Month: July 2011
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Challenge Seeks Independent Acutator for Radiator Thermostat
A challenge at InnoCentive seeks a design of an independently powered actuator and power harvesting system for standard hot-water radiator thermostat valves. The competition, with a prize of $20,000, requires a written proposal. The due date for proposals is 22 September 2011. InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts is a company the conducts open-innovation crowd-sourcing competitions for…
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Navy Develops Lightweight Power for Explosive Disposal Teams
The U.S. Office of Naval Research has developed a lightweight power system to cut the 50 pounds of battery devices hauled by the Navy’s explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams. Protonex Technology Corp. in Southborough, Massachusetts partnered with the Navy to build the system, called the Power Management Kit (PMK), and shipped five units to the…
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Prostate Cancer Compound Granted U.S. Patent
Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corp. in San Diego, California says the technology behind its cancer drug candidate has received a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Claims in patent 7863324 “Chroman-Derived Compounds for the Treatment of Cancer” include methods for inhibiting the growth of prostate cancer cells, delaying the progression of prostate cancer, and preventing…
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Kaiser Permanente, UCSF Complete DNA Data Gathering
Researchers at health care provider Kaiser Permanente and University of California at San Francisco completed the genomic analysis of more than 100,000 older Kaiser Permanente members, the first phase of their project to better understand the genetic makeup of their patients. The NIH-funded research aims to provide scientists with high-quality, genetic data on a large…
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Prototype Spherical Robot Developed to Monitor Reactor Pipes
Engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a small robotic device to inspect underground pipes for corrosion at nuclear reactors. A prototype of the remote-controlled device was presented in May at the 2011 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. The device, about the size of an egg and with a spherical shape, was…
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Agilent, Singapore Institute Launch Drug Screening Center
Agilent Technologies in Santa Clara, California and Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) unveiled a comprehensive drug screening platform for biomedical researchers. The service, called the Singapore Screening Centre, will reside in A*STAR’s Experimental Therapeutics Centre. Agilent and A*STAR say the platform can conduct high-throughput screenings to identify potential drug candidates against diseases,…
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FDA Approves Blood Thinning Drug for Heart Disease
The Food and Drug Administration approved the blood-thinning drug Brilinta (ticagrelor) to reduce cardiovascular death and heart attack in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Brilinta is a product of AstraZeneca in Wilmington, Delaware. Brilinta helps prevent the formation of new blood clots, thus maintaining blood flow in the body to help reduce the risk…
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2011 Q2 VC Funding Up for Life Sciences, CleanTech Stalls
Venture capital (VC) funds and the number of VC deals increased in the second quarter of 2011 compared to the first quarter, with companies in the life sciences and semiconductors among those reaping the benefits. The data were collected by Thomson Reuters and published in the MoneyTree Report from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and the National Venture…
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GE Develops 500 Gigabyte Micro-Holographic Disc
The technology research division of General Electric Co. says it successfully demonstrated an optical storage technology using micro-holographic material that can support data recording at the same speed as Blu-ray discs. The technology will be discussed today at IEEE’s Joint International Symposium on Optical Memory & Optical Data Storage Topical Meeting in Kauai, Hawaii. GE…
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University to Study Fracking and Methane in Drinking Water
Researchers at Temple University in Philadelphia will investigate the origins of methane gas found in drinking water wells near Marcellus Shale drilling sites in Pennsylvania. A related research project will study the extent to which science influences public policy on shale gas drilling. Both studies are funded by a one-year, $66,000 grant from the William…