This month's top tech news stories
Arginase 2
Researchers at the Cancer Research UK-AstraZeneca Antibody Alliance Laboratory in Cambridge, UK have pioneered the development of an innovative affinity maturation technique to generate an inhibitory, high-affinity antibody against Arginase 2 (ARG2) – an enzyme implicated in major human diseases including cancer.
ARG2 targets and destroys L-arginine, an amino acid critical for immune cells to fight diseases such as cancer, as well as infections.
SARS-CoV-2 test
Avacta Group is launching an ELISA laboratory test for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to support global research efforts into the coronavirus.
Enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (“ELISAs”) are research tools used to detect and quantify a target of interest in a wide range of samples. Using the same Affimer reagents that are incorporated into its rapid coronavirus saliva test, Avacta has developed an ELISA laboratory test to detect SARS-CoV-2.
Digital pathology
Philips has supported Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Foundation Trust to become one of the earliest UK adopters of a fully digitised cellular pathology (histopathology) department.
OUH is one of the first NHS trusts in the country to achieve the status of digitising all surgical histology and referral slides within the cellular pathology department.
This step-change is expected to unlock greater collaboration between OUH and its wider network of trusts and pathologists.
