Category: New products
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New Measure Developed of Irrigation Water Requirements
The Agricultural Research Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has devised a new method for measuring the water requirements of crops, based on the yield per drop of water actually taken in by the crops. A company is now developing instruments and software to measure and manage the amounts of water absorbed…
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DNA Biomarker Blood Test Aids Prostate Cancer Diagnosis
Researchers at University of Cincinnati and Harvard University have identified a blood test for a DNA biomarker that bolsters the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test used to screen men for prostate cancer. Their findings appear online in the British Journal of Cancer; paid subscription required. The study led by Cincinnati molecular epidemiologist Tianying Wu (pictured left)…
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Carbon Nanotube Material Used on NASA Jupiter Mission
Nanocomp Technologies Inc. in Concord, New Hampshire, a developer of materials and component products from carbon nanotubes, says that its nanotube-based sheet material has been incorporated into NASA’s Juno spacecraft launched on 5 August. The material, called Emshield, is expected to provide protection against electrostatic discharge (ESD) as the spacecraft makes its way to Jupiter.…
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Electronic Conductivity Found in Bacteria Nanowires
A team of microbiologists and physicists at University of Massachusetts in Amherst have discovered the ability of nanowires in a common microbe to transport electrons across long distances. The researchers published their findings online in the journal Nature Nanotechnology (paid subscription required). Microbiologist Derek Lovley with physicists Mark Tuominen, Nikhil Malvankar and colleagues found this…
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USDA Develops Cooked Corn-Soy Meal Supplement Product
The Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture has developed a fully cooked food-aid product called Instant Corn Soy Blend that supplements meals, particularly for young children. The work was led by food technologist Charles Onwulata at the USDA’s Eastern Regional Research Center in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania. A nutritionally fortified and processed corn-soy blend…
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FDA Approves First Treatment for Scorpion Stings
The Food and Drug Administration approved Anascorp, the first specific treatment for a sting by Centruroides scorpions, commonly known as the Arizona Bark Scorpion in the United States. The drug was developed by Rare Disease Therapeutics Inc. in Franklin, Tennessee, licensing research by University of Arizona in Tucson and and two research institutes in Mexico.…
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Electronic Glove Helps Improve Sense of Touch
Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta have developed a glove that adds a small vibration to one of the fingertips to improve tactile sensitivity and motor performance. Details of the device and preliminary test results were presented in May at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Shanghai. Georgia Tech engineering…
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System Being Developed to Watch for Airport Runway Debris
A German consortium of companies, university, and Fraunhofer institutes are developing a system with multiple technologies to monitor the presence of debris on airport runways that can make them unsafe for aircraft. A piece of metal that fell off another airplane is blamed for the crash of the supersonic Concorde jet that followed on the…
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Nanotech Coating Helps Reduce Flames in Polyurethane Foam
Researchers from National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Texas A&M University in College Station have developed carbon nanofiber-filled coatings that outperform conventional flame retardants used in the polyurethane foam found in upholstered furniture and mattresses. Their findings appear in a recent issue of the journal Polymer (paid subscription required). Ignition of soft furnishings…
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Candidate Drug Starves Cancer Cells of Energy Source
Researchers from the U.S., Canada, and New Zealand have identified a compound that deprives some cancer cells of their energy source, the sugar glucose. The compound is packaged in a drug candidate licensed for pre-clinical testing to a company founded by one of the study’s senior authors. The findings appear in the 3 August issue…