Science and Enterprise

Tag: university

  • European Researchers to Develop Lab Cancer Bio-Model

    Researchers in the U.K. and Switzerland are building a simulated environment to grow cancer cells in the lab for a better understanding of the way cancer cells develop and spread. The CANBUILD project draws faculty from Queen Mary, University of London — including the principal investogator Frances Balkwill — as well as colleagues from Cancer…

  • Solar Nanoscale Protein Filter Cleans Antibiotics from Water

    Engineers at University of Cincinnati in Ohio developed a nanoscale filter powered by sunlight that can clean biochemical compounds, such as antibiotics, from lakes and rivers. Environmental engineering professor David Wendell and Ph.D. candidate Vikram Kapoor published their findings online last week in the journal Nano Letters (paid subscription required). The presence of antibiotics from…

  • Early Trial Shows Arthritis Drug Can Treat Dry Eye Disease

    Researchers from Massachusetts Eye and Ear hospital, Brigham and Women’s hospital, and Harvard Medical School, found eye drops made of anakinra, a biologic agent to treat arthritis, could safely reduce symptoms associated with dry eye disease. The team led by Mass Eye and Ear ophthalmologist and immunologist Reza Dana published its findings yesterday in the…

  • Low Cost Soft-Touch Robotic Sensor Circuits Commercialized

    Computer scientists at Harvard University developed and are taking to market circuits for robotic devices and potentially other electronic products that can sense the slightest application of pressure. The team led by Ph.D. candidate Leif Jentoft and postdoctoral fellow Yaroslav Tenzer in Harvard’s Biorobotics Laboratory started a company to commercialize the technology, and are licensing…

  • Researcher Studies, Commercializes Nanoscale Drug Delivery

    A researcher at University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada developed a process of delivering drugs to targeted locations in the body with nanoscale polymer capsules, and has received a patent for that process. Afsaneh Lavasanifar, a professor in Alberta’s pharmacy school, also started a company in 2010 to take her process to market. Lavasanifar devised…

  • Technique Calculates X-Rays for Minimally Invasive Surgery

    Engineers and computer scientists from North Carolina State University in Raleigh and University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill devised a technique for determining the X-rays to track surgical tools in minimally-invasive procedures. NC State engineering professor Edgar Lobaton is the lead author on a paper describing this technique to be presented next month at…

  • University, Resorts Partner on Sun Safety Campaign

    Researchers at San Diego State University are partnering with vacation resorts in the U.S. and Canada to encourage their guests to practice smart sun protection. The San Diego team is headed by health communications professor Peter Andersen and funded by National Institutes of Health. “More than two million new cases of skin cancer are reported…

  • Trial Shows Smartphone App Effective for Weight Loss

    Food scientists at University of Leeds in the U.K. found a smartphone app helped participants in a clinical trial better manage their food intake and lose weight compared to a food diary on a Web site or on paper. The findings of the team led by Leeds’s epidemiology professor Janet Cade, appear online in today’s…

  • Optical Circuits Developed with Semiconductor Diamonds

    Engineers at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and colleagues in Germany developed an economical method to harness polycrystalline diamonds for optical circuits. The team led by nanotechnology lab director Wolfram Pernice published its findings earlier this week in the journal Nature Communications (paid subscription required). Optical circuits work like integrated electronic circuits, but instead of transmiting…

  • Agriculture Biotech Secures $14.5M in Early-Stage Financing

    AgBiome LLC, an agricultural biotechnology company in Durham, North Carolina, gained $14.5 million in series A venture funding, the first round of financing after initial start-up. Polaris Partners, a venture capital company  in Boston specializing in health care and technology startups, led the round, joined by ARCH Venture Partners, Harris & Harris Group, Innotech Advisers,…