Luxembourg’s new website, dedicated to the logistics sector was launched on 14th May and can be accessed via www.logistics.lu.

With its excellent connectivity to international markets, Luxembourg has established itself as an ideal platform for logistics activities with strong growth potential. The new website thereby aims to inform all stakeholders, including international companies in the field of logistics, on Luxembourg’s key assets.

The visual identity is simple, transparent and user-friendly.
Among other features, the new website features a variety of services offered, such as a simplified guide on import and export procedures, how to set up a business in Luxembourg, and a section called 'we can assist' which aims to support foreign companies with their queries.
In addition, interactive maps, downloadable brochures and video testimonials add a dynamic touch.

The Minister of the Economy and Foreign Trade, Etienne Schneider, welcomes the close collaboration of the various public and private actors involved in the development and promotion of the logistics sector under the common brand "Luxembourg for Business - Proud to Promote Logistics".

 

Over 140 concerts by Luxembourg musicians are set to take place until the end of June this year, with appearances at some major festivals, the music export office music:LX has said.

At The Great Escape festival in Brighton from May 16 to 18 no less than four bands from the Grand Duchy will be presenting their tunes. Aufgang, Monophona, Mutiny On The Bounty (MOTB) and Say Yes Dog will get to play at the popular Brighton festival.

Further north in England, MOTB, Say Yes Dog and Sun Glitters will play the Liverpool Sound City festival from May 2 to 4.

Further bands, including Synthesis, Natas Loves You and Hal Flavin will play more festivals in Denmark, France, Spain and Germany.

In addition to the festival appearances, music:LX is planning three “Luxembourg Sounds Like...” events in Lille, Brighton and London, showcasing several Luxembourg bands, to expose them to a new audience as well as professionals from the scene.

Please click here to read the full article. 
Find out more information here: http://www.musiclx.lu/

IBBL (Integrated BioBank of Luxembourg) was recently chosen as the sole European biobank to host a large collection of biological specimens and data collected as part of the EU Joint Programme in Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND).

The Joint Programme for Neurodegenerative Disease (JNPD) Research is a European Union (EU) Member State-led initiative to tackle one of the 'grand challenges' facing society in the coming years, that of neurodegenerative diseases (ND) such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. The programme brings together research agencies, ministries and centres of excellence from 25 European countries. It is the largest global initiative focussed on ND.

One major aim of the programme is to improve the scientific understanding of ND by promoting research to uncover new genetic and environmental risk factors and assess their interplay. This requires Europe‐wide population-based studies, biobanking of DNA and human tissues, and data sharing. To create an enabling environment for ND research, there is a need to encourage integration and harmonisation of data and materials, and promote an open‐access approach to their use. IBBL has been chosen as the sole European biobank to provide the infrastructure necessary for hosting a centralised collection of samples and data as part of the JNPD. Samples from 25 EU sites will be stored at IBBL and made available to the 55 individual members of the consortium or other scientists. First samples are expected to arrive at IBBL in June 2013.

Besides taking care of the physical storage of biological samples, IBBL will also provide a web‐based IT platform for the 25 collection sites to capture all data related to the samples sent to IBBL, and for the entire consortium to access the collection. A third element will be to participate in biospecimen research on brain fluid samples collected by the consortium.

“This is an exciting new avenue where IBBL provides a service to JPND as part of a research collaboration project at the European level,” explains Catherine Larue, CEO of IBBL, and points out: “It reinforces the credibility of IBBL as a research support infrastructure for multinational projects, which is very satisfying given that IBBL has been operational for less than three years.”

For more information on JNPD, visit www.neurodegenerationresearch.eu

The IBBL press release is also available in German version and French version.

Researchers from Luxembourg make progress in developing cell therapies. Outcomes may serve as basis for the development of cell replacement therapies for Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, or extensive burns.

In a paper published by the prestigious journal, Nature Methods, biologists at the University of Luxembourg, Tampere University of Technology and the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, USA, have created the biggest family tree of human cell types.

Cells are the basic unit of a living organism. The human body consists of a vast array of highly specialised cells, such as blood cells, skin cells and neurons. In total more than 250 different cell types exist. How are the different types related to each other? Which factors are unique for each cell type? And what in the end determines the development of a certain cell?

To answer these questions, the research team designed a computer-based method that uses already existing biological data from research groups all over the world and analyses them in an entirely new way. This led to the identifications of unique factors for 166 different human cell types. These factors, or master regulators, determine the development and distinguish different cell types from each other. With this information they could map the relationship between the cell types in a family tree. These outcomes may serve as basis for the development of cell replacement therapies.

