Tag: physical sciences
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Ionic Liquids Shown to Combat Bacterial Biofilms
27 August 2014. Researchers at Los Alamos National Lab in New Mexico developed a way to harness ionic liquids — salts in a liquid state — that in lab tests disrupt biofilms, antibiotic-resistant bacterial colonies, and boost treatments for skin infections. The team led by Los Alamos Lab’s David Fox and Samir Mitragotri at University…
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Implant Developed to Measure Pressure Causing Glaucoma
26 August 2014. Biomedical engineers at Stanford University in California and Bar-Ilan University in Israel designed an implanted device for people with glaucoma to take frequent and accurate measures of high pressure inside their eyes, a factor closely associated with glaucoma. The team led by Stanford bioengineering professor Stephen Quake and Bar-Ilan ophthalmologist Yossi Mandel…
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University Starts Computer Science/Brain Research Consortium
26 August 2014. Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh organized an international consortium of researchers to apply computer science techniques to the study of brain research and behavior. The collaboration, known as BrainHub, includes researchers from nearby University of Pittsburgh, as well as Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China, Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, and…
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Security Flaws Revealed in Full-Body X-Ray Scanner
20 August 2014. Computer scientists at three universities evaluated the backscatter X-ray scanners used in U.S. airports up to 2013, finding weapons could be readily concealed, and the device vulnerable to hacking. The team from University of California in San Diego, Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and University of Michigan in Ann Arbor will present…
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Engineered Fluid Devised for Lubricating Joint Cartilage
18 August 2014. Biomedical engineers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore developed a synthetic lubrication fluid for natural or artificial joints in the body that emulates the properties of natural substances. A team led by Johns Hopkins medical professor Jennifer Elisseeff published its results earlier this month in the journal Nature Materials (paid subscription required).…
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Middle, Inner Ear Drug Developer Raises $100M in IPO
13 August 2014. Otonomy Inc., a biopharmaceutical company in San Diego developing treatments for disorders of the middle and inner ear, raised $100 million in its initial public offering of stock. The company, trading on the NASDAQ under the symbol OTIC, priced its 6.25 million shares at $16.00. Otonomy was founded in 2008 by physicians…
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Graphene Sensor Designed for Wearable Disease Detection
7 August 2014. Engineers at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor designed a sensor from graphene that makes it possible to embed the technology into wearable devices for disease detection. The team from the labs of electrical engineering professor Zhaohui Zhong and biomedical engineering professor Sherman Fan published their results last month in the journal…
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Consortium to Develop Common Neuroscience Data Format
4 August 2014. A coalition of research institutes and universities working in neuroscience are constructing a common format for sharing data about the brain to make emerging databases more useful to researchers. The Neurodata Without Borders project is an initiative of Allen Institute for Brain Science, California Institute of Technology, New York University School of…
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Biochemical Signaling Chip Design Techniques Devised
30 July 2014. Engineers at University of Maryland in College Park developed techniques for designing a chip device that controls biological functions of cells with electronic and biochemical signals. The team led by bioengineering professor William Bentley published its findings earlier this week in the journal Nature Nanotechnology (paid subscription required). Bentley and colleagues are…
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U.S. Patent Awarded for Prodrug Cancer Imaging, Treatment
30 July 2014. A new patent was awarded for a technology that detects and treats solid tumor cancers with a prodrug, a precursor compound activated inside the body — made by GenSpera Inc., a biotechnology company in San Antonio. U.S. patent number 8,772,226 was awarded on 8 July to inventors Samuel Denmeade and John Isaacs…