HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – HudsonAlpha’s iCell is now fully available on the Windows 8 platform, potentially reaching an audience of more than 4 million Windows 8 users worldwide. The new Microsoft system features easier-to-open apps for tablets and PCs, making iCell easier to access on Windows 8 devices.

“It simplifies the process of being able to use the iCell application,” said Adam Hott, Ed.D., coordinator of educational outreach. “This makes iCell more accessible and puts it in the hands of users more efficiently.”

The iCell technology allows students, teachers and anyone interested in biology to explore animal, plant and bacteria cells in a hands-on way. Through touch-screen technology, users can select and zoom in on parts of the cell. The app also features names, descriptions and functions of the cell parts.

Microsoft first contacted HudsonAlpha in November in hopes the iCell app could be featured in its early development of the Windows Store. Microsoft offered assistance of its programmers at no cost to the institute ensuring the free download would be available. It is accessible through the Windows Store, Android Marketplace, Apple iTunes and online.

“It was flattering to be contacted by Microsoft,” Hott said. “It has allowed HudsonAlpha the ability to reach a larger audience through tablets and other devices. We’re thrilled.”

The free iCell app has been praised nationally and ranked a top education app by Apple.

Media Contact: Beth Pugh
bpugh@hudsonalpha.org
256-327-0443

About HudsonAlpha: HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology is a nonprofit institute dedicated to innovating in the field of genomic technology and sciences across a spectrum of biological problems. Its mission is three-fold: sparking scientific discoveries that can impact human health and well-being; fostering biotech entrepreneurship; and encouraging the creation of a genomics-literate workforce and society. The HudsonAlpha biotechnology campus consists of 152 acres nestled within Cummings Research Park, the nation’s second largest research park. Designed to be a hothouse of biotech economic development, HudsonAlpha’s state-of-the-art facilities co-locate scientific researchers with entrepreneurs and educators. The relationships formed on the HudsonAlpha campus allow serendipity to yield results in medicine and agriculture. Since opening in 2008, HudsonAlpha, under the leadership of Dr. Richard M. Myers, a key collaborator on the Human Genome Project, has built a name for itself in genetics and genomics research and biotech education, and boasts 26 biotech companies on campus.