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Most investigators agree that early detection increases the likelihood of a positive response to a given therapeutic intervention in cancer. Biomarkers are a necessary prerequisite for early detection. A healthcare provider needs some clue that cancer is likely to develop. More importantly, they need to know that the selected therapeutic intervention will be effective. It is no surprise then, that much of the work presented at the 2017 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) was focused on discovering and validating novel cancer biomarkers.

Mahoney and Atkins describe four types of cancer biomarkers: diagnostic,...

The International Society of Stem Cell Research Annual Meeting is the largest scientific conference focusing on stem cell research. This year, scientists from around the world will gather in Boston, MA from June 14-17, 2017, for the 15th...

Several suppliers, including R&D Systems, offer growth factors and cytokines made specifically for culturing cells that will be used for cell therapy. They are only to be used during the cell culture process and residual protein is washed away before the cells actually come into contact with a patient. These reagents are commonly referred to as GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice), a term that has traditionally been reserved for materials made with oversite from federal regulatory authorities like the FDA. Despite the...

Paul Maye, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Connecticut Health Center

Bone marrow stromal cells have been one of the more intensively studied adult stem cell types over the past 50 years. There is great interest within regenerative medicine and wound healing for this adult stem cell type because of its complex biological properties including its ability to support a hematopoietic environment, possess anti-inflammatory qualities, and differentiate down multiple lineages. This webinar discusses research that helps us understand their origin, identity, and biological complexity. This includes:

• Ways to isolate and culture stromal cells.
• in vitro assays of multipotency.
• Assays to quantify stromal cells.
• Benefits of murine transgenic animal models to study stromal cells and...

Fabrizio Rinaldi, PhD, Scientist in Stem Cell Research and Development, Bio-Techne
Tim Manning, PhD, Proteins Product Manager, Bio-Techne

As induced pluripotent stem cells continue progress towards cell therapy use to treat neurodegenerative disease, diabetes, vision impairment, and heart repair, there are critical questions and steps for maintaining cell quality and consistency that need to be considered. This webinar is designed to get researchers thinking about the best ways to control the quality and consistency of a stem cell therapy as it begins its therapeutic transition. The first part of the webinar introduces methods and tips to efficiently validate and assess variability across human iPS cell lines, a critical step for controlling quality within iPS cell translation. The second half...

Bio-Techne employees are joining the global network of scientists in the March for Science to demonstrate our values of education, communication, and respect for the communities in which we live and work.

We believe in the preservation of scientific integrity, funding for research, and the open network of sharing results with each other and the public.

Join us on April 22, 2017 at the March in D.C. or at your local satellite event. #BioTechneMarches

We will be marching in our Bio-Techne communities:
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN...

Sensitivity is critical for immunoassays so that analytes present at low levels can be accurately measured. Without proper sensitivity, low abundance analytes can be missed completely even if they are present in a sample. Additionally, it can be difficult to compare healthy vs. disease samples since analytes that are overexpressed in disease states are often present at very low levels in healthy individuals. Our Luminex High Performance Assays provide superior sensitivity, and here's how:

Proven Assay Development Expertise

R&D Systems has over 25 years of experience designing, testing, and optimizing immunoassays to ensure the highest level of performance in analyte quantification. Luminex High Performance assays are driven by the same expertise...

Anthony Soufflé • anthony.souffle@startribune.com

Bio-Techne was recently highlighted in the Star Tribune’s Sunday Business section. The article highlights Bio-Techne as Minnesota’s largest biotech business, the types of products we produce, and the incredible growth the company has experienced under the relatively new leadership.

Read the full article on Star Tribune.

Standardized pluripotent stem cell differentiation kits, such as the StemXVivo^® Differentiation Kits from R&D Systems, offer a number of benefits over both home-brew protocols or the direct purchase of pre-differentiated iPS cells. This post provides a brief discussion of those benefits:

Consistent Method for Assessing Pluripotency – Researchers creating iPS cell lines must verify the pluripotency of their newly generated cells. The teratoma assay and the embryoid body assay are the historical standard for validation. However, they are time consuming and inconsistent. Differentiation kits are ideal for applying a fast and standardized method to pluripotency validation because they...

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) hold significant promise for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. While the use of MSCs for both translational and basic research requires their efficient expansion, the desired media formulations for growing MSCs can vary by application. Specific formulations of MSC media now exist to address these various applications, including serum-containing, serum-free, xeno-free, animal component-free and GMP-grade media. For many researchers, deciphering which variant of MSC media best suits their needs can be a daunting prospect. This post is meant to help clarify MSC media nomenclature and provide a quick reference for understanding the various media options and when to use them in your research.

Joy Aho, PhD, Manager of Stem Cells Research and Development Bio-Techne
Ernesto Resnik, PhD, Manager of Antibody Research and Development Bio-Techne

In this peer-reviewed video publication, featured in the Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE), Bio-Techne scientists provide data supporting new methods for reliably inducing epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) in vitro. EMT is essential for proper morphogenesis during development. Misregulation of EMT is attributed to fibrosis and the progression of carcinomas metastasis. Creating reliable cell culture models for EMT induction and analysis is key for gaining insights into the field of wound healing and cancer metastasis. In this video, we demonstrate a straightforward method for the induction of EMT in a variety of cell types,...

The use of stem cells for regenerative medicine and cell therapy is closer than ever to therapeutic application. As researchers navigate their stem cell research into the translational landscape, maintaining quality and consistency becomes an important issue. That’s where Bio-Techne can help. Bio-Techne, consisting of the prestigious life science brands of R&D Systems, Novus Biologicals, Tocris Bioscience, takes pride in its roots as a company devoted to reagent quality and consistency. Because we offer both research and GMP-grade reagents, we can be a resource to researchers and biopharmaceutical companies as they think about out how they are...