Science and Enterprise

Month: February 2012

  • Challenge Seeks Molecular Composition Tool for Electronics

    A new challenge from InnoCentive calls for a technology to determine the chemical composition of everyday electronic devices. This “ideation” challenge — one looking for a breakthrough idea —  has a total prize fund of $8,000 and a deadline of 20 March 2012 for submissions. InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts is a company the conducts open-innovation,…

  • Worker Deaths Linked to Paint Stripping Chemical

    An investigation by researchers at Michigan State University has found that 13 deaths since 2000 involved the use of paint-stripping products containing methylene chloride. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) includes the findings in the 24 February 2012 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Methylene chloride is a volatile, colorless and toxic chemical…

  • ARPA-E to Fund $44M for Natural Gas, Algae Biofuels R&D

    The Energy Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA-E) will devote $44 million to fund new research in natural gas for transportation and biofuels from algae. The new programs were announced by President Obama yesterday in a speech at University of Miami in Florida. Some $30 million of the ARPA-E funds will support research on innovations…

  • No-Engine Commercial Aircraft Taxiing Deemed Feasible

    Research conducted at University of Lincoln in the U.K. indicates airliners can power their taxiing after landing by harnessing energy in the wheel rotation of their landing gear to generate electricity. The study was funded by a grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the U.K. government’s main funding agency for studies…

  • One-Step Process Developed to Produce Multi-Color Polymer

    Researchers from University at Buffalo in New York have developed a simple, inexpensive process for generating a polymer that emits many different wave-lengths of light. The findings from Buffalo’s engineering department appear online in the journal Advanced Materials (paid subscription required), for which a provisional U.S. patent application has been filed. The engineers, led by…

  • Injectable Gel Material Devised to Treat Heart Tissue Damage

    Engineers at University of California at San Diego have developed a gel-type material that in animal models shows promise in treating heart tissue damaged by a heart attack. The work of a team led by UCSD’s Karen Christman appears in the 21 February issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (paid subscription…

  • Patent Awarded for Migraine Drug Inhalation Method

    MAP Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Mountain View, California says it received a U.S. patent for its formulation and method of administering the drug dihydroergotamine (DHE) used to treat migraine headaches. Patent 8,119,639 from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office was awarded to four inventors including Thomas Armer, MAP Pharmaceuticals’s chief scientific officer. DHE is a type…

  • iPhone App Highlights Invasive Plants in Southern Forests

    Research funded by the U.S. Forest Service has generated new software to alert foresters and citizens in the southern U.S. to invasive plant species. The app for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch are available free from Apple’s iTunes Store. The Forest Service is a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The software was…

  • Nanotech Fiber Material Converts Heat to Electricity

    Researchers at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina have developed a fiber-like material with the ability to convert heat, such as body heat, into electric power. The team, which includes researchers from universities in New Zealand and Korea, and the company NanoTechLabs Inc. in nearby Yadkinville, North Carolina published its findings online in the…

  • University Research Spinoff To Build Manufacturing Plant

    Aquion Energy Inc. in Pittsburgh, a developer of sodium ion batteries and energy storage systems, says it will build its first large-scale manufacturing plant in southwestern Pennsylvania. Aquion Energy that makes energy storage systems for electrical power grids expects to create over 400 high-tech manufacturing jobs by the end of 2015. The company’s systems are…