Month: October 2011
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University, Industry Team Demonstrates Robotic Biologist
Researchers from two universities and a research company have demonstrated an automated system that can analyze raw experimental biological data and derive the mathematical equations that describe the way the system operates. The team from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and CFD Research Corp. in Huntsville, Alabama published their results…
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NIH Awards Infectious Disease Therapy Contracts
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, awarded contracts totaling $37.5 million to five companies to develop therapies for diseases caused by multiple types of bacteria or viruses. The five-year orders, with a potential total value of $150 million, cover research to extend promising drug candidates…
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Complete Genomes Sequenced of Embryonic Stem Cell Lines
Researchers from industry, research institutes, and universities in the U.S. and Korea have conducted a complete genomic sequence analysis of five human embryonic stem cell lines. Their findings appear online in the journal Stem Cell Research (paid subscription required). The authors describe a systematic application of current molecular technologies to provide a detailed understanding of…
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Contract Awarded for Magnets Made Without Rare Earth Metals
Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond has received a $2.9 million contract from Department of Energy to develop a new class of permanent magnets for energy-efficient electric car motors and generators. The project is funded through the department’s Rare Earth Alternatives in Critical Technologies program (REACT) under the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy. The REACT program aims…
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Many Inter-Hospital Helicopter Patient Transports Not Needed
Analysts at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston found many neurosurgical patients transported by helicopter to a critical care facility from hospitals could have made the trip at least as quickly by ambulance. Their findings appeared yesterday in the online journal PLoS One. Surgeon Brian Walcott and colleagues reviewed electronic health records…
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Atlanta Network to Boost Pediatric Medical Devices
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has awarded four Atlanta-area institutions a $1.8 million grant to encourage development of new medical devices to meet the special needs of children. Georgia Institute of Technology, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University and Saint Joseph’s Translational Research Institute will take part in the Atlanta Pediatric Device Consortium. Barbara…
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Intelligent Vehicle Highway Test Planned in Germany
The largest on-road test of intelligent vehicles is planned for Spring of 2012, according to Technical University of Munich (Technische Universität München, TUM), one of the participants. The exercise involving 120 cars and trucks will test vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastracture communication on Germany’s streets and roads. The test fleet will be equipped with the Safe and…
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Google to Partner with, Finance DNA Sequencing Data Company
DNAnexus Inc., a DNA data management and analysis company in Mountain View, California, says it will collaborate with Google Inc. to provide access to its archive of publicly available DNA data. Also today, DNAnexus announced it has secured $15 million in second-round equity funding from a syndicate led by Google Ventures and life sciences venture…
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Inhaler Developed to Deliver Lung Cancer Treatments
Researchers at University of Strathclyde in Glascow, Scotland have developed an inhalation-based process to administer treatments to lung cancer patients. The method uses a nebulizer that delivers drugs in the form of a fine mist, rather than the current intravenous delivery methods. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that more people in the…
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Broccoli Shown More Beneficial Than Supplement Substitutes
Food scientists at Oregon State University in Corvallis find that a key enzyme in whole broccoli is better absorbed by the body than when offered in a supplement. Their research appeared last month in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (paid subscription required). Broccoli has attracted the interest of researchers because it contains high…