Month: November 2012
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Omega-3 Fatty Acids Added to Milk Without Affecting Taste
Food scientists at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg discovered they could add beneficial omega-3 fatty acids to milk in quantities that promote heart health, without affecting the milk’s taste or shelf life. The team led by Virginia Tech professor Susan Duncan (pictured left) published their findings in this month’s issue of the Journal of Dairy Science;…
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Technique Developed to Create Artificial Brain Tissue in Lab
Engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School adapted techniques from the semiconductor industry to create simulated brain tissue in the lab. The researchers published their findings online this week in the journal Advanced Materials (paid subscription required). The technique devised by the team of medical researchers, biomedical engineers, and computer scientists produces…
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Process Created for Stem Cells from Routine Blood Samples
Medical researchers at University of Cambridge in the U.K. developed a process to extract induced pluripotent stem cells from a routine blood sample. The team led by Cambridge’s Amer Rana published its findings yesterday online in the journal Stem Cells: Translational Medicine. Induced pluripotent stem cells are adult cells genetically reprogrammed to resemble embryonic stem…
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Binding Process Developed for Antimicrobial Surfaces
An undergraduate research project at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts led to creation of process to bind antimicrobial peptides to gold and silicon surfaces. The students, working under the direction of chemical engineering professor Terri Camesano, published their findings in a recent issue of the journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces (paid subscription required). The…
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Report: Pharmas Increasing Medicine Access in Poor Regions
A foundation in the Netherlands reports that developing areas of the world have more access to drugs from the top 20 pharmaceutical companies than two years ago. The Access to Medicine Foundation that publishes a bi-annual index of drug access in developing regions says GlaxoSmithKline repeats in 2012 as the leading company in making its…
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U.K. Medical Tech Company Acquires Wound Care Developer
Smith & Nephew, a medical technology company in London, is purchasing Healthpoint Biotherapeutics, a developer of wound treatments in Fort Worth, Texas. In the transaction, Smith & Nephew will acquire all Healthpoint assets for $782 million in cash, with the deal expected to close next month. Olivier Bohuon, Smith & Nephew’s CEO, says the acquisition…
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International Consortium Sequences Bread Wheat Genome
Researchers from the U.S., U.K., and Germany sequenced the genome of the strain of wheat used to make bread, an achievement that is expected to increase yields and enhance the nutritional value of this crop. The findings of the consortium, comprising researchers from 10 different institutions, appear today online in the journal Nature. U.S. Department…
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Membrane Technology to be Studied for Industrial Processes
Engineers and materials scientists at University of Minnesota in Minneapolis received funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop membrane technology for energy-efficient separations in a range of process industries. The three-year, $1.8 million grant from the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) aims to adapt lab research on nanotechnology for membranes that can improve…
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Microneedles Found Effective as Syringe for Measles Vaccine
Biomedical engineers at Georgia Institute of Technology and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), both in Atlanta, found microneedle patches could deliver a vaccine for measles to lab animals as effectively as a conventional hypodermic needle. The team led by Georgia Tech’s Mark Prausnitz published its findings online in a recent issue of the…
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Process Developed to Grow Carbon Nanotubes on Graphene
Researchers from Rice University in Houston developed a method of growing seamless carbon nanotubes on graphene, with a high surface area and electric conductivity. The team that included members from Tianjin University in China and University of Texas at San Antonio published their findings today in the journal Nature Communications (paid subscription required). James Tour…