Science and Enterprise

Tag: physical sciences

  • Weather Company to Partner with European Climate Researchers

    Weather and climate data company Earth Networks in Germantown, Maryland announced today a collaboration with Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS), a consortium of European climate research institutes. Earth Networks says it plans to work with ICOS’s  network of climate scientists to increase the size of Europe’s greenhouse gas monitoring network and collaborate on data management…

  • Ad Hoc Network Devised for Emergency Communications

    Georgia Institute of Technology researchers have developed a mobile ad hoc system called LifeNet designed to help first responders communicate after disasters. Santosh Vempala, professor of computer science at Georgia Tech and grad student Hrushikesh Mehendale will demonstrate the system at the ACM SIGCOMM conference today in Toronto, Canada. LifeNet is a wireless network designed…

  • Two-Legged Robot Developed with Running Ability

    Engineers at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor have developed a bipedal robot with the ability to run as well as walk. MABEL, as the robot is called, is funded by the National Science Foundation and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. MABEL was first developed in 2008 as a collaboration between Michigan’s Jessy Grizzle, a…

  • FDA Issues Draft Clinical Trial, Benefit-Risk Guidelines

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued separate draft guidelines involving medical devices, one for designing better clinical trials, and the other for benefit-risk determinations. Both documents are open for public comment for 90 days. FDA’s guidance documents generally do not establish legal responsibilities, but instead describe FDA’s current thinking and recommendations. The clinical…

  • Auto Crash Model Can Simulate Offshore Oil Pipe Breaks

    Engineers at MIT have shown how a simulation model that tests automobile components for crashworthiness can be applied to predict the performance of pipes in offshore drilling accidents. The team from MIT’s Impact and Crashworthiness Laboratory presented their findings at the International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference in June. Tomasz Wierzbicki, professor of applied mechanics…

  • Environmental Issues Changing Atlantic Mackerel Distribution

    Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have found warming temperatures of the U.S. continental shelf have changed distribution patterns of Atlantic mackerel, a species found in waters from Cape Hatteras to Newfoundland. The team from NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center published its findings in the journal Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management…

  • USDA, Energy Fund Research to Accelerate Biofuel Crops

    The U.S. Departments of Energy and Agriculture have awarded 10 grants totaling $12.2 million for up to three years for research on improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of growing biofuel and bioenergy crops. Energy’s Office of Science will provide $10.2 million in funding for eight projects, while USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)…

  • Ultrathin Electronic Patch Devised for Medical Applications

    Engineers in the U.S., Singapore, and China have developed a technology platform that makes possible electronic medical functions such as sensing or diagnostics in an ultrathin patch worn directly on the skin. The team that developed this technology, led by John Rogers of University of Illinois in Champaign, published its findings in this week’s issue…

  • Banned Flame Retardants Found in Pregnant California Women

    In a pilot study of pregnant women in California, researchers at University of California in San Francisco have found high levels of flame-retardant chemicals that have been outlawed in the U.S. and Europe. The team’s findings appear online in the journal Environmental Science and Technology (free registration required). The researchers, led by Tracey Woodruff, director…

  • Bio-Based Resins, Coatings Developed from Common Crops

    Researchers at North Dakota State University in Fargo have developed a family of resins from renewable raw materials that eliminate hazardous components yet perform as well the originals. The team reported its findings earlier this year in the journal Biomacromolecules (paid subscription required). The researchers led by Dean Webster, professor in the NDSU Department of…