Science and Enterprise

Month: November 2010

  • Study Shows Drug Combo Effective as HIV Prevention

    A new study called iPrEx shows that individuals at high risk for HIV infection who took a once-a-day commercially-available tablet containing two widely used HIV medications experienced fewer HIV infections than those who received a placebo pill. The researchers say that the clinical trial, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, is the first…

  • U.S., Europe Patents Issued for RNAi Drug Delivery

    Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp. in Vancouver, Canada, a developer of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics, says that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and European Patent Office (EPO) have issued patents covering elements of Tekmira’s lipid nanoparticle technology for delivering nucleic acid therapeutics, including small interfering RNA (siRNA). RNAi therapeutics have the potential to treat…

  • FDA Approves 3-D Digital Mammography System

    Hologic Inc., a developer of medical diagnostics and imaging products for women’s health care in Bedford, Massachusetts, says it has received an approval letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the Selenia Dimensions three-dimensional digital mammography tomosynthesis system. The Selenia Dimensions 3-D system is a new method for breast cancer screening and…

  • Researchers Find High Temperatures Can Kill Superbug Genes

    New findings by civil engineering researchers at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis show that treating municipal wastewater solids at higher temperatures can help fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections, but the growing presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria — called superbugs — has raised concerns about the future effectiveness of antibiotics.…

  • Lab Adds Nanoscale Layers on Silicon for Semiconductors

    Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California (UC) Berkeley, have integrated ultra-thin layers of the semiconductor material indium arsenide onto a silicon substrate to create a nanoscale transistor with working electronic properties. Indium arsenide offers several advantages as an alternative to silicon including superior electron mobility…

  • Research Advances Paper As Electronic Display Media

    A University of Cincinnati (UC) engineering researcher in Ohio has discovered a process for displaying electronic content on paper, which expands the possibility of lower-cost, or even disposable, electronic reading devices. Current e-readers, such as the iPad or Kindle, display content with electronic circuitry over glass as their display substrates. UC electrical Engineering Professor Andrew…

  • Macular Degeneration Drug Achieves Goal in Clinical Trial

    Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Tarrytown, New York and the German pharmaceutical company Bayer HealthCare said today that all regimens of their drug VEGF Trap-Eye (aflibercept ophthalmic solution) met their primary objectives in two separate Phase 3 clinical studies of patients with the neovascular form of age-related macular degeneration, often called wet AMD. VEGF Trap-Eye is…

  • Gates Foundation Grants $50M for New Insecticides

    The Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC) has received $50 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to continue work developing new insecticides for the control of insects like mosquitoes that transmit malaria, dengue, and other tropical diseases. The five year grant will support new and ongoing projects to develop new active ingredients for insecticides…

  • Ethanol Company to Open Demonstration Biofuels Refinery

    Algenol Biofuels Inc. in Bonita Springs, Florida says it plans to build a pilot-scale biofuels refinery adjacent to its recently opened laboratories in Fort Myers, Florida. The 36-acre facility will demonstrate Algenol’s technology, which produces ethanol directly from carbon dioxide using blue-green algae. Algenol says the Lee Road facility in Fort Myers brings together the…

  • USA, EU, Japan Patent Offices Vow To Improve Work Sharing

    Leaders of the patent offices in the United States, European Union, and Japan agreed to speed the process of examination of patent applications by better sharing materials on common filings. The three organizations met this week at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia for their 28th annual conference. The three…