Science and Enterprise

Month: August 2011

  • Top European Corporate R&D to Increase 5 Pct a Year

    Leading R&D investing companies based in the EU expect their global research and development investments to grow by five percent annually from 2011 to 2013, according to a survey released today by the European Commission in Brussels. The findings by the EC’s Joint Research Centre are based on survey responses from 205 mainly larger companies…

  • Energy Dept Funding Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cost Models

    The U.S. Department of Energy is funding four projects to better determine the costs of making fuel cells and hydrogen storage systems. The awards, totaling $7 million over five years, will cover studies to provide data that help the department focus future research and development funding on fuel cell components and manufacturing processes. The Energy…

  • Challenge Seeks Process for Low-Abundance Protein Measures

    A challenge at InnoCentive seeks a sample processing technology or process that will reduce the concentration of high-abundance proteins in serum and plasma samples. The competition has a prize of $30,000 and requires a written proposal. The deadline for entries is 1 October 2011. InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts is a company the conducts open-innovation crowd-sourcing…

  • New Measure Developed of Irrigation Water Requirements

    The Agricultural Research Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has devised a new method for measuring the water requirements of crops, based on the yield per drop of water actually taken in by the crops. A company is now developing instruments and software to measure and manage the amounts of water absorbed…

  • DNA Biomarker Blood Test Aids Prostate Cancer Diagnosis

    Researchers at University of Cincinnati and Harvard University have identified a blood test for a DNA biomarker that bolsters the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test used to screen men for prostate cancer. Their findings appear online in the British Journal of Cancer; paid subscription required. The study led by Cincinnati molecular epidemiologist Tianying Wu (pictured left)…

  • Better Building Codes Urged for Tornado, Hurricane Regions

    Researchers and engineers from universities and industry that reviewed the damage caused by destructive Spring 2011 tornadoes in the U.S. call for more intensive engineering design and more rigorous, localized construction and inspection standards to reduce property damage and loss of life. The report of the group’s research on the Tuscaloosa, Alabama tornado on 27…

  • Carbon Nanotube Material Used on NASA Jupiter Mission

    Nanocomp Technologies Inc. in Concord, New Hampshire, a developer of materials and component products from carbon nanotubes, says that its nanotube-based sheet material has been incorporated into NASA’s Juno spacecraft launched on 5 August. The material, called Emshield, is expected to provide protection against electrostatic discharge (ESD) as the spacecraft makes its way to Jupiter.…

  • UC San Diego Added to Pfizer Translational Network

    Pfizer Inc. in New York says University of California, San Diego Health Sciences will join the company’s network of translation research partnerships called Centers for Therapeutic Innovation (CTI). The company’s CTI partnerships now include life science research institutions in Massachusetts and New York, as well as California. Pfizer says it expects to spend some $50…

  • Army Seeking Energy Harvesters for Foot Soldiers and Squads

    The U.S. Army’s Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center in Natick, Massachusetts wants ideas for energy sources that soldiers can carry around to power the sensors and other electronic devices needed to carry out their missions. The deadline for concept papers on this topic is 31 August. The Natick center notes that the soldiers will…

  • Electronic Conductivity Found in Bacteria Nanowires

    A team of microbiologists and physicists at University of Massachusetts in Amherst have discovered the ability of nanowires in a common microbe to transport electrons across long distances. The researchers published their findings online in the journal Nature Nanotechnology (paid subscription required). Microbiologist Derek Lovley with physicists Mark Tuominen, Nikhil Malvankar and colleagues found this…