Science and Enterprise

Category: Joint ventures/collaborations

  • Univ. Adapts Commercial Technology in Blood Pressure Method

    Researchers at University of Leicester in the U.K. and Singapore medical device manufacturer HealthSTATS International developed a new method of non-surgically measuring blood pressure near the heart. The team published their findings in this week’s issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (paid subscription required). The traditional cuff-style blood pressure monitor inflates…

  • HSBC Takes Climate Change Research to the Bank

    The international financial company HSBC, headquartered in London, has become a champion of climate change, and says its business benefits as a result. Part of HSBC’s involvement includes committing its staff as volunteers in large-scale climate research projects, a story told yesterday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science…

  • Chemistry Prof. Commercializes Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology

    A chemistry professor at Michigan State University in East Lansing developed a process for making inexpensive hydrogen fuel cells to generate cheap electrical power, and helped start a business to bring that technology to market. A company making portable device chargers has now licensed the technology and unveiled its product this week. James Dye has…

  • U.K. Universities to Forecast Reactor Lifetimes

    Materials scientists and engineers from six universities in the U.K. are taking part in a joint project to forecast the life expectancy of the country’s nuclear power reactors. The research team comes from the University of Leeds, with colleagues from the universities of Manchester, Nottingham, Salford, Sussex, and Huddersfield. The project runs for three years,…

  • Whole Genome Sequencing Advances for Cancer Diagnosis

    Physicians and researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona and the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Phoenix successfully completed sequencing a single patient’s normal and cancer cells. The team says this is among the first whole genome sequencing performed for the medical care of a specific cancer patient. The genomic sequencing of tumor and…

  • Medical Device Maker Licenses Spinal Surgery Technology

    Integra LifeSciences in Plainsboro, New Jersey says it has agreed to license and further develop technology made by Stout Medical Group in Perkasie, Pennsylvania to improve spinal surgery. Integra estimates the market value for these kind of devices to exceed $750 million. Under the agreement, Integra will develop a device that surgeons can implant into…

  • Health System, Biotech Collaborate on Diagnostic Biomarkers

    Luminex Corporation in Austin, Texas said today that is teaming with Partners HealthCare in Boston, Massachusetts on the discovery of new biomarkers and development of clinical assays. The collaboration is expected to help the Partners HealthCare Center for Personalized Genetic Medicine (PCPGM) develop new molecular diagnostic assays. The new tests will be conducted on Luminex’s…

  • Transgenic Switchgrass Improves Biofuel Yield

    Plant engineering by The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation in Ardmore, Oklahoma and fermentation research by Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee have led to new lines of native perennial prairie grass  that can make the production of cellulosic ethanol more economical. The researchers published their findings this week in in the Proceedings of the National…

  • Two Pesticides Linked to Higher Rates of Parkinson’s Disease

    A new study by government and private research institutes shows higher rates of Parkinson’s disease among people using the highly restricted pesticides rotenone and paraquat. The findings were published recently in an online issue of the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. The research team found that people who used either pesticide developed Parkinson’s disease about 2.5…

  • Pharma Companies Partner on Dengue Drugs

    Medivir AB, a specialty pharmaceutical company in Huddinge, Sweden, will collaborate with Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V. in Beerse, Belgium on drugs for the prevention and treatment of dengue virus infection. Both companies plan to use their expertise in protease inhibitors for this partnership. According to the World Health Organization, dengue is the most common mosquito-borne viral…