Science and Enterprise

Month: August 2012

  • Novartis, Penn to Partner on Cancer Immunotherapies

    The global pharmaceutical company Novartis and University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia will collaborate on a new type of immunotherapy to treat leukemia and other cancers. Novartis and Penn will also form the Center for Advanced Cellular Therapies on the Penn campus to conduct research on related immunotherapies. The partnership will conduct research, develop and take…

  • NASA Awards Contracts for Commercial Human Space Flights

    NASA signed new agreements today with three American companies to design and develop the next round of U.S. human space flights, succeeding the Space Shuttle and leading to a launch of astronauts from U.S. soil in the next five years. The agreements, which call for a base development period of 21 months, were made through…

  • Virtual Reality Patients Devised to Train Psychologists

    A University of Southern California researcher developed conversational virtual patients with symptoms of clinical psychological disorders that can interact with therapists. Albert “Skip” Rizzo of USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies (pictured right) discussed his research today in a session of American Psychological Association’s annual meeting in Orlando. Because of advances in technology, virtual humans can…

  • Clinical Trial Tests Skin Cell Spray as Leg Ulcer Therapy

    A clinical trial by researchers at Healthpoint Biotherapeutics in Fort Worth, Texas found a spray-on skin cell therapy to be faster and more effective in healing venous leg ulcers than the standard care. The findings, with contributions from research colleagues at University of Miami, University of North Carolina, and Barry University, appear online in the…

  • ARPA-E to Fund $43 Million for Energy Storage R&D Projects

    Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), in the U.S. Department of Energy, will support 19 new research and development projects to improve the management of energy storage technologies for vehicles and electrical power grids. The projects, totaling $43 million, will be funded out of the Energy Department’s Advanced Management and Protection of Energy Storage Devices (AMPED)…

  • Special: Health Care Experts Propose Sweeping Cost Control Changes

    Updated: 4 August 2012 A group of noted health care policy experts offer a series of proposals they say can rein in health care costs, with implications for the federal budget, the economy as a whole, and developers of pharmaceuticals and medical devices. The panel, convened by the Center for American Progress, a progressive think-tank…

  • Biotech Chemical Company Raises $41.5M in Venture Funds

    Genomatica, a developer of chemicals from renewable feedstocks in San Diego, raised $41.5 million in series D financing, the fourth cycle of venture funding after start-up. The round includes the Italian chemical company and new corporate partner Versalis, with existing investors Alloy Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Mohr Davidow Ventures, TPG Biotech, VantagePoint Capital Partners, and…

  • Algorithm Taps Twitter Archive to Find Bullying Cases

    Researchers at University of Wisconsin in Madison developed a method for analyzing Twitter messages to find tweets, as Twitter messages are called, with evidence of childhood bullying. Educational psychologist Amy Bellmore (pictured left) and colleagues from Wisoconsin’s psychology and computer science departments presented their findings at a North American chapter meeting of the Association for…

  • Trial Tests Non-Invasive Glucose Monitor in Surgery Patients

    Echo Therapeutics Inc., a medical device company in Philadelphia, says a clinical trial shows the accuracy of its non-invasive continuous glucose monitoring system with 15 surgical patients. The trial involved general surgery and cardiothoracic surgery patients in the intensive care unit at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. The trial tested Echo Therapeutics’ Symphony tCGM…

  • Lighting Devised to Help Shift Workers Regulate Body Clocks

    Researchers at Université Laval in Quebec City, Canada developed blue lighting to help shift workers regulate their internal clocks, to stay alert when working and get sleep when needed. Marc Hébert (pictured left), an ophthalmology professor at Laval and researcher in the university’s mental health research center, invented the light and started a company to…