Month: May 2013
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University, Biotech Develop Heart Tissue Repair Patch
Biomedical engineers from Duke University in North Carolina and the biotechnology company VistaGen in San Francisco grew in the lab human heart tissue material from stem cells that could one day repair heart muscle or test new drugs. Findings of the team led by Duke professor Nenad Bursac appeared online last week in the journal…
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New Hepatitis C Treatment Given FDA Breakthrough Status
A new anti-viral combination treatment for hepatitis C developed by the biopharmaceutical company AbbVie received a breakthrough therapy designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. AbbVie, in North Chicago, Illinois was spun-off from Abbott Laboratories as a separate company on 1 January 2013. Hepatitis C is an infection that attacks the liver and usually…
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Consortium to Examine Digital Games Social, Health Benefits
A consortium of academic researchers and digital game developers in the U.K. are studying ways to harness the creative energy in digital games for social and health goals. The £1.2 million ($US 1.86 million) project is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and Economic and Social Research Council, both science funding agencies…
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Biotech, Sloan-Kettering Partner on Blood Cancer Test
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York and biotechnology company Foundation Medicine are developing a new test to diagnose blood-related cancers and connect patients to the best treatment options. Foundation Medicine plans to commercialize the test and bring it to market by the end of 2013. Other financial and intellectual property aspects of the deal…
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Tiny, Winged Manueverable Robotic Insects Created, Tested
Engineers at Harvard University in Massachusetts developed robotic insects with flapping wings, using a microfabrication process that makes it possible to produce these devices in large numbers. The team from Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, led by engineering professor Robert Wood, published its findings in this…
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Trial Tests Implanted Device Warning of Epilepsy Seizures
Medical researchers at University of Melbourne in Australia and medical device developer NeuroVista in Seattle showed the feasibility of a device to alert epilepsy patients of impending seizures. The results of an early-stage clinical trial were reported online today in the journal Lancet Neurology (paid subscription required). Epilepsy is the name given to a collection…
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Insect Eyes Inspire Multiple Digital Camera Lens Design
Engineers at University of Illinois in Urbana designed a new type of digital camera lens based on the multiple-lens design found in the eyes of bees and dragonflies. The team led by Illinois engineering professor John Rogers, with colleagues from the U.S., Korea, Singapore, and China published their findings in this week’s issue of the…
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Synthetic Biology Census Shows Company Growth, Consolidation
A census of organizations, agencies, and companies involved in synthetic biology shows rapid growth of the field in the past four years, but also some retrenchment, particularly in the private sector. The study was conducted by the Synthetic Biology Project, an initiative of Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. The Wilson Center…