Category: New products

  • Techniques Boost Range, Accuracy of Wireless ID Signals

    Engineers at University of Cambridge in the U.K. developed techniques to vastly improve the range and accuracy of passive radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags used to identify passports, luggage, and goods in transit. The team led by Cambridge research fellow Sabesan Sithamparanathan published its findings online in the journal IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation (paid…

  • Synthetic Bio Platform Finds Potential Superbug Antibiotic

    Researchers at University of California in San Diego created a process for cloning synthetic gene clusters from marine bacteria that generate molecules with therapeutic potential, and produced an antibiotic candidate to treat previously drug-resistant infections. The team led by UC-San Diego oceanography and pharmacy professor Bradley Moore, published its findings yesterday online in the journal…

  • Simple, Sensitive Biosensors Derived from Engineered Viruses

    Bioengineers at University of California in Berkeley developed a process for making sensors from genetically-engineered viruses simple enough to package in a smartphone app, yet can discriminate among volatile chemical vapors. The team from the lab of bioengineering professor Seung-Wuk Lee, with colleagues from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab — where Lee is also on the…

  • Trial Underway Testing Head-Neck Cancer Immunotherapy

    Advaxis Inc., a biopharmaceutical company in Princeton, New Jersey, began dosing the first patient in clinical trial testing a therapy that harnesses the immune system to treat head and neck cancer caused by the human papillomavirus, or HPV. The therapy is designed as part of a therapy strategy that includes robotic surgery to remove the…

  • Drugs Found with Potential to Replace Traumatic Memories

    Neuroscientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology found a class of drug compounds, some of which are now in use, can erase fear-causing memories in lab mice, and thus could treat post-traumatic stress disorder. The team from the lab of Li-Huei Tsai in MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory published its findings today in the…

  • Trial Shows Gene Therapy Helps Treat Genetic Eye Disease

    Researchers at University of Oxford in the U.K. report initial results of a clinical trial showing healthy genes injected into the retinas of patients with a rare inherited disease improved their vision after six months. Findings from the study led by Oxford eye surgeon Robert MacLaren are published in today’s online issue of the journal…

  • Institutes Developing Power Grid Cybersecurity Technology

    Engineering labs at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta are designing a suite of tools to better protect electric power grids, incorporating lessons from recent smart grid developments. The $1.7 million grant from U.S. Department of Energy will fund the work of the Georgia Tech Research Institute, with two other organizations affiliated with Georgia Tech:…

  • Clinical Trial to Test Safety of MRSA Drug Candidate

    Enanta Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company in Watertown, Massachusetts, is starting an early-stage clinical trial of an antibiotic to treat methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA infections. The drug, code-named EDP-788, is being developed under a contract with National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of National Institutes of Health. MRSA is a bacteria resistant to many…

  • Trial Testing Ultrasound Technique to Move Kidney Stones

    A clinical trial at University of Washington in Seattle is testing an ultrasound device that moves the position of kidney stones in the body to encourage safe passage of the stones without surgery. The early-stage trial is testing the device invented in the lab of engineering professor Mike Bailey, who is also starting a company…

  • DNA Diagnostics Company to Crowdfund Malaria Testing Device

    QuantuMDx, a biotechnology company in Newcastle, U.K. says it will start a crowdfunding campaign next month to finance development and field trials of a handheld device to test for malaria. The device is an application of its Q-POC point-of-care diagnostics system, which will be the subject of an Indiegogo campaign beginning 12 February. The company,…