlines Philips’ commitment to digital pathology.

Dako CEO Lars Holmkvist told Healthcare.Philips.com: “We are very pleased to announce this collaboration with Philips, a leading company in the healthcare industry that is committed to entering the digital pathology market.

He added: “By joining forces with Philips, we will be able to deliver highly competitive diagnostic tools based on Philips’ extensive clinical expertise and technology know-how and Dako’s expertise in advanced staining and image analysis in order to benefit pathology laboratories, pathologists and ultimately patients.”

Bob van Gemen, General Manager of Philips Digital Pathology, said: “Anatomic pathology is an essential element of virtually every cancer diagnosis and the demand for it is ever-increasing. Our goal is to develop integrated digital solutions that enhance the operational efficiency and productivity of pathology departments, as well as increasing diagnostic confidence.

“I am convinced that our partnership with Dako, with its leading market position and expert knowledge in detecting and quantifying specific biomarkers in cancer tissue, will significantly accelerate our clinical applications development program.”

Everyday, pipettes are confronted with multiple tasks that must be exact and precise. Reliability is key in the laboratory and your pipette must be trusted to perform well, day in, day out. ErgoOne, the new pipette from STARLAB, offers accuracy and precision you can trust, with a stylish new look you will love.

STARLAB is setting a new standard in pipetting by taking the long-trusted features of the Gilson pipette and bringing it up to date.

ErgoOne is a lightweight pipette with minimal operating forces ensuring comfortable pipetting and reduced hand fatigue.

Made from the highest quality materials, ErgoOne is a robust pipette tested under real laboratory conditions. The wear-resistant piston means regreasing is not required under normal working conditions. Available in single-, 8-, or 12-channels, ErgoOne is fully autoclavable and comes with a three-year warranty. Use with STARLAB's own TipOne pipette tips for the perfect pipetting partnership!

Come visit Langton Howarth in San Fransisco at the 4th annual Stem Cells World Congress and Exhibition from January 20 - 21, 2010. There will be two parallel tracks focused specifically on: (1) Stem Cells in Drug Discovery and Development and (2) Regenerative Medicine

Come visit us at the Palm Springs Convention Centre from the 23-27th January 2010.