Category: New products
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Imaging Technology Used to Improve Grain Yields
Scientists at University of Adelaide in Australia are developing a technology based on computer imaging to better understand growth patterns of cereal grains and improve their yields under various conditions. The project involves a collaboration among computer scientists and plant physiologists at the university, with a German computer-imaging company. The team aims to develop technology…
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Platform, Tools Developed to Network Smart Objects
Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim have devised a platform and tools to connect home and office objects with built-in intelligence. The Infrastructure for Integrated Services (ISIS) offers a common framework for developing and distributing applications in what the researchers call the Internet of Things. ISIS addresses a need…
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Trial Shows Sealant Gel Closes Spinal Surgery Wounds
A clinical trial led by researchers at University of California at Davis found a gel that creates a watertight seal to close surgical wounds, sealed spinal wounds 100 percent of the time. The UC Davis team reported their findings in the online issue of the journal Spine (paid subscription required). The trial, funded by the…
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FDA Approves Genetic Test for Breast Cancer Treatment
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new genetic test that will help health care professionals determine if women with breast cancer are candidates for Herceptin (trastuzumab), a commonly used breast cancer treatment. The Inform Dual ISH test is made by Ventana Medical Systems, a division of the Roche Group, in Tucson, Arizona. The…
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Self-Repairing Structural Stress Sensor Developed
A research team at North Carolina State University in Raleigh has built a sensor to measure the strain in structural materials and that can fix itself if broken. NCSU mechanical engineering student Young Song and faculty member Kara Peters published their findings in the June issue of the journal Smart Materials And Structures (paid subscription…
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Wireless Security Devised for Implanted Medical Devices
Engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge and University of Massachusetts in Amherst have designed a system that shields implanted medical devices like heart pacemakers and defibrillators from unauthorized wireless access or sabotage. Their findings will be presented at the ACM Special Interest Group on Data Communication (SIGCOMM) conference in Toronto, Canada in August.…
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Lab Tests Indicate Inhaled Carbon Nanotubes Pose Cancer Risk
Researchers at University of Edinburgh in Scotland found some types carbon nanotubes could cause cancer if inhaled. Ken Donaldson, a toxicology professor at Edinburgh, and colleagues published their findings in the June 2011 issue of the American Journal of Pathology (paid subscription required). Carbon nanotubes are a type of nanoscale material (1 nanometer equals 1…
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Engineers Developing Human Driving Model to Reduce Crashes
Researchers at University of Michigan and MIT are devising an algorithm that models human driving behavior to help cars avoid accidents on the road. Early results of the model are expected to be published in the journal IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine. Mechanical engineers Domitilla Del Vecchio of MIT and Rajeev Verma at University of…
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Water Cooled Cap Helps Relieve Primary Insomnia
Researchers at University of Pittsburgh have developed and tested a cap that cools the brain during sleep, and appears to help people with primary insomnia — sleeplessness not caused by some other condition — find relief. Eric Nofzinger and Daniel Buysse presented their findings on 13 June at a meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep…
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Premature Infant Respiratory Support Guidelines Tested
Medical researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston tested a gentle form of respiratory support for premature infants instead of a mechanical ventilator and found more favorable outcomes, as well as lower treatment costs. Their results appear in the online issue of the journal Pediatrics (paid subscription required). A team led by Bernadette Levesque of Children’s Hospital…