The University of Nottingham in the UK has launched the Institute of Biophysics, Imaging and Optical Science to develop novel imaging technologies for use in solving biological problems on any scale, including the whole-tissue, molecular and cellular levels.The institute was formed from two existing entities, the Cell Biophysics Group and the Applied Optics Group, with the School of Biology and the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, respectively. The enterprise, funded by grants from the European Union, the Wellcome Trust, GlaxoSmithKline, and other companies and organizations, will offer a range of optical microscopy equipment and scanning probe systems, including a scanning conductance ion microscope. Hardware, software and silicon chip facilities will be available as well as biological and chemical laboratory facilities.Invitrogen Corp. of Carlsbad, Calif., a provider of life sciences technologies for research, production and diagnostics, has announced that it will become the exclusive North American distributor for all products from MitoSciences of Eugene, Ore. Products include antibodies and assays used for researching mitochondrial proteins and diseases. The agreement will add more than 200 products to the former company’s antibody and kit catalog.BioPharmica Ltd. of North Perth has signed a collaboration agreement with Swinburne University of Technology in Hawthorn, both in Australia, and with international electronics and telecommunications manufacturing group Fujikura Ltd. of Tokyo to facilitate production of a fiber optic nanoprobe. The Japanese company will deliver samples to the university, which will process and test them.Agricultural diagnostics company Diachemix LLC of Milwaukee and BioTek Instruments Inc. of Winooski, Vt., have announced an agreement whereby the latter company’s Synergy 2 multimode microplate reader will be distributed by the former company primarily for use with its Brucellosis and M. bovis assay kits. The kits are used to detect the presence of the pathogens in animal samples.Berthold Technologies of Bad Wildbad, Germany, a provider of analytical instruments for the research market, has announced homogeneous time-resolved fluorescence (HTRF) certification from Cisbio of Bagnols, France, for its Mithras LB 940 multimode microplate reader. The HTRF technological platform from the French company is for screening and investigating biological interactions. Ophthalmic Imaging Systems (OIS) of Sacramento, Calif., a digital imaging company, has signed a merger agreement with MediVision Medical Imaging Ltd. of Yokneam Elit, Israel, a majority shareholder of OIS. Each MediVision ordinary share will be converted into 1.66 shares of the California-based company, for a total of approximately 11.3 million shares.Siemens Healthcare of Malvern, Pa., has signed an agreement that will enable it to market a mammography digitizing system from Carestream Healthcare Inc. of Rochester, N.Y. The instrument, which converts film-based diagnostic and screening mammograms into digital imaging format, will be offered to US health care providers.Beijing Genomics Institute has increased its collaboration with PentaBase of Soendersoe, Denmark, a developer and marketer of technologies for genetic diagnosis and research. They plan to co-develop clinical biomarker detection kits based on real-time PCR.MagiQ Technologies Inc. of New York, a quantum information processing company, has created a business unit to serve its industrial, commercial and research customers. MagiQ Research Labs of Somerville, Mass., will provide services and products including networking and security consultations, contract research and development services, fiber sensors, interferometers and pulsed lasers.Carl Zeiss AG of Oberkochen, Germany, has opened Carl Zeiss Advanced Imaging Centre Singapore, which offers customers the opportunity to view and experience the full range of the company’s micro- and nanoimaging solutions. The $30 million facility will enable the company to expand its business in Singapore and Asia Pacific.QuantRx Biomedical Corp. of Doylestown, Pa., has announced that Phase 1 trials have begun for the BFPET blood flow imaging agent for PET. An affiliated company, FluoroPharma Inc. of Boston will evaluate the safety, distribution and dosimetry of the agent for myocardial perfusion imaging in healthy subjects.