Month: October 2014
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Natural Product Can Boost Animal Immune Health
31 October 2014. Tests by Avivagen Inc. show an ability of beta-carotene to spontaneously oxidize that offers a natural alternative to antibiotics added to livestock feed to reduce illness and gain weight. The researchers from Avivagen, an animal health products company in Ottawa, Canada and National Research Council of Canada published their findings in today’s…
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Ebola-Marburg Vaccine Development, Testing Contract Awarded
31 October 2014. A biodefense unit of the U.S. Department of Defense awarded a contract to vaccine maker Profectus BioSciences Inc. for development and testing of a vaccine protecting against the two major Ebola strains and related Marburg viruses. The $9.5 million contract with the Baltimore company came from DoD’s Medical Countermeasure Systems-Joint Vaccine Acquisition…
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Drug/Device Therapy Trial Shows Fast Migraine Relief
30 October 2014. A late-stage clinical trial shows a medical device designed to deliver migraine drugs deep into nasal cavities achieved headache relief in as little as 30 minutes among patients, and sustained that relief for as long as 48 hours compared to a placebo. The biopharmaceutical company Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Aliso Viejo, California…
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Synthetic Blood Thinner Antidote Developed
30 October 2014. Medical and biochemical researchers at University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada designed a polymer antidote for heparin that in lab animals neutralizes anti-coagulant activity and appears to be well tolerated. The team led by chemistry and pathology professor Jayachandran Kizhakkedathu published its findings yesterday in the journal Science Translational Medicine (paid subscription…
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Taking a break
26 October 2014. Science & Enterprise is taking a break from blogging for a few days. We’ll return on Thursday, 30 October. * * *
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Costs to Support Stroke Survivors Stay High for 10 Years
24 October 2014. Researchers at Monash University in Australia calculated long-term costs to stroke patients, finding the financial burden on patients and their care givers remains significant for 10 years following the stroke episode. The team led by Monash medical school professor Dominique Cadilhac reported its findings in yesterday’s issue of the journal Stroke (paid…
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Paper-Based Synthetic Bio Sensors, Circuits Developed
24 October 2014. Biomedical engineers at Harvard University designed systems with simple sensors applied on paper to detect complex cellular reactions that can speed use of point-of-care diagnostics in the field. Findings from the team at Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, with colleagues from Boston University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Chevy…
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Biotech, McGill Univ Partner on Soil Enhancement Microbes
23 October 2014. Inocucor Technologies Inc. and McGill University are collaborating on development of new types of microbes that improve soil for greater yields of large-scale crops such as corn and soybeans. Financial details of the research and licensing agreement between the company and university, both in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, were not disclosed. Inocucor Technologies…
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IBM, Health Tech, Univ Designing Critical Care Mobile System
23 October 2014. IBM, University of Michigan, and mobile health technology company AirStrip are developing a system to provide real time monitoring and analytics for patients with chronic or critical disorders. The system is being designed to collect data directly from patients and provide early warning initially for hemodynamic decompensation, a type of heart failure…
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Clinical Trial Proposals Sought for ALS Treatments
22 October 2014. A group of U.S. organizations promoting research on therapies for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS are seeking proposals from academic-industry research teams for intermediate stage clinical trials to test treatment candidates for the disease. The organizations — ALS Association, ALS Accelerated Therapeutics or ALS ACT, and Northeast ALS Consortium — plan to…