Science and Enterprise

Category: Joint ventures/collaborations

  • NSF Unveils Innovation Corps to Extend Innovation Impact

    National Science Foundation launched today its Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program, a public-private partnership to help turn scientific and engineering discoveries into useful technologies and products. I-Corps expects to support up to 100 projects at $50,000 a project. In I-Corps, NSF will ask members of the private sector to share their knowledge and experience with I-Corps…

  • Study: Computer Detection No Aid in Finding Breast Tumors

    A group of university, research institute, and National Cancer Institute researchers have concluded that computer-aided detection (CAD) technology, often used with mammograms, is ineffective in finding breast tumors. The research indicates that CAD may also increase a woman’s risk of being called back needlessly for additional testing following mammography. The study, published online in the…

  • Head Cap Devised to Capture Brain Signals to Control Devices

    A neuroscience/engineering team at University of Maryland in College Park has developed headgear like a swim cap with sensors that read brain signals and let the wearer control electronic devices. The Maryland team’s findings appear in the current issue of the Journal of Neurophysiology (paid subscription required). The non-invasive cap, lined with sensors that connect…

  • European Consortium to Fund Research on Life Expectancy

    A group of research agencies in Europe, Canada, and Israel have combined resources to fund studies aimed at increasing healthy life expectancy by two years in the European Union by 2020. Europe’s first joint call for aging research — ERA-AGE 2 — will offer a total of €4.2 million ($US 5.9 million) to multidisciplinary teams…

  • 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…

  • DuPont Acquires Nanotech Solar Materials Developer

    The global chemical company DuPont says it has acquired Innovalight Inc. in Sunnyvale, California that develops silicon inks and process technologies to increase the efficiency of crystalline silicon solar cells.  Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Innovalight’s silicon ink is made of silicon nano-particles dispersed in an environmentally friendly blend of chemicals, according…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Kaiser Permanente, UCSF Complete DNA Data Gathering

    Researchers at health care provider Kaiser Permanente and University of California at San Francisco completed the genomic analysis of more than 100,000 older Kaiser Permanente members, the first phase of their project to better understand the genetic makeup of their patients. The NIH-funded research aims to provide scientists with high-quality, genetic data on a large…