Science and Enterprise

Month: September 2011

  • GE, Nissan Partner on E-Car Power Infrastructure R&D

    Nissan Motor Company and General Electric have signed a two-year research collaboration to speed up development of a smart charging infrastructure to promote mass market adoption of electric cars. Nissan is the maker of the Leaf, one of the first electric vehicles on the market in the U.S. The companies have identified two key topics…

  • Small Business Grant Awarded for Bone Marrow Protection Drug

    A company in Chapel Hill, North Carolina has received a $3 million grant from NIH to commercialize a therapy to protect bone marrow in cancer patients against damage from chemo and radiation therapy. G-Zero Therapeutics received the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The award to…

  • Nanoparticle Size Affects Hydrogen Release in Fuel Cells

    Researchers at Delft University of Technology and VU University Amsterdam in the Netherlands have shown that the size of a metal alloy nanoparticle influences the speed with which hydrogen gas is released when stored in a metal compound containing hydrogen. The team led by Delft materials scientist Bernard Dam published its findings in the October…

  • Math Methods Devised to Design Chemical Catalysts

    Research chemists at University of Utah in Salt Lake City have developed a process based on mathematics to design chemical catalysts, including those for making drugs. Professor Matt Sigman (pictured right) and doctoral student Kaid Harper report their findings in this week’s issue of the journal Science; paid subscription required. Catalysts are substances that encourage…

  • Shana Tovah, 5772

    We’ll be taking a break today for Jewish new year observances. To get into the new year spirit, here’s a video from a friend in Israel. Have a wonderful 5772 … *      *      *

  • USDA Funding Forest, Grasses Biofuel Research

    The National Institute of Food and Agriculture, a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, announced $137 million in grants for research on biofuels from tall grasses, crop residues, and forest resources. The five-year awards will go to 22 universities and companies, through the lead institutions in Washington, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Iowa. The grants will…

  • Genomics Consortium Adds Two Members, Gains $49 Million

    The Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC) says it added two new pharmaceutical companies as members and $48.9 million in new funding. The partnership of drug companies and science funding agencies conducts basic drug discovery research, with its findings released to the public domain. SGC added Eli Lilly Canada and Pfizer Inc. to its membership that also…

  • Brain Circuit Model Helps Understand Parkinson’s Disease

    Researchers from Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis have developed a mathematical model of the brain’s neural circuitry to better understand information disruptions in the brains of Parkinson’s disease patients. Their findings appear in the journal Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science (paid subscription required). Mathematical sciences professor Leonid Rubchinsky (pictured left) examined the exchange…

  • Commercial Production Begins for New Lithium Process

    Simbol Materials, a three year-old company in Pleasanton, California, says it will begin today commercial production of a pure form of lithium carbonate for electric vehicle batteries and other energy storage devices. The company’s process, developed out of research conducted at and licensed from Lawrence Livermore National Lab, also produces manganese and zinc. The production…

  • Semiconductor Companies to Invest $4.4B in New York R&D

    Five semiconductor developers said today they will make a joint investment of $4.4 billion over the next five years to develop new computer chip technologies in New York State. The companies include Intel Corporation, IBM, GlobalFoundries, Samsung, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). The investments will be made in current and upgraded facilities in Albany,…