Month: June 2011
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Pfizer Adds Mass. Institutions to Translational Network
Pfizer Inc. in New York is adding eight Massachusetts research institutions to its network of translational research partnerships, called the Centers for Therapeutic Innovation. The company also says it will put the academic network’s headquarters in Boston, a $100 million investment over five years. Jose Carlos Gutierrez-Ramos, Pfizer’s vice-president for biotherapeutics research and development, says…
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Mayo Clinic, GE to Research Brain-Scan MRI Technology
The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and GE Global Research in Niskayuna, New York will conduct research leading to development of a dedicated MRI brain scanner for neurological and psychiatric disorders. Their work is funded by a $5.7 million grant from National Institutes of Health. An MRI brain scanner would be dedicated to diagnose disorders…
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Prototype U.K. Medical Records Card/Stick Developed
Two universities in the U.K. have developed a prototype smart card fitted with mass memory stick containing an individual’s medical records. The MyCare Card prototype was developed by City University London and Coventry University, with funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The MyCare Card, pictured left, stores personal medical data, such…
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Collaboration to Develop Second-Generation Malaria Vaccine
The PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) says it has an agreement with Dutch biopharmaceutical company Crucell N.V., a division of Johnson & Johnson, and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to develop a second-generation vaccine against malaria. PATH is an international non-profit organization that helps communities worldwide break longstanding cycles of poor health. According to World Health Organization (WHO),…
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Open-Source Genome Analysis Software Developed
Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, part of Yeshiva University in Bronx, New York have written software to make the analysis of genomic data easier for fellow researchers. The findings appeared last month in the journal Bioinformatics. Julien Lajugie and Eric Bouhassira developed the open-source software, called GenPlay, to help biologists analyze raw genomics…
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Intel to Partner with Universities on Secure Computing
Intel Corporation in Mountain View, California says it has an agreement with five universities to collaborate on research to improve secure computing for the end user. Partnering on its second Intel Science and Technology Center (ISTC) is University of California at Berkeley that will serve as the center’s host, and Carnegie Mellon, Drexel, Duke, and…
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Pavement Affects Weather, Aids Build Up of Urban Pollutants
A team from the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado found the intense commercial development in Houston, Texas can change weather patterns in that city, which makes it easier for pollutants to accumulate during warm summer weather instead of being blown out to sea. Their findings will appear in an upcoming issue of…
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GE Technology Selected for First Gas/Wind/Solar Power Plant
GE says it will provide the basic technology for a power plant in Turkey that generates electricity with a combination of natural gas, wind, and solar power. The plant, to be built by MetCap Energy Investments, a Turkish development company, is expected to provide power for more than 600,000 homes when it goes online in…
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Clinical Trial Tests Diuretic Drug on Neurologic Disorder
A Michigan State University physician is testing a common diuretic as a treatment for a neurological disorder that affects younger, overweight women. The six-month clinical trial is funded by National Institutes of Health and conducted at 50 sites nationwide. Eric Eggenberger, professor of neurology and ophthalmology, is leading a team focusing on idiopathic intracranial hypertension…
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Project Seeks Potatoes Resistant to Climate Change
Spain’s Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development (Neiker-Tecnalia) is leading an international project to find potatoes tolerant of climate change and develop new potato varieties as needed. The potatoes should be suitable for growing under adverse environmental conditions, and help ensure their supply in the least favorable regions of the world. The potato is…