Tag: university

  • Algorithms Plot Optimal Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Routes

    Engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have devised mathematical methods to plot the optimal routes for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), increasingly used for industrial, research, and security applications. The team led by mechanical engineering professor Pierre Lermusiaux will discuss its work in May 2012 at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. Setting an…

  • Simple Microfluidics Immune System Sensor Developed

    Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have devised a simple, inexpensive sensor to diagnose a range of diseases including immune system disorders. The work of the team led by Stanford pediatrician and immunologist Manish Butte (pictured right) appears today online in the journal Biomicrofluidics; paid subscription required. The university says it has filed a…

  • Naval Lab, Universities Design Firefighting Robot

    The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., with researchers from Virginia Tech and University of Pennsylvania, are building a humanoid-type robot to fight shipboard fires on new combat vessels. The device is based on the Cognitive Humanoid Autonomous Robot with Learning Intelligence (CHARLI, pictured left) prototype developed at Virginia Tech. The Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting…

  • Grant to Fund R&D on Oil-Producing Plants for Biofuels

    A research team at University of Illinois, with other academic and national lab colleagues, has received a $3.2 million grant to study bioengineering sugar cane and sorghum to produce oil for biofuels. The Department of Energy funding for this project also supports researchers at University of Florida, University of Nebraska, and the Brookhaven National Laboratory,…

  • Coating Developed to Enable Faster, Stronger Dental Implants

    A clinical study led by researchers at Linköping University in Sweden shows that a new process speeds and strengthens the implants of artificial teeth in the jaw bones of patients. The findings of the study appear online in the journal Bone (paid subscription required), and the study leader has founded a company for commercializing the…

  • Maryland Universities to Partner on Biotech, Tech Transfer

    University of Maryland campuses in Baltimore (UMB) and College Park (UMCP) have agreed on a plan to collaborate on new or combined biotechnology, public health, and commercialization programs, as well as encourage joint research, faculty appointments, and grant submissions. The state’s university board of regents today approved the partnership called University of Maryland: MPowering the…

  • University, Company Test Gene Transfer Cancer Treatment

    University of California in San Diego and biopharmaceutical company Tocagen Inc., also in San Diego, are testing a new type of brain cancer treatment that injects a viral vector directly into a tumor. Viral vectors use viruses to deliver genetic material into cells, and in this case, the vectors intend to target the cancerous cells…

  • Simple Blood Test Checks Sickle Cell Anemia Symptoms Risk

    Researchers from MIT, Harvard, and two Boston hospitals have devised a blood test that assesses the risk a patient with sickle cell anemia will encounter severe symptoms of the disease. Their findings appear in the current issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine (paid subscription required). The research team also evaluated the test’s potential as…

  • Lab-on-a-Chip Developed to Test Malaria Treatments

    Researchers at University of British Columbia in Vancouver and McGill University in Montreal, Canada have developed a miniature testing device that can analyze the changes in red blood cells caused by common malaria parasites. The work of UBC engineering professor Hongshen Ma and colleagues appear in the journal Lab on a Chip (paid subscription required).…

  • Universal Vaccines Assessed for Widespread Flu Prevention

    Researchers In the U.S. and the U.K. have developed a simulation model to assess the ability of universal vaccines — those that cover a number of disease variations — to prevent the spread of influenza. The team from Princeton University and Duke University, Imperial College London, National Institutes of Health, and Food and Drug Administration…