Category: New products
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Laser-Printed Drone Aircraft Developed, Flown
Engineers at University of Southampton in the U.K. have designed and flown an unmanned aircraft made with a three-dimensional laser printing process. The university worked with 3T RPD Ltd, a company in Newbury, U.K., for the aircraft’s manufacturing. The Southampton University Laser Sintered Aircraft (SULSA) project led by engineering professors Andy Keane and Jim Scanlan…
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Lab Creates Graphene Composite for Lithium Ion Batteries
Researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California have developed a graphene and tin nanoscale composite material for high-capacity energy storage in renewable lithium ion batteries, like those used in electric cars. The team at the lab, funded by the Department of Energy, published its findings in a recent issue of the journal Energy…
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Inexpensive Flow Cytometer Developed on Cell Phone Platform
Engineers at University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) have built a device that combines imaging cytometry and florescent microscopy and can be attached to a cell phone. The device — pictured right — used to image bodily fluids for cell counts or cell analysis, is described in the online edition of the journal Analytical…
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Faster Lab-On-a-Chip Devised for Genetic Analysis
A team at University of British Columbia in Vancouver has developed a small silicon chip that the researchers say can make genetic analysis faster and more sensitive. The findings have been accepted for publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The UBC scientists worked with colleagues at the British Columbia Cancer Agency…
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Composite Materials Developed with Liquid or Gas Channels
Researchers at University of Illinois in Champaign have developed composite materials with tiny embedded channels, and potential properties such as self-healing or self-cooling. The team published their findings earlier this month in the journal Advanced Materials (paid subscription required). Composite materials often contain reinforcing fibers such as fiberglass or kevlar that add strength to the…
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National Lab Software Helps Safeguard Public Water Supplies
Software developed at Sandia National Lab in Albuquerque, New Mexico gives public water utilities early warnings of water quality threats from terrorists or natural contaminants. The open-source code, written in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is available as a free download. The software, known as CANARY, can tells utility operators in minutes of…
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Caltech Develops High Rez, High Speed, High Depth 3D Imaging
Researchers from California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena have developed a new process for 3D optical imaging of live biological samples. The new approach that produces images of higher resolution, penetration depth — for seeing deep inside 3D samples — and imaging speed are described online in the journal Nature Methods (paid subscription required).…
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Project Developing Inexpensive Auto Safety Sensors
An EU-funded project is developing a sensor system for smaller cars to detect distances between cars on the road, and other safety features. The system, consisting of a camera, lenses, and infared LED, is being built by the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration (IZM) in Berlin, Germany, with the Italian automaker Fiat and chip…
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Illinois Chemists Extend Functions of Glucose Meters
The inexpensive handheld glucose meters familiar to diabetics can now perform more diagnostic tests, based on research by chemistry faculty at University of Illinois at Champaign. Their findings appear in the online edition of the journal Nature Chemistry (paid subscription required). Chemistry professor Yi Lu and postdoc Yu Xiang found that glucose meters can be…
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Navy Develops Lightweight Power for Explosive Disposal Teams
The U.S. Office of Naval Research has developed a lightweight power system to cut the 50 pounds of battery devices hauled by the Navy’s explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams. Protonex Technology Corp. in Southborough, Massachusetts partnered with the Navy to build the system, called the Power Management Kit (PMK), and shipped five units to the…