Tag: physical sciences
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Inkjet Printing Process Devised for Graphene Circuits
Materials scientists at Northwestern University in Illinois developed an ink made of a graphene solution that can print patterns for electronic circuits and maintain their conductivity even after folding. The team led by engineering professor Mark Hersam published its findings online in a recent issue of the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (paid subscription required).…
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Start-Up Creating Audio Technology from UC Davis Research
A two year-old company spun-off from University California in Davis is designing a new type of audio experience based on research in the school’s engineering department. Dysonics Inc., located in San Francisco, was founded by three Davis engineering faculty members, bringing to market more than a decade of research on multi-dimensional audio from the university’s…
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New Contrast Dyes Improve Medical Images, Reduce Prep Time
Chemistry researchers at University of Copenhagen in Denmark, with colleagues from two Texas universities, developed a new type of contrast dye for medical imaging that the inventors say cuts the time and labor needed for preparation. Their discoveries are described in a series of publications over the past five months, the most recent appearing in…
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Quality Check Technique Devised for Lithium-Ion Batteries
Engineers at Purdue University in Indiana developed a method that can detect flaws in lithium-ion battery electrodes during their manufacture. The team led by mechanical engineering professor Douglas Adams and chemical engineering faculty James Caruthers will discuss its technique next month at the annual meeting of the Society for Experimental Mechanics near Chicago. Arrays of…
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Nimbus, Shire Partner on Rare Genetic Disease Drug Discovery
Nimbus Discovery, a biotechnology company in Cambridge, Massachusetts will discover and develop new small-molecule drug candidates to treat a set of rare genetic disorders, for the specialty pharmaceutical company Shire plc based in Ireland. Under the deal, Shire will provide Nimbus with periodic milestone payments, and while financial details of the agreement were not disclosed,…
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Silk, Cellulose Provide Useful Scaffold to Repair Cartilage
Researchers at the universities of Bristol and Cambridge in the U.K. found natural silk and cellulose fibers effective as scaffolding to rebuild damaged cartilage with stem cells. The team led by Wa’el Kafienah in Bristol’s School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine published its findings in a recent issue of the journal Biomacromolecules (paid subscription required).…
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Power Company, Research Center Partner on Wind Forecasts
National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado and the electric utility Xcel Energy are collaborating on a new forecasting system to improve the company’s wind energy operations. Financial aspects of the two-year partnership, which continues an existing agreement between the organizations, were not disclosed. NCAR is a federally funded research and development center…
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Consortium to Examine Digital Games Social, Health Benefits
A consortium of academic researchers and digital game developers in the U.K. are studying ways to harness the creative energy in digital games for social and health goals. The £1.2 million ($US 1.86 million) project is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and Economic and Social Research Council, both science funding agencies…
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Tiny, Winged Manueverable Robotic Insects Created, Tested
Engineers at Harvard University in Massachusetts developed robotic insects with flapping wings, using a microfabrication process that makes it possible to produce these devices in large numbers. The team from Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, led by engineering professor Robert Wood, published its findings in this…
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Trial Tests Implanted Device Warning of Epilepsy Seizures
Medical researchers at University of Melbourne in Australia and medical device developer NeuroVista in Seattle showed the feasibility of a device to alert epilepsy patients of impending seizures. The results of an early-stage clinical trial were reported online today in the journal Lancet Neurology (paid subscription required). Epilepsy is the name given to a collection…