Science and Enterprise

Month: May 2011

  • Blood Pressure Drug Helps Regenerate Muscle, Prevent Atrophy

    Medical researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland have found the blood pressure drug losartan can help repair injured muscle and protect against muscles wasting away, at least in mice. Their findings appear in this week’s issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine (paid subscription required). Previous research revealed that as humans age, the…

  • New 3D Prostate Biopsy Combines MRI, Ultrasound

    Researchers from the UCLA Health System in Los Angeles and medical device company Eigen Inc. have developed more targeted biopsies of prostate cancer that combine MRI and ultrasound technologies. The team reported its early results in the online issue of the journal  Urologic Oncology (subscription required). National Cancer Institute estimates nearly 218,000 new cases of…

  • Silver Nanoparticles Generated in Natural Environment

    A team of university and government chemists have found that given a source of silver ions, naturally occurring humic acid can synthesize stable silver nanoparticles. The researchers published their findings last month in the journal Environmental Science and Technology (paid subscription required). Nanoscale silver particles — one nanometer equals one-billionth of a meter — are…

  • Study: Genomics R&D Generates $796 Billion Return to U.S.

    An analysis by Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio estimates that the Human Genome Project and associated activities generated an economic return of $796 billion between 1988 and 2010, from an investment of $3.8 billion ($5.6 billion in constant dollars). In addition, Battelle calculates genomics research and development directly and indirectly resulted in personal income…

  • Allos, Mundipharma to Collaborate on Cancer Drugs

    Allos Therapeutics in Westminster, Colorado and Mundipharma International Corp. Ltd in Cambridge, U.K. have agreed to co-commercialize the drug Folotyn developed by Allos, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in cancer therapies. Mundipharma is a group of drug development companies in Europe. Folotyn is a folate analogue metabolic inhibitor approved in the U.S. for the treatment of…

  • Challenge Seeks New Pseudoephedrine Production Process

    InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts has released a challenge with a $100,000 award for new methods of producing the common medication pseudoephedrine that make it very difficult to extract ingredients for the illegal drug methamphetamine. InnoCentive acts as a marketplace that brings together companies or organizations seeking solutions with groups or individuals interested in providing those…

  • Lower Cost Has Little Effect on Hearing Aid Purchase

    A study conducted at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Michigan finds that lower costs for hearing aids are not enough to motivate adults with mild hearing loss to purchase a device at a younger age or before their hearing worsens. The findings are published in the May issue of The Hearing Journal. Hearing loss…

  • University Patents Chemical Measurement Device and Process

    Baylor University in Waco, Texas has received a U.S. patent for a new type of polarimeter, an instrument to measure and interpret transverse waves, such as light waves. The new polarimeter was developed by Baylor chemistry professor Kenneth Busch and lab coordinator Dennis Rabbe. United States Patent 7911608 covers not only the device hardware, but…

  • New Class of Insect Repellant Developed, Patent Filed

    Researchers at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee have developed a new type of insect repellant that they say is more effective than current products on the market. Their results appear online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (paid subscription required). The new type of repellant, from the lab of biology and pharmacology…

  • Math Model Developed to Determine Vaccine Combinations

    Engineers and computer scientists at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York and University of Illinois in Urbana have developed a mathematical model to determine the optimum combination of vaccines for children that keeps the injections affordable yet remains financially attractive to manufacturers. The team led by RIT’s Rubén Proaño published their findings last month…