Tag: patent

  • Patent Granted for RNA Transcription Technology

    3 May 2016. A technology that blocks RNA molecules from activating chemicals in the body suppressing the working of genes to treat or prevent disease received a U.S. patent. The Patent and Trademark Office awarded patent number 9,328,346 to five inventors and assigned the patent to the parent company of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.…

  • University Lab Spins-Off Fertility Testing Company

    29 April 2016. A new company is taking shape that aims to make it easier for women to get pregnant, based on research at a biochemistry lab at University of Wisconsin. BluDiagnostics, in Madison, founded by postdoctoral research Katie Brenner in the lab of biochemistry professor Douglas Weibel, a co-founder of the company, already raised…

  • Genetic Techniques Quickly Build Crop Disease Resistance

    26 April 2016. Plant scientists in the U.K. developed genetic engineering techniques that quickly clone resistance to plant diseases affecting wheat, soybeans, and potatoes. The techniques are described in articles appearing in the 25 April issue of the journal Nature Biotechnology (paid subscription required). Teams from the John Innes Centre and Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich…

  • Genetics Company Makes Available Cancer Sequencing Database

    8 March 2016. A genetic testing company is making freely available a database of genomic sequencing data from patients with breast and ovarian cancer. The database, from 10,000 human genomes but with personal identity removed, is offered by Ambry Genetics in Aliso Viejo, California. Ambry Genetics is a 16 year-old company offering genetic tests for…

  • Material Hides Beta Cell Transplants From Immune Reaction

    26 January 2016. Engineering and biochemical researchers developed a material that in lab animals holds and protects transplanted pancreatic beta cells against an immune reaction, a key advance in treatments for individuals with type 1 diabetes. Teams from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and other institutions published their findings about the material in the 25 January…

  • Bacterial Bonding Technique Devised to Simplify Vaccines

    20 January 2016. Researchers at Oxford University developed and tested engineered proteins from bacteria that in lab tests make vaccine design simpler and more reliable. The team from the lab of biochemistry professor Mark Howarth published its proof-of-concept results in the 19 January issue of Scientific Reports. Howarth — with immunologists from Oxford’s Jenner Institute…

  • Patent Awarded for Liquid Biopsy Technology

    4 January 2016. A new U.S. patent was awarded for a technology that detects a broad range of cancers in blood, rather than taking tissue samples for analysis, usually requiring surgery. Jacob Micallef, chief scientist at VolitionRx, a developer of cancer diagnostics in Namur, Belgium, received patent number 9,222,937 on 29 December 2015 from the…

  • Researchers Develop Eye Injury Test, Start Company

    9 December 2015. A medical and engineering team at University of Illinois in Champaign designed a sensor providing a quick, portable test for the severity of eye injuries. The researchers led by bioengineering professor Dipanjan Pan and ophthalmologist Leanne Labriola at Carle Foundation Hospital affiliated with the university described the proof-of-concept device last month in the…

  • Trial Tests Vibrating Mattress to Prevent Infant Apnea

    24 November 2015. A mattress that provides occasional mild vibrations was shown in a clinical trial to prevent episodes of interrupted breathing in preterm babies, a condition known as infant apnea. Results of the study testing the device, developed at the Wyss Institute, a biomedical engineering research center at Harvard University, were reported yesterday in…

  • Start-Up’s Air Quality Technology to Clean City Areas

    10 November 2015. A start-up company is licensing research from University of Copenhagen in Denmark to develop a technology for removing air pollution from city neighborhoods. The air cleaning technology, known as gas phase advanced oxidation, is a product of the atmospheric chemistry lab led by Matthew Johnson, who also serves as chief scientist for…