“Many diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease and diabetes, or extensive burns result in the loss or altered functionality of cells”, explains Dr. Merja Heinäniemi, who previously worked at the Life Sciences Research Unit and the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) at the University of Luxembourg. “Ideally one would like to replace those sick or lost cells again by healthy ones to cure the patients. This study forms an important step towards the development of such therapies.”

Prof. Rudi Balling, Director of the LCSB, adds: “This study illustrates the increasing importance of computer science for biology and medicine. Only with the help of computers it was possible to analyse these large amounts of biological data to create the first large-scale analysis of cell-type specific master regulators”.
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Publication: Gene-pair expression signatures reveal lineage control. Merja Heinäniemi, Matti Nykter, Roger Kramer, Anke Wienecke-Baldacchino, Lasse Sinkkonen, Joseph Xu Zhou, Richard Kreisberg, Stuart A Kauffman, Sui Huang & Ilya Shmulevich. Nature Methods 2013
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For more information, please see the following websites:
University of Luxembourg: http://wwwfr.uni.lu/recherche/fstc/life_sciences_research_unit/news/new_study_biggest_family_tree_of_human_cells_created

Newspaper: http://www.wort.lu/en/view/researchers-from-luxembourg-make-progress-in-developing-cell-therapies-51752fcee4b08127f96a2744?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Luxembourg launches a new charm offensive to promote the country's business environment and brand image.

The core objective of this international charm offensive focusing on Luxembourg´s quality of life consists in promoting the brand image of the country and the Luxembourg business and investment environment through a set of three advertising spots. These spots put forward the various aspects of Luxembourg´s quality of life and will run on international TV channels. The streaming of the first spot of the campaign has already started and will be accompanied with various print, web and event efforts. The spots will furthermore support the various trade missions during the year in putting the country’s attractiveness on the map.

Various exchanges with business actors in Luxembourg and during trade missions have demonstrated the necessity and, above all, the willingness to put forward and to communicate about the determining factors of the country´s attractiveness considering that the country´s image is very often associated with stereotypes and prejudices due to a general ignorance about the country´s advantages.

The streaming of the campaign and the first advertising spot has now been launched by Luxembourg for Business G.I.E. and was produced in cooperation with the Nation Branding group.

The first spot of this trilogy can be viewed at:



www.luxembourgforbusiness.lu and also www.promoteluxembourg.lu.

Please find here the press release in French.
 

LuxairCARGO, one of the four business units in the LuxairGroup, owns and operates the cargo centre at Luxembourg Airport with an annual capacity of 1.2 million tons of freight. Temperature-controlled goods were already a key topic when this centre was being planned. When the new cargo centre was taken into operation in 1996, it soon became clear that this type of freight offered enormous growth potential. During the following years, capacity in the temperature-controlled warehouse facilities was expanded and efficient procedures were applied.

As customers requested to participate in the sustained growth of this industry, LuxairCARGO set the wheels in motion for expansion in 2009. At the same time, it could be seen that capacity in the actual temperature-controlled freight processing area in the cargo centre would reach its limits over the medium term if the industry continued to grow. It soon became clear that LuxairCARGO would have to take a major step forward considering the requirements of the new Guidelines of the Good Distribution Practice (GDP) which should become applicable by 2013.

In July 2012, the LuxairGroup’s management decided to set up a dedicated area within the cargo centre’s existing warehouse to become a temperature-controlled Pharma & Healthcare Centre with a total of 3,000m2 of warehouse space. Work started in October 2012 and the conversion work was finished on schedule in March 2013.

State-of-the-art technology

State-of-the-art monitoring methods in the cargo centre mean not only that LuxairCARGO, but also its customers, can access the requested data at any time. Historical data is recorded end-to-end, every step can be verified by both service providers and customers.

Highly specialised and trained staff specifically in line with the latest GDP standards process the goods. TAPA-A certification, as well as a restricted access to warehouse, only accessible to employees with individualised security cards, meet the highest security requirements.

Four different temperature-controlled storage zones offer the latitude required for highly specific customer requests and provide solutions for the most demanding goods - be this a small consignment or a complete aircraft ULD or pallet.

Extremely short transit times from the processing ramp to the road transport, and vice versa, guarantee absolutely temperature-controlled and 100%-controlled forwarding processes as the apron is directly located in front of the new Pharma & Healthcare Centre’s loading points. Temperature-sensitive pallets are called up and loaded immediately out of the temperature controlled cells.