Tag: physical sciences
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Nano Patterns in Plastic Help Stem Cells Become Bone Cells
Medical researchers and engineers at universities of Southampton and Glasgow in the U.K. created a nanoscale process with a common plastic material to convert human embryonic stem cells into skeletal tissue cells. The findings of the team led by Southampton’s Richard Oreffo are described online in a recent issue of the journal Small (paid subscription…
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Process Adds New Properties to Ferroelectric Materials
Materials scientists at University of Illinois in Urbana developed a new type of thin metal oxide film with a built-in electric field, useful for semiconductor devices such as computer memory. The team led by Illinois professor Lane Martin published their findings online in a recent issue of the journal Advanced Materials (paid subscription required). Lane,…
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iPhone App Tests Selective Dominant-Ear Listening Behavior
Psychologists at University of Bergen in Norway wrote software that turns an iPhone into a device to test dichotic listening, behavior that combines language processing and attention. A team from Bergen’s research group examined the iPhone app’s validity and reliability in measuring dichotic listening, with the team’s results appearing online yesterday in the journal Frontiers…
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Space Data Start-Up Raises $1.3M from Angels, Crowdfunding
NanoSatisfi, a start-up company in San Francisco offering low-priced space-based data services, raised $1.2 million in seed capital, to go along with more than $100,000 collected last summer through crowdfunding. The company announced the funding round yesterday on Twitter, with details reported on the technology and business news Web site TechCrunch. Anthony Ha of TechCrunch…
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Trial Tests Tablet App to Assess Neuromuscular Performance
Biomedical researchers at Harvard University tested a computer tablet application to quickly assess neuromuscular disorders, such as those experienced by older adults. The team from Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and Institute for Aging Research at Harvard Medical School, with colleagues from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, published their findings online…
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Statistical Database Analysis Links Genes, High Cholesterol
Researchers at University of Massachusetts in Amherst and University of Pennsylvania developed a technique for analyzing public databases with open-source software to discover populations at genetic risk for disease at lower cost. The team led by UMass biostatistician Andrea Foulkes (pictured right) reported its findings yesterday in the online journal PLoS One. The technique called…
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Study to Test if Hearing Aids Reduce Falls by Elderly
Researchers at University of Texas in Dallas and North Texas University in Fort Worth are evaluating if hearing aids and related technologies can improve the balance of people with auditory problems. The study is funded by a $100,000 grant from the Texas Medical Research Collaborative. Sense of balance relies on the vestibular system of the…
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Modeling, Biotechnology Boost Antibiotic Impact on Pathogens
Biomedical engineers at Harvard University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering combined computer modeling with biotechnology techniques to weaken resistance of E. coli cells to antibiotics. The team led by Jim Collins, with colleagues from Boston University, published its findings today online in the journal Nature Biotechnology, and filed a U.S. patent for the technology.…
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Techniques Developed for Defect-Free Graphene Formation
Researchers in the U.K., Germany, and Greece developed a method of forming graphene layers with uniform orientation and alignment, using established and inexpensive techniques. The team led by University of Oxford materials scientist Nicole Grobert published its findings online last week in the journal ACS Nano (paid subscription required). Grobert (pictured right), with colleagues from…
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Weill Cornell, N.Y. Hospital Open Precision Medicine Center
Weill Cornell Medical College and New York-Presbyterian Hospital are opening a medical research and clinical center in New York to deliver targeted, individualized treatments based on each patient’s genetic profile. The Institute for Precision Medicine, as the new center is called, will conduct genetic research to develop new therapies for testing in clinical trials, while…