Tag: physical sciences
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3-D Printed Guide Devised to Regrow Nerve Fibers
18 September 2015. Researchers from medical and engineering faculties at five universities in the U.S. developed a technique combining three-dimensional printing with tissue regeneration to grow new peripheral nerves in lab rats. The team led by mechanical engineering professor Michael McAlpine at University of Minnesota in Minneapolis published its findings today in the journal Advanced…
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Optical Device IDs Healthy, Cancerous Tissue in Surgery
18 September 2015. An engineering and medical team at University of Illinois in Champaign designed a surgical tool that identifies and discriminates between healthy and cancerous tissue in real time when removing tumors. Researchers led by engineering professor Stephen Boppart published results of a study testing the hand-held device with 35 breast cancer patients earlier…
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Allied Minds Forming Space Signaling Company
17 September 2015. Allied Minds, a research commercialization company in Boston, is forming a new enterprise harnessing space satellites to detect wireless signals from earth for maritime, emergency, and commercial applications. The company, HawkEye 360 Inc., is licensing research on radio-frequency communications from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, designed initially for U.S. defense and…
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Platelet-Like Nanoparticles Boost Therapeutic Effects
16 September 2015. Engineers and medical researchers at University of California in San Diego designed biocompatible nanoparticles disguised as blood platelets, which they found increased the particles’ targeting and medicinal effects. The team led by engineering faculty Liangfang Zhang and Shu Chien published its proof-of-concept study today in the journal Nature (paid subscription required). The UC-San Diego researchers are seeking to…
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Genomic Technique Devised to ID Drug Candidates
8 September 2015. Researchers at University of Illinois in Champaign developed a technique using genomic tools to identify natural substances in bacterial strains with potential therapeutic properties. The team led by microbiologist William Metcalf and chemistry professor Wilfed van der Donk published its findings last week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (paid…
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Challenge Seeks Simple Medical Waste Incinerator
4 September 2015. A new challenge on InnoCentive is asking the public for a design of an efficient yet simple incinerator of medical waste generated during humanitarian emergencies. The competition has a total potential payout of $30,000 and a deadline for submissions of 4 November 2015. InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts conducts open-innovation, crowdsourcing competitions for…
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Technique Devised to Deliver Small Drug Amounts to Lungs
3 September 2015. Engineers and medical researchers at Columbia University developed a technique that delivers small amounts of medications in liquid form to specific areas of lungs. The team led by biomedical engineering professor Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic published its proof-of-concept findings earlier this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (paid subscription required). The…
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Grant Funds Research on Nanotech Cancer Treatments
1 September 2015. National Cancer Institute is renewing its support for a Northwestern University research center advancing nanotechnology to design new cancer treatments. The Northwestern University Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence is the recipient of a new five-year, $11.7 million grant from National Cancer Institute, part of National Institutes of Health. The Center for Cancer…
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Simple Scaffold Developed for Synthetic Heart Tissue
28 August 2015. Engineers at University of Toronto in Canada designed a biocompatible mesh framework that makes it easier to grow synthetic heart muscle tissue for research and medical use. The team led by chemical engineering professor Milica Radisic published its findings today in the journal Science Advances. Radisic and first author Boyang Zhang are…
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Injected Gel Designed to Deliver Cancer Therapy
26 August 2015. Biomedical engineers at Harvard University devised a hydrogel material that when infused with tumor and immune-system cells can stimulate a therapeutic immune response in lab mice. The team from Harvard’s Wyss Institute, a biomedical engineering research center, published its findings earlier this month in the journal Nature Communications (paid subscription required). The…