Month: October 2013
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Government Shut-Down Another Body Blow Say Life Scientists
The government shut-down, said a group of researchers, is taking a large and lasting toll on life sciences in the U.S., with the ripples being felt in the economy at large. The life scientists spoke today at a press conference in Washington, D.C. organized by American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB). The researchers, all from…
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Research Aims to Standardize, Improve Medication Labels
A study by Northwestern University’s medical school in Chicago will test new methods for physicians to write prescriptions and pharmacists to interpret those instructions for labels on drug containers. The pharmaceutical company Merck is funding the project, with participation from the drug store chain Walgreens and Alliance of Chicago community health centers. Previous research at…
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Mid-Air Tactile Sensory Ultrasound Technology Developed
Computer scientists at University of Bristol in the U.K. developed a system for conveying information through a sense of touch in mid-air without physically touching a screen or device. The team from Bristol’s Interaction and Graphics lab, led by doctoral student Tom Carter will present its findings and demonstrate the technology later this week at the ACM…
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Biotech Company to Go Public in $86 Million IPO
GlycoMimetics Inc., a biotechnology company in Gaithersburg, Maryland, filed its registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering (IPO) of common stock. Fortune Magazine’s Term Sheet page reports the company aims to raise $86.25 million through the IPO, and trade on the Nasdaq exchange under ticker symbol GLYC. GlycoMimetics…
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P&G Seeking Ideas, Partners in Inkjet Printing Challenge
Procter & Gamble Company in Cincinnati is seeking new ideas for applications of 3-D inkjet printing to add consumer appeal to packaging, as well as collaborators to bring those ideas to fruition. The campaign to find these ideas and partners is contained in a new challenge on InnoCentive, which has a deadline of 30 October…
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Dow AgroSciences Developing Insect-Resistant Soybean Traits
Dow AgroSciences in Indianapolis, a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company, is developing genetically engineered traits that provide soybeans with a greater ability to resist attacks from insects that chew on their plants. The company in a statement says it plans to submit its soybean traits for regulatory approval worldwide, beginning in Brazil and Argentina. The…
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3-D Printing Lifecycle Shown More Environmentally Friendly
Materials scientists at Michigan Technological University in Houghton found that in a lifecycle analysis of production processes, distributed three-dimensional printing can have a smaller environmental impact than conventional manufacturing. Michigan Tech’s Joshua Pearce and graduate student Megan Kreiger published their findings online in a recent advance issue of the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering. Three-dimensional…
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Early Clinical Trial Shows RNA Therapy Lowers Cholesterol
A clinical trial by the biopharmaceutical company Alnylam Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge, Massachusetts shows that one dose of a drug made from interfering ribonucleic acid (RNA) cuts LDL, or bad, cholesterol levels more than a placebo. Results of the study, conducted with colleagues from University of Texas-Southwestern in Dallas and medical centers in the U.K., appear…
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Pfizer Licenses University Institute’s Obesity Research
The global pharmaceutical company Pfizer is funding research at Université de Montréal in Quebec, Canada to identify cellular pathways in genetic defects leading to therapies for early-onset morbid obesity. Financial aspects of the collaboration, which gives Pfizer a license to commercially develop results of the research, were not disclosed. Pfizer is funding and licensing research…
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Chain Restaurants Still Serving High Calorie, Sodium Meals
Public health researchers at University of California in Davis and Rand Corporation in Santa Monica found restaurant chains in the U.S. continue to serve meals high in calories and sodium, despite requirements to post nutritional data about their menus. UC-Davis’s Helen Wu and Rand economist Roland Sturm published their findings yesterday online in the Journal…