Science and Enterprise

Category: New products

  • Laser Technology Developed to Detect Improvised Explosives

    Scientists at Michigan State University in East Lansing have developed a laser that in lab tests has shown the potential to detect roadside bombs, a destructive weapon encountered by American and allied forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The team led by MSU chemistry professor Marcos Dantus published its findings in the current issue of the…

  • Grant Awarded for Study of Blood Test to Spot Concussions

    Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio have received a grant from National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the effectiveness of a blood test that identifies concussions in college football players. Damir Janigro and Nicola Marchi of the Cleveland Clinic are the lead researchers on this study, in collaboration with Jeffrey Bazarian at the…

  • Smartphone Advance Can Improve Efficiency, Extend Battery

    Researchers at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor have devised a more efficient “idle mode” for smartphones and Wi-Fi devices that reduces power use and can extend battery life. Computer science and engineering professor Kang Shin and doctoral student Xinyu Zhang will present their discovery, still in proof-of-concept stage, next week at the ACM International…

  • Research-Based Healthy Eating Plate Unveiled

    Nutritionists at Harvard University’s School of Public Health have released the Healthy Eating Plate, a visual guide for eating a healthy meal that the developers say is based only on the science and not the interests of growers or industry. Eric Rimm, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the school says, “We want people…

  • Device Captures Vibrations to Power Wireless Sensors

    Engineers at MIT have designed a miniature device that harvests energy from low-frequency vibrations to power wireless sensors for industrial or environmental monitoring. Mechanical engineering professor Sang-Gook Kim and Arman Hajati, now at FujiFilm Dimatix in Santa Clara, California, published their findings last month in the  journal Applied Physics Letters (paid subscription required). While wireless…

  • Trial to Test Value of Genetic Tests for Heart Disease

    The Stanford University Medical Center in California has begun a clinical trial to determine if giving patients genetic information about their risk of coronary artery disease will help motivate them to reduce that risk by changing their behavior. The study, just underway, is expected to be completed in December 2012. The trial will test the…

  • Report: Electric Cars Can Balance Renewable Power Grid

    A report from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) says the growing use of electric vehicles offers a way of balancing the intermittent nature of renewable sources in the Northwest U.S. power grid. PNNL, a unit of the U.S. Department of Energy, examined grid conditions in the Northwest Power Pool, which covers Idaho, Montana, Nevada,…

  • Simulation Improves Safety at Traffic Intersections

    A computer simulation developed at Tel Aviv University in Israel incorporates human behavior data with traffic statistics to determine environmental features that lead to black spots, intersections that experience a high incidence of traffic accidents. Environmental science Ph.D. student Gennady Waizman and colleagues discussed the SAFEPED model in July at the Geocomputation 2011 conference in…

  • Measure Devised of Disruption From Attacks on Wi-Fi Networks

    Engineers at North Carolina State University in Raleigh have developed a way of measuring the potential disruption from various types of attacks on Wi-Fi networks. The tools proposed by professor of electrical and computer engineering professor Wenye Wang and her colleagues will appear in a forthcoming issue of the journal IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing.…

  • Superbug Screening Methods Under Development

    Researchers at University of Houston and St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, also in Houston, are developing better screening methods to detect a potentially lethal, drug-resistant superbug found in that region. The team’s findings on the discovery of the multi-drug resistant bacterium appeared earlier this year in the journal Diagnostic Microbiology & Infectious Disease (paid subscription required).…