Science and Enterprise

Month: May 2011

  • Challenge Seeks Faster, Simpler Crop Analysis Methods

    A new challenge on InnoCentive seeks better tools for farmers to evaluate their management practices and improve the use of fertilizer and other crop inputs. The competition, sponsored by the Environmental Defense Fund and the Iowa Soybean Association, will award a $15,000 prize to the winning entry. The deadline for the challenge is 13 August…

  • Study Explains How Tinted Lenses Offer Relief from Migraines

    Researchers at Michigan State University in East Lansing have discovered the process that enables precision-tinted lenses to relieve migraine sufferers of their headaches. Radiologist Jie Huang and colleagues from MSU and other institutions published their findings in the online issue of the journal Cephalalgia (free for a limited period of time). Scientists studying migraines have…

  • Hydrogen for Energy Generated from Ethanol, Sunlight

    A team of researchers from Scotland, New Zealand, and Spain have developed a simpler and less expensive technology to generate hydrogen for energy. Their findings appear online in the journal Nature Chemistry (paid subscription required). In this process, a solid photocatalyst is placed in a container with ethanol and exposed to ultraviolet light, part of…

  • Virginia Universities Form Nanotech Research Center

    The University of Virginia in Charlottesville, College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, and Old Dominion University in Norfolk, have begun a joint center to advance research in electronics based on nanotechnology. The Virginia Nanoelectronics Center (ViNC) will study properties of and develop materials at nanoscale, where one nanometer is equal to one billionth of…

  • Hopkins, Walgreens to Partner on Research, Outcome Protocols

    Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM) in Baltimore, Maryland and the drug store chain Walgreens have agreed to collaborate on population-based research and jointly review and develop protocols to improve outcomes of patients with chronic diseases. JHM and Walgreens will also together explore development of new ways to improve care for individuals that include new educational programs…

  • Computer Engineers Boost Multi-Core Chip Performance

    Engineering researchers at North Carolina State University in Raleigh developed two techniques to help maximize performance of multi-core computer chips by allowing them to retrieve data more efficiently. Professor Yan Solihin of NC State’s engineering department and former doctoral student Fang Liu will present their results next month at the International Conference on Measurement and…

  • $100 Million Investment Fund Set for Second-Stage Companies

    Stage 2 Innovations, a new venture capital fund, and Automation Alley, a technology business group in Troy, Michigan, will identify companies for funding to support large-scale commercialization. The fund will support entrepreneurs with proven technologies that need financing to take their discoveries to the global market. Tom LaSorda (pictured right), former President and CEO of…

  • Injections No Better than Oral Steroids for Sudden Deafness

    A large clinical trial over six years shows the more expensive injected steroids no better or worse as a treatment for sudden deafness than oral steroids. The findings appear in the 25 May 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The multicenter clinical trial was funded by the National Institute on Deafness…

  • University, Company Engineers Research Safer Railroad Ties

    Engineers at Kansas State University in Manhattan and the company CXT Concrete Ties in Tucson, Arizona have received funding for research leading to safer railroad ties to support the nation’s new high-speed rail projects. The engineering team was awarded a grant for nearly $900,000 from the Federal Railroad Administration, with another $300,000 provided by CXT…

  • Report: Research Triangle Becoming Smart-Grid R&D Cluster

    A new report by Duke University’s Center for Globalization, Governance and Competitiveness (CGGC) assesses the capabilities of North Carolina, particularly the 13-county Research Triangle region, to serve as a hub for developing advanced technologies to better manage electrical power. A smart grid, as this collection of technologies is called, promises to make the outdated U.S.…