Science and Enterprise

Month: August 2012

  • FDA Approves Diabetic Macular Edema Treatment

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the drug ranibizumab, given by injection to treat diabetic macular edema, an eye disease that occurs in people with diabetes. Genentech, a division of the global pharmaceutical company Roche in South San Francisco, California, markets the drug under the name Lucentis. Diabetic macular edema can cause…

  • Math Model Identifies Network Source of Rumors, Epidemics

    Computer scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) devised mathematical routines to dissect interactions in a network to uncover the source of epidemics and rumors, as well as criminal masterminds. Results of the research led by Pedro Pinto of EFPL’s Audiovisual Communications Laboratory appear today in the journal Physical Review Letters…

  • Imaging Technology Devised to Identify Infection Response

    Researchers at Vanderbilt University in Nashville developed techniques using current imaging technologies to generate a three-dimensional view of the body’s response to infection. The findings of the team led by pathologist Eric Skaar (pictured right) appear in a recent issue of the journal Cell Host and Microbe; paid subscription required. The Vanderbilt team combines magnetic…

  • Control Algorithm Developed to Fly Robot Aircraft Indoors

    Aeronautical and computer engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology built and tested an autonomously driven fixed-wing model aircraft guided by algorithms that let it navigate a complex indoor flight space. The team from MIT’s Robust Robotics Group describe their invention in a paper presented in May at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.…

  • Technology Developed for Mass Wireless Chip Printing

    Engineers in Korea developed a process for printing cheap electronic devices on every day items that can transmit data to smartphones. The work of the authors from Sunchon National University and Paru Printed Electronics Research Institute is described in the journal Nanotechnology (free registration required), published by Institute of Physics. The team led by Jinsoo…

  • Pfizer, Biotech to Partner on Autoimmune Disorders

    The global pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc. and biotechnology company Nodality Inc. in South San Francisco, California agreed to a partnership that provides Pfizer with access to Nodality’s cell signaling analysis technology to streamline development of treatments for autoimmune diseases, beginning with lupus. The financial amount of the multi-year year was not disclosed. Nodality has created…

  • Renewable Power Storage, Management Modules in Development

    Systems that integrate renewable power sources with battery storage and management modules are being developed for pilot testing at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany. The first of the modular systems, with a 50 kilowatt capacity, will be constructed on the Karlsruhe campus by the end of the year. The modular energy systems are being…

  • Trial Shows Generic Vaccine Helps Reverse Type 1 Diabetes

    An early clinical trial indicates a generic vaccine that raises levels of an immune system modulator can kill autoimmune cells targeting the pancreas and temporarily restore insulin secretion in type 1 diabetes patients. Findings from the trial, conducted by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, appear in the online journal…

  • UC San Diego, Yale to Build Neuroscience Gateway

    University of California in San Diego and Yale University are developing an online gateway to provide high-performance computational tools for neuroscientists. The Neuroscience Gateway project is funded by a three year, $707,000 grant from National Science Foundation. UC San Diego will make available its supercomputer center and Neuroscience Information Framework for neuroscientists to access advanced…

  • NSF Grant to Fund R&D on Wireless Network Chip Connections

    Engineers at Drexel University in Philadelphia are developing semiconductors using wireless connections in a network to exchange data among the chip’s components. The project is funded by a three-year $400,000 grant from National Science Foundation’s Electrical, Communications, and Cyber Systems division. The research is led by electrical engineering professor Baris Taskin (pictured left), who directs…