Science and Enterprise

Month: July 2011

  • European Consortium to Fund Research on Life Expectancy

    A group of research agencies in Europe, Canada, and Israel have combined resources to fund studies aimed at increasing healthy life expectancy by two years in the European Union by 2020. Europe’s first joint call for aging research — ERA-AGE 2 — will offer a total of €4.2 million ($US 5.9 million) to multidisciplinary teams…

  • Inexpensive Flow Cytometer Developed on Cell Phone Platform

    Engineers at University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) have built a device that combines imaging cytometry and florescent microscopy and can be attached to a cell phone. The device — pictured right — used to image bodily fluids for cell counts or cell analysis, is described in the online edition of the journal Analytical…

  • Faster Lab-On-a-Chip Devised for Genetic Analysis

    A team at University of British Columbia in Vancouver has developed a small silicon chip that the researchers say can make genetic analysis faster and more sensitive. The findings have been accepted for publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The UBC scientists worked with colleagues at the British Columbia Cancer Agency…

  • Composite Materials Developed with Liquid or Gas Channels

    Researchers at University of Illinois in Champaign have developed composite materials with tiny embedded channels, and potential properties such as self-healing or self-cooling. The team published their findings earlier this month in the journal Advanced Materials (paid subscription required). Composite materials often contain reinforcing fibers such as fiberglass or kevlar that add strength to the…

  • DuPont Acquires Nanotech Solar Materials Developer

    The global chemical company DuPont says it has acquired Innovalight Inc. in Sunnyvale, California that develops silicon inks and process technologies to increase the efficiency of crystalline silicon solar cells.  Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Innovalight’s silicon ink is made of silicon nano-particles dispersed in an environmentally friendly blend of chemicals, according…

  • National Lab Software Helps Safeguard Public Water Supplies

    Software developed at Sandia National Lab in Albuquerque, New Mexico gives public water utilities early warnings of water quality threats from terrorists or natural contaminants. The open-source code, written in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is available as a free download. The software, known as CANARY, can tells utility operators in minutes of…

  • Caltech Develops High Rez, High Speed, High Depth 3D Imaging

    Researchers from California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena have developed a new process for 3D optical imaging of live biological samples. The new approach that produces images of higher resolution, penetration depth — for seeing deep inside 3D samples — and imaging speed are described online in the journal Nature Methods (paid subscription required).…

  • FDA Outlines Regulatory Science Needs for Drug Evaluations

    The Food and Drug Administration published its proposed needs for regulatory science in the agency’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), its main drug regulating division. The document is available for public review and comments, which close 60 days following the 21 July 2011 publication. CDER regulates over-the-counter and prescription drugs, including biological therapeutics…

  • Project Developing Inexpensive Auto Safety Sensors

    An EU-funded project is developing a sensor system for smaller cars to detect distances between cars on the road, and other safety features. The system, consisting of a camera, lenses, and infared LED, is being built by the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration (IZM) in Berlin, Germany, with the Italian automaker Fiat and chip…

  • Illinois Chemists Extend Functions of Glucose Meters

    The inexpensive handheld glucose meters familiar to diabetics can now perform more diagnostic tests, based on research by chemistry faculty at University of Illinois at Champaign. Their findings appear in the online edition of the journal Nature Chemistry (paid subscription required). Chemistry professor Yi Lu and postdoc Yu Xiang found that glucose meters can be…