Category: New products
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Algorithms Plot Optimal Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Routes
Engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have devised mathematical methods to plot the optimal routes for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), increasingly used for industrial, research, and security applications. The team led by mechanical engineering professor Pierre Lermusiaux will discuss its work in May 2012 at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. Setting an…
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Bridgestone Tire to Study Natural Raw Rubber Alternative
Bridgestone Corporation, a global tire manufacturer in Tokyo, Japan unveiled plans today for a research project in the U.S. to develop a new commercially viable, renewable source of tire-quality natural rubber. The project aims to harness the cultivation of guayule — pronounced why-YOU-lee — as an alternative to hevea trees, the current source of almost…
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Simple Microfluidics Immune System Sensor Developed
Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have devised a simple, inexpensive sensor to diagnose a range of diseases including immune system disorders. The work of the team led by Stanford pediatrician and immunologist Manish Butte (pictured right) appears today online in the journal Biomicrofluidics; paid subscription required. The university says it has filed a…
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Naval Lab, Universities Design Firefighting Robot
The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., with researchers from Virginia Tech and University of Pennsylvania, are building a humanoid-type robot to fight shipboard fires on new combat vessels. The device is based on the Cognitive Humanoid Autonomous Robot with Learning Intelligence (CHARLI, pictured left) prototype developed at Virginia Tech. The Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting…
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Clinical Trial to Test Brown Fat Hormone Obesity Treatment
A clinical trial at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in Orlando, Florida will test the weight-control capabilities of orexin, a hormone that activates the body’s brown fat, which converts calories into energy. The trial will take place at the Translational Research Institute for Metabolism and Diabetes, a joint venture of Sanford-Burnham and Florida Hospital in Orlando.…
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Coating Developed to Enable Faster, Stronger Dental Implants
A clinical study led by researchers at Linköping University in Sweden shows that a new process speeds and strengthens the implants of artificial teeth in the jaw bones of patients. The findings of the study appear online in the journal Bone (paid subscription required), and the study leader has founded a company for commercializing the…
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Simple Blood Test Checks Sickle Cell Anemia Symptoms Risk
Researchers from MIT, Harvard, and two Boston hospitals have devised a blood test that assesses the risk a patient with sickle cell anemia will encounter severe symptoms of the disease. Their findings appear in the current issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine (paid subscription required). The research team also evaluated the test’s potential as…
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Lab-on-a-Chip Developed to Test Malaria Treatments
Researchers at University of British Columbia in Vancouver and McGill University in Montreal, Canada have developed a miniature testing device that can analyze the changes in red blood cells caused by common malaria parasites. The work of UBC engineering professor Hongshen Ma and colleagues appear in the journal Lab on a Chip (paid subscription required).…
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Universal Vaccines Assessed for Widespread Flu Prevention
Researchers In the U.S. and the U.K. have developed a simulation model to assess the ability of universal vaccines — those that cover a number of disease variations — to prevent the spread of influenza. The team from Princeton University and Duke University, Imperial College London, National Institutes of Health, and Food and Drug Administration…
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Math Model Gauges Potential Tylenol Overdose, Liver Damage
Researchers at University of Utah and Baylor College of Medicine have devised a set of calculus equations to quickly estimate the amount of Tylenol ingested by a patient, and if the patient may need a liver transplant. Their work is scheduled to appear in an upcoming issue of the journal Hepatology. Acetaminophen is the generic…