Category: New products
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Nanoscale Film Coating Strengthens Joint Implants
Chemical engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed an ultra-thin film that can strengthen the bond of knee or hip implants and promote bone growth. The findings are described in a recent issue of the journal Advanced Materials (paid subscription required). Knee and hip replacements are becoming more common, with some 773,000 Americans having…
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University Start-Up to Generate Power with Stored CO2
A spin-off company from University of Minnesota is commercializing a process for generating electricity with geothermal energy from stored carbon dioxide captured at coal-fired power plants. Heat Mining Company LLC, in Rapid City, South Dakota, is based on a technology invented by Minnesota faculty Martin Saar (earth science) and Thomas Kuehn (engineering), and earth science…
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Australian Science Agency, Biotech Partner on Insect Silks
Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the global biotechnology company Lonza have agreed to develop new insect silks for medical and industrial applications. Financial and intellectual property terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Insect silk is a potential component in a range of new products and applications because of properties such…
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Lab-Made Heart Cells Found Useful for Research, Testing
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine in California have devised a process for generating artifical heart cells from the skin of patients with a common cardiac condition. Their findings appear today in the journal Science Translational Medicine (paid subscription required). The team led by Joseph Wu, a professor of cardiovascular medicine and of…
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Bioengineered Microbe Developed for Low-Temperature Enzymes
Molecular biologists at University of Georgia in Athens have devised a process for engineering a microorganism to generate enzymes at lower temperatures than in its natural state. Their findings appear today in the online journal mBio published by American Society for Microbiology. The team, led by Georgia professor Michael Adams, engineered a type of microbe…
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Clinical Trial Shows Brain Cancer Vaccine Extends Lives
A clinical trial involving researchers from University of California at San Francisco and the biotechnology company Agenus Inc. in Lexington, Massachusetts found a vaccine has extended the lives of patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme, a type of brain cancer. The findings are being presented today at a meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.…
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Boron Added to Carbon Nanotubes Produce Super Oil Sponge
Materials scientists at Rice University in Houston have devised a material that can absorb large quantities of oil by adding the element boron to carbon nanotubes. The Rice researchers, joined by colleagues in the U.S., Belgium, Japan, Spain, and Mexico published their findings Friday in the journal Scientific Reports. Rice graduate student Daniel Hashim (pictured…
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Engineers to Conduct Seismic Tests on Fire, Medical Systems
Structural engineers at University of California in San Diego will begin two weeks of tests on a full-size building to gauge the impact of severe earthquakes on non-structural components, such as fire and elevator systems, as well as on medical facilities. The tests will involve a five-story building (pictured left) constructed on what the university…
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Skin, Umbilical Cord Cells Converted to Nerve Cells
Researchers at University of Bonn, with colleagues from medical centers in Germany, have developed a process for converting human cells from skin and umbilical cords directly into usable quantities of nerve cells, bypassing previous intermediate steps. Their findings appear this week in the journal Nature Methods (paid subscription required). Converting one type of human cell…
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Non-Invasive Technique Developed to Measure Brain Pressure
Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with colleagues in the U.S. and the U.K., have devised a non-invasive technique to measure intercranial pressure that builds up in cases of head trauma and brain tumors. Their findings are described in this week’s issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine (paid subscription required). When head trauma or…