Month: October 2011
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Stanford Using Sensor-Packed Mouthpiece to Study Concussions
Football and other athletes at Stanford University in California are wearing mouthpieces equipped with sensors to measure the force of head impacts during games and practices. The devices (pictured right) are manufactured by Seattle-based X2 Impact, which has donated the devices for the research. The mouthpieces will collect data for a study led by Dan…
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Univ., IBM Team Creates Enhanced Cloud Security Technique
Computer scientists from North Carolina State University in Raleigh and IBM have developed a technique to better protect sensitive information in cloud computing, without compromising overall system performance. The research team, led by NC State professor Peng Ning (pictured left), will present its findings later in October at the 18th ACM Conference on Computer and…
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Grant to Fund Research on Biodegradable Implant Materials
The engineering school at University of California in Riverside has received funding for research on alternative materials for medical implants that degrade naturally. National Science Foundation awarded the two-year grant for $175,000 to assistant professor of bioengineering Huinan Liu. Liu’s research will focus on developing biodegradable medical implant materials that would promote tissue regeneration and…
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FDA to Tap Outside Specialized Experts on Devices
The Food and Drug Administration announced plans to form a new network of outside experts to offer specialized advice on medical devices. The FDA is also seeking public comment on draft procedures for recruiting and operating this network. FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH), the part of the agency that regulates medical devices,…
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Illumina, University of North Texas to Partner on Forensics
Illumina Inc. in San Diego and University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth will collaborate on several forensics projects using Illumina’s genetic sequencing technologies. The partnership will involve the university’s Center for Human Identification and its Department of Forensic and Investigative Genetics. The collaboration is expected to cover research, development, and implementation…
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Dow Chemical to Invest $25 Million in Universities
Dow Chemical Company in New York said today it plans to invest $25 million in U.S. university research and education programs over the next 10 years. Dow also announced a collaboration with Argonne National Lab on advanced battery materials. The company says its university funding will support faculty, students and infrastructure at 11 campuses in…
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Guidelines Show Safe MRIs with Implanted Cardiac Devices
Research conducted in the U.S. and Israel indicates that patients with implanted cardiac devices can safely undergo MRI scans, when a specified protocol is followed. The results of the study appear in the 4 October issue of the journal Annals of Internal Medicine (paid subscription required). Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has been considered off limits…
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Brand-Name Statin Use Tied to High Cost of Unneeded Care
Researchers from medical centers in New York and San Francisco found that nearly 87 percent of the estimated $6.7 billion spent in one year on unnecessary tests or medications in primary care, is consumed by brand-name statins to treat high cholesterol. The findings appear in a research letter in the 1 October online issue of…
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Continuous Imaging Petri Dish Based on Smartphone Technology
A team of engineers and biologists at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena have designed a petri dish that can continuously capture images of growing cell cultures. Called ePetri, the developers describe the device online this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Petri dishes, used to grow cell cultures such…
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Low-Cost Tablet Gets Hands-On Tests in Indian Schools
Researchers have tested in India an electronic tablet device designed in the U.S. and Singapore for widespread use in Indian schools. The I-slate is being developed at the Institute for Sustainable and Applied Infodynamics (ISAID), a joint program of Rice University in Houston, Texas and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. The device, still a…