Month: March 2012
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NIH, Eli Lilly to Partner on Drug Effects Profiles
National Institutes of Health and Eli Lilly and Company will produce a public resource that catalogs the effects of thousands of approved and investigational medicines in a variety of testing systems. Biological profiles of these medicines and molecules are expected to help biomedical researchers better predict treatment outcomes and improve drug development. NIH’s new National…
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U.S. Patent Awarded for Isobutanol Production Process
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted Gevo Inc. in Englewood, Colorado, a maker of biofuels from renewable feedstocks, a patent for its process of producing isobutanol with reduced accumulation of by-products. Patent no. 8,133,715, “Reduced By-Product Accumulation for Improved Production of Isobutanol,” was awarded today to 12 inventors and assigned to Gevo. Isobutanol…
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Biotech Secures $13M in Series B Funding for Clinical Trial
HemaQuest Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biotechnology company in San Diego, closed a $13 million extension of its series B financing, the second round of funding after initial start-up. The extension is funded by existing investors Aberdare Ventures, De Novo Ventures, Forward Ventures, Latterell Venture Partners, and Lilly Ventures. HemaQuest develops small molecule therapies to treat disorders…
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Genetic Testing Users, Costs Expected to Increase
A working paper released today by UnitedHealthcare, a health care insurance and services company in Minneapolis, says few patients currently use genetic testing, but a large majority of physicians believes their patients could benefit from these tests. The report also estimates some $5 billion is now spent annually on genetic testing, with those costs expected…
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FDA Approves Cell Product for Dental Tissue Regeneration
The Food and Drug Administration has approved the product Gintuit for regenerating oral soft tissue, made by Organogenesis Inc. in Canton, Massachusetts. The product combines skin cells and connective tissue with bovine collagen and proteins to regrow soft tissue in the mouth resulting from gingival recession, or receding gums. Gingival recession occurs when the gingiva…
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Australian Researchers Develop Salt-Tolerant Wheat Strain
Agricultural researchers at universities and research institutes in Australia have developed a strain of wheat that can thrive in salty soils. Their findings appear today online in journal Nature Biotechnology (paid subscription required). The research led by University of Adeliade plant scientist Matthew Gilliham first aimed at understanding in the lab the functioning of salt-tolerant…
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Nanotubes Boost Biosensors for Faster Medical Diagnostics
Researchers at Oregon State University in Corvallis have adapted carbon nanotubes to increase the speed of biological sensors that can reduce the time and costs for medical lab tests. The team led by physics professor Ethan Minot published their findings last month in the journal Lab on a Chip (paid subscription required). Carbon nanotubes are…
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Photo-Printing Technology Developed for 3-D Polymer Shapes
Researchers at University of Massachusetts in Amherst have developed a simple technology for producing three-dimensional shapes from thin polymer films. The findings of the work by Ryan Hayward, Christian Santangelo, and their UMass colleagues appear in the current issue of the journal Science (paid subscription required). The new method, funded by National Science Foundation, involves exposing…
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Computer Processor Power Scheme Cuts Waste, Energy Use
Engineers and computer scientists at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland have developed a method for allocating power in computer processors that cuts device energy use by as much as 40 percent. The team led by computer science professor Swarup Bhunia presented their findings in January at the 25th International Conference on VLSI (Very-Large-Scale Integration)…
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Challenge-Funded Research Studies Animal Testing Alternative
Research at University of Southampton in the U.K. will study in-vitro alternatives for testing the toxicity of drug candidates on animals. The U.K.’s National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) awarded £500,000 ($US 800,400) for the study from its 2011 CRACK IT challenge seeking alternatives to tests with lab…