Science and Enterprise

Month: June 2011

  • Patients Get Lab-Grown Blood Vessels From Donor Skin Cells

    For the first time, according to the American Heart Association, human blood vessels grown in the lab from donor skin cells have been successfully implanted into patients. The findings were presented today (27 June) in the American Heart Association’s Emerging Science Series webinar. The research involves the work of Cytograft Tissue Engineering Inc. in Novato,…

  • Genentech Gets Rights, Can Buy Out Biotech Research Program

    The biotechnology company Forma Therapeutics in Cambridge, Massachusetts says it has an agreement with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, granting Genentech exclusive rights to acquire one of Forma’s pre-clinical small molecule cancer research programs. The specific cancer target of the therapy under development is not disclosed. The agreement begins as a research collaboration…

  • U.S., Australian Universities Collaborate on Biofuels R&D

    Clemson University in South Carolina and University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia have agreed to exchange research and create a joint biofuels development program. The institutions will raise public and private funds to advance biofuel research, and further development and commercialization of ethanol and biodiesel production. Cellulosic biofuel technology uses the plant’s cell walls to…

  • Nanoscale Nuclear Testing Capability Developed

    Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, University of California at Berkeley, and Los Alamos National Lab have devised a testing technique for irradiated materials at nanoscale that offers insights into the full-scale properties of those materials. The team’s findings appear in the current online issue of the journal Nature Materials (paid subscription required). The technique…

  • White House Unveils Manufacturing Partnership, Investments

      At Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh today, President Obama launched an initiative that aims to invest in emerging technologies leading to high quality manufacturing jobs. The Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP) is expected to combine resources from industry, universities, and the federal government to encourage progress in information technology, biotechnology, and nanotechnology, and other advancements…

  • Trial Tests Heart Valve Replacement Without Opening Chest

    A clinical trial at several medical centers in the U.S., including Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, is testing a new approach  for implanting an aortic heart valve without open-heart surgery. This technology is designed for patients with conditions such as severe aortic stenosis — constriction of the left heart ventricle — who are considered…

  • Genomic Software Offers Faster Interpretations for Diagnosis

    Software developed by scientists from University of Utah in Salt Lake City and Omicia Inc. in Emeryville, California, improves the speed and ability to identify and interpret genetic variations for the diagnosis of disease. The researchers that developed the software describe their findings in the current issue of the journal Genome Research. The team led…

  • Sensitive Underwater Microphone Works at All Depths

    Researchers at Stanford University have developed a microphone for use at any depth and water pressure in the ocean, and is sensitive to a wide range of sounds. The research on the microphone, funded by Litton Systems, a subsidiary of Northrop-Grumman Corp., is published in the Journal of the Acoustic Society of America (paid subscription…

  • Virtual Reality Used to Study Food Addictions

    A faculty member at University of Houston in Texas is using virtual reality technology to study food cravings as a form of addiction. Tracey Ledoux, assistant professor of health and human performance, bases her research on studies showing food stimulates the same reward and motivation centers of the brain that respond to addictive drugs. In…

  • North Africa, Middle East Entrepreneurial Programs Unveiled

    Two new programs aimed at spurring innovation based on science and technology in North Africa, Middle East, and South Asia were  unveiled at a kick-off meeting in Rabat, Morocco last week. The Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) in Arlington, Virginia manages the programs, with funding from the U.S. Department of State. One of new…