Tag: physical sciences
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Grant Boosts Research Commercialization Group
The Maryland Proof of Concept Alliance — a consortium of Maryland university research institutions and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory — has received a $5.1 million federal grant to support its work moving research findings from the lab to the marketplace. The Alliance helps researchers through the often tricky and (to the researchers) unfamiliar process…
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Mathematical Patterns Found to Forecast Spanish Earthquakes
Researchers in Spain have found patterns of tectonic behavior that occur before an earthquake on the Iberian peninsula. The team, from University of Seville and Pablo de Olavide University in Seville used mathematical clustering techniques to forecast medium to large seismic movements when certain conditions coincide. The research will be published this month by the…
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Radar in Shoes Can Step In When GPS Fails
A global positioning system (GPS) is handy if you’re in a location where the device can access the positioning satellite, but at other times, such as in a building or underground, it doesn’t do much good. An engineering team at North Carolina State University (NCSU) in Raleigh and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania…
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GSK, Nottinghan Univ. to Collaborate on Green Chemistry
The BBC is reporting that the global drug manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will build a new lab at the University of Nottingham in the U.K. for research and education in cleaner and safer chemistry processes. The proposal is expected to be presented first as a proof-of-concept in 2011, for construction at the University’s Jubilee Campus, one…
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Aileron Adds Scripps Chemistry Process for Drug Discovery
The Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, California and Aileron Therapeutics in Cambridge, Massachusetts said today (30 November) they agreed to add Scripps Research’s molecular chemistry technology known as “click chemistry” to Aileron’s peptide and protein platforms. The agreement provides Aileron exclusive rights to use click chemistry for therapeutics and non-exclusive rights for diagnostics. Click…
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New Process Replaces Toxic Substances to Make Nanomaterials
A study by a University of Missouri research team in Columbia has found a method that could replace nearly all of the toxic chemicals required to make gold nanoparticles. The ingredient to replace these toxic substances can be found in nearly every kitchen’s spice cabinet: cinnamon. And the researchers found their discovery could help in…
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New Process Developed for Bio-Plastic Feedstocks
Chemical engineers at University of Massachusetts in Amherst have developed a way to produce high-volume chemical feedstocks from biomass, such as waste wood, agricultural waste and non-food energy crops. This method, that the authors say is economically competitive to current processes using fossil fuels, can produce industrial materials such as benzene, toluene, xylenes, and olefins,…
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Testing Labs Score Well Finding Heavy Metals in Seafood
The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Brussels, Belgium released results today of a study that benchmarks the abilities of laboratories around the world to measure heavy metals in fish and seafood. The labs, located mainly in Europe but also in the U.S. and Asia-Pacific countries, took part voluntarily in the study and generally…
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Lab Adds Nanoscale Layers on Silicon for Semiconductors
Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California (UC) Berkeley, have integrated ultra-thin layers of the semiconductor material indium arsenide onto a silicon substrate to create a nanoscale transistor with working electronic properties. Indium arsenide offers several advantages as an alternative to silicon including superior electron mobility…
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Research Advances Paper As Electronic Display Media
A University of Cincinnati (UC) engineering researcher in Ohio has discovered a process for displaying electronic content on paper, which expands the possibility of lower-cost, or even disposable, electronic reading devices. Current e-readers, such as the iPad or Kindle, display content with electronic circuitry over glass as their display substrates. UC electrical Engineering Professor Andrew…