Science and Enterprise

Month: August 2010

  • Slow Uptake for Green Tech Patent Fast Track

    Martin LaMonica reports today in CNet that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO’s) accelerated review program for green technology patent applications has not had the anticipated overwhelming response. In December 2009, USPTO announced it would bump up to the front of the queue for appraisal patent petitions for environmental technologies. Under the accelerated review,…

  • Patent Allowance Granted for Microwave Peptide Synthesis

    CEM Corporation, a maker of microwave lab instruments in Matthews, North Carolina, says the European Patent Office now allows the company’s patent claims for its process of microwave peptide synthesis. Peptides are amino acid compounds found in proteins. The company says allowance covers the process of using microwave energy to accelerate two key steps in…

  • University, Oil Company Partner on Infrastructure Corrosion

    University of Oklahoma (OU) in Norman and the oil company ConocoPhillips will establish a new program to conduct research on biocorrosion affecting petroleum pipelines, storage facilities, tankers, and refineries. The new Biocorrosion Center will be part of OU’s Institute for Energy and Environment. Researchers in the program will explore scientific issues to better understand and…

  • Foundation Funds R&D for Alzheimer’s Precursor Treatment

    The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) has awarded a grant of $240,000 to AgeneBio Inc. of Indianapolis, Indiana to develop a new class of small molecules that have promise in treating amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), a neurological condition that often progresses to Alzheimer’s disease. About 15 percent of aMCI patients progress to Alzheimer’s disease.…

  • USDA Research Leads to Commercial Stinging Insect Trap

    Wasps, hornets, and yellow jackets will spoil any summer barbeque or picnic, but they also pose a serious threat to agriculture field workers, particularly at harvest time. Research by scientists with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), has led to development of a trap that protects picnickers…

  • Clinical Trial of Heart Failure Drug Underway Soon

    Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, today announced the start of clinical trial of its lead drug candidate, CXL-1020, for the treatment of acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). The trial will help define proper dosing for the drug. Cardioxyl’s placebo-controlled phase 2-a trial will take place in as many as 20 sites in…

  • Stem Cell Company: Court Order Not Applicable to Our Work

    The chairman of International Stem Cell Corp. (ISCO) in Oceanside, California, says he does not expect the order on Monday of a judge blocking federal funding of embryonic stem cell research to have negative effects on the company’s therapeutic programs. Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a…

  • Study Shows Vision Restored with Biosynthetic Corneas

    A two-year clinical study by biotech company FibroGen, located in San Francisco, California, shows surgical implantation of biosynthetic corneas can restore vision and promote nerve regeneration in patients who had corneal damage and significant vision loss. The findings are published in the 25 August issue of Science Translational Medicine. The biosynthetic corneas were made of…

  • U.K. to Study Economic Value of Intellectual Property

    The U.K. government’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) will conduct a research study over the next year to evaluate the role of intellectual property in the nation’s economy. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Business, Innovation and Skills Baroness Judith Wilcox announced the project saying, “The research program will improve our understanding of intellectual property and its economic…

  • Patent Awarded for Antimicrobial Polyurethane Resins

    AdvanSource Biomaterials Corp. in Wilmington, Massachusetts, has received a Notice of Allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on its patent for antimicrobial polyurethane resins and derivative products. The notice indicates that AdvanSource Biomaterials is entitled to this patent under the law. The patent covers a drug-free, antimicrobial technology to eradicate Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus…