Science and Enterprise

Month: February 2016

  • Tick Genome Sequenced, Control Strategies ID’ed

    10 February 2016. A research consortium on three continents sequenced the genome of the black-legged tick, the insect responsible for Lyme disease and other conditions. The team of 93 authors from 46 institutions, led by entomologist Catherine Hill at Purdue University, published its findings in yesterday’s (9 February) issue of the journal Nature Communications, with…

  • NSF Grant Funds Biosensing Laser Research

    9 February 2016. An engineering professor at University of Texas in Arlington received a grant from National Science Foundation for research on lasers with fluid samples to detect indicators of disease. Yuze Sun, known as Alice, is the recipient of a $500,000 Faculty Early Career Development award from NSF, expected to run through 2020. Sun’s…

  • Stent Implants Demonstrated to Transmit Brain Activity

    9 February 2016. A team of engineers and medical researchers in Australia show it’s possible to safely implant electrodes in the brain to transmit brain activity with a catheter-delivered stent. A description of the device and delivery process with sheep appears in yesterday’s (8 February) issue of the journal Nature Biotechnology (paid subscription required). The…

  • Start-Up Licensing Wayne State Neurological Discoveries

    8 February 2016. Wayne State University is licensing research discoveries from its pharmacy school to a new enterprise for development as drugs to treat depression, post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD, and other neurological disorders. Financial aspects of the agreement with Trimaran Pharma Inc. were not disclosed. The deal covers research by pharmaceutical sciences professor Aloke…

  • Sensor Quickly Detects Bacteria in Wounds

    5 February 2016. An engineering and medical research team developed a miniaturized sensor that detects the presence of dangerous bacteria in wounds in less than a minute. Researchers led by Victoria Shanmugam of George Washington University’s medical school and engineering professor Edgar Goluch at Northeastern University published their findings in a recent (27 January) issue…

  • Test IDs Mesothelioma Years Before Symptoms Appear

    5 February 2016. A company spun-off from Purdue University designed a test that in a recent study detects cases of mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer, several years before symptoms develop. Results of the study conducted by MorNuCo Laboratories in West Lafayette, Indiana appear in the 22 January issue of the journal Clinical Proteomics. Mesothelioma is…

  • FDA Assessing Opioid Regulatory Reviews, Labeling

    4 February 2016. U.S. Food and Drug Administration is evaluating its practices on reviewing applications for new opioid pain drugs and their labeling requirements, in light of the expanding epidemic of abuse and overdose.  An action plan with these steps was released today, although funding for new initiatives was not discussed. Opioids work by reducing the…

  • Chip Designed for Efficient, Mobile Neural Networks

    4 February 2016. An engineering lab at Massachusetts Institute of Technology designed a new processing chip that could allow running of neural networks on mobile devices. A team led by electrical engineering and computer science professor Vivienne Sze described and demonstrated the new chip on 2 February at the International Solid State Circuits Conference in…

  • Ebola Monitoring System Devised with Genome Sequencing

    3 February 2016. An international team of scientists and engineers designed a mobile system using a hand-held genome sequencing device that provided real-time monitoring of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2015. Researchers led by microbiologists Nicholas Loman and Joshua Quick at University of Birmingham in the U.K. published their findings in today’s (3…

  • Genome-Editing Company Raises $94 Million in IPO

    3 February 2016. Editas Medicine, developer of treatments for disease that harness editing of the human genome, is raising $94.4 million in its initial public stock offering. The company, trading on the Nasdaq exchange under the symbol EDIT, issued 5.9 million shares priced at $16.00. As of 12 noon on 3 February, the stock is…