Science and Enterprise

Month: March 2011

  • Trial to Test Gene Therapy for Parkinson’s Disease

    Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois and 10 other U.S. hospitals are testing a gene therapy called CERE-120 to evaluate if it can improve the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. CERE-120 is an experimental gene transfer drug being developed by Ceregene Inc. in San Diego, California. The drug contains the human gene for neuturin, a…

  • Ultrasound System Developed for Submarine Data, Power

    An engineering doctoral student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York has developed a new system using ultrasound to transmit large quantities of data and power wirelessly through thick metal walls, like the hulls of ships and submarines. The system built and demonstrated by Tristan Lawry (pictured right) is one of three finalists for…

  • Profs Develop, Patent Device to Encourage Senior Exercise

    Nursing and engineering faculty at University of Rhode Island in Kingston developed a device to send friendly reminders to older people that they need to get more exercise. In November, the university patented this system that analyzes activity levels of senior citizens and generates audio reminder messages in familiar voices. The original idea for the…

  • New Balloon Catheter Reduces Cardiac Surgery Invasiveness

    A team of materials scientists, engineers, and physicians has successfully integrated stretchable electronics technology with standard balloon catheters now used inside the heart. The researchers from several universities and a company commercializing the technology, published their findings in the current online issue of the journal Nature Materials (paid subscription required). Catheters are long, flexible tubes…

  • New U.S. Start Ups Rise in 2010: That’s the Good News

    According to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, American adults created 565,000 new businesses in 2010, which represents the highest level of entrepreneurship over the past 15 years. The foundation notes, however, that the dismal state of the economy and high unemployment may have pressed more individuals into going it alone, rather…

  • Universities License Regenerative Membrane Technology

    The technology transfer offices at Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Hadassah University Medical Center in Israel, say they have licensed technology for regenerative membrane implants developed at their institutions. RegeneCure, the licensee — also in Jerusalem — will further develop and commercialize the technology for bone tissue engineering in trauma, spine, and reconstructive cranial and…

  • Hot Booze Found to Increase Iron Superconductivity

    Scientists from the National Institute for Materials Science in Tsukuba, Japan and University of Tsukuba found that soaking pellets of an iron-based compound in heated alcoholic beverages for 24 hours increases the pellets’ superconducting ability. Their findings appear in the current issue of the journal Superconductor Science and Technology (free registration required). Creating a faster…

  • Grant Awarded for Device to Help Stroke Victims Speak

    An engineering professor at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg is developing an electronic device to help bring back the voice of stroke patients and others who have suffered paralysis of the vocal folds, through electrical stimulation. National Science Foundation awarded Alexander Leonessa (right) awarded a $480,000 Faculty Early Career Development award for his research. Leonessa’s work…

  • Finance Friday: 4 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 Retina Implant AG in Reutlingen, Germany, a medical device company developing sub-retinal implants to help visually impaired people improve their sight, secured $18 million in its second round of equity funding from…

  • Online Cancer Genomics Tool for Clinicians Unveiled

    Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) in Nashville, Tennessee has launched a cancer decision-support tool to help physicians track the latest developments in personalized cancer medicine and find clinical research trials for their patients. The online service called My Cancer Genome (MyCancerGenome.org) is part of VICC’s Personalized Cancer Medicine Initiative, started last year. The Web-accessible database is…