Science and Enterprise

Month: March 2011

  • Study: Food Scares and Product Recalls Increasing

    Researchers at Queen’s University in Belfast, U.K. have completed the first analysis of all food recalls announced in the U.S., U.K., and Ireland over the last decade. The findings will be presented at the Food Integrity and Traceability Conference taking place at Queen’s University this week. The research by Antony Potter at the university’s Centre…

  • Public-Private Research Helps Oyster Growers Meet FDA Regs

    Researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) in Gloucester Point joined with local oyster growers to sharply reduce a bacterium harmful to humans found in farmed oysters. Their findings may offer a lower-cost solution to new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations that many growers believe can affect the oyster industry in Chesapeake…

  • University Engineers Develop Single Lens for 3D Microscope

    Engineers at Ohio State University in Columbus have invented a lens that enables microscopic objects to be seen from nine different angles at once to create a 3D image. Engineering professor Allen Yi, and postdoctoral researcher Lei Li discuss the lens in the November 2010 issue of the Journal of the Optical Society of America…

  • Kansas Winds Could Help Avoid Widespread Power Outages

    A graduate student at Kansas State University in Manhattan is conducting research that shows how distributed energy sources like wind power can help reduce widespread power outages. Engineering doctoral student Sakshi Pahwa presented her findings earlier this year at the Capitol Graduate Research Summit in Topeka, Kansas. The research looks into distributed energy sources as…

  • Organic Nanoparticle in Development for Cancer Drug Delivery

    A research team at Ontario Cancer Institute in Toronto, Canada have created an organic nanoparticle that they say can potentially change the way tumors are treated. Their findings appear online in the journal Nature Materials (paid subscription required). The researchers, led by the institute’s Gang Zheng (pictured left), say these new nanoscale particles — 1…

  • Clinical Trial Underway for Seasonal/H1N1 Vaccine

    Medicago Inc., a biotechnology company in Quebec City, Canada has begun a phase I clinical trial of its H1N1 influenza vaccine candidate in the United States. The trial tests the drug’s safety, tolerability, and capacity to induce an immune response, with results expected in three months. The randomized, double-blind, multicenter, active- and placebo-controlled dose-ranging study…

  • Finance Friday: 18 March 2011

    Here are recent angel and venture finance transactions for science- and engineering-based companies, as reported by Xconomy and Venture Capital Reporter. Biomedical/Life Sciences Advanced Animal Diagnostics in Durham, North Carolina raised $11 million in equity funding with Intersouth Partners and Novartis Venture Funds, the venture capital arm of Novartis Pharmaceuticals, and others. Chronix Biomedical in San Jose,…

  • Engineers Research Grid Upgrades to Handle More DC Power

    Engineers at University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania have begun research on upgrades needed in the U.S. electrical grid to better integrate direct current (DC) power in an infrastructure designed for alternating current (AC). Funding for the project includes a recent $600,000 support grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority, as well…

  • Early Trial Indicates Stem Cells Can Reverse Heart Damage

    Researchers from University of Miami in Florida and BioCardia, a cardiac device manufacturer in San Carlos, California have shown that stem cells injected into enlarged hearts can reduce heart size, reduce scar tissue, and improve function to injured heart areas. The results of this small trial appear in the journal Circulation Research, published by the…

  • Univ. Bioenergy Lab to Develop Low Carbon Technologies

    Aston University in Birmingham, U.K. plans to build new £16.5 million ($26.7 million) engineering laboratories to develop and demonstrate renewable low carbon technologies including a biomass fueled power plant. The facility (artist’s drawing pictured right)  is scheduled to open on the Aston campus in October 2012. The labs include photo-bioreactors harnessing algae, and a 0.4MW…