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Point-of-Care Ebola Test Found Accurate in Field Test
26 June 2015. A commercial point-of-care test detecting Ebola virus in the blood of a patient was shown in a field test in Sierra Leone to be as accurate as tests sent to remote labs for analysis. Results of the study led by Nira Pollock of Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital were published…
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Study Testing Sleep Rhythm Glasses for Cancer Insomnia
25 June 2015. Special eyeglasses that adjust circadian rhythms of people with sleep disorders are being tested as a treatment for lung cancer patients with chronic insomnia. The study, led by University at Buffalo (New York) nursing professor Grace Dean, is funded by a $25,000 grant from Oncology Nursing Society. Insomnia is a common problem…
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Trial Shows Safety, Benefits of Diabetic Eye Disease Drug
25 June 2015. An early-stage clinical trial of a drug to treat eye disorders caused by diabetes shows the drug is well-tolerated and reduces swelling in the eye associated with the disease. Stealth BioTherapeutics, developer of the drug brand-named Ocuvia, reported the results today at a company symposium in New York City. The study is…
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Broad, Google Partner on Genomic Analysis Platform
24 June 2015. The Broad Institute, a molecular medicine research organization affiliated with Harvard University and MIT, and Google Genomics are collaborating to offer a readily-available cloud-based analysis platform for genomic data. Financial aspects of the agreement between Broad Institute — officially Eli and Edythe L. Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard — and Google…
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Smartphone Eye Exam Company Raises $6M in Venture Funds
24 June 2015. Smart Vision Labs Inc., a two-year-old company developing vision exam technology that works on smartphones, raised $6.1 million in its first venture funding round. Financing for the New York City enterprise was led by Techstars Ventures, with contributions from Heritage Group, Connectivity Capital, and Red Sea Ventures. The company’s technology aims to…
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Trial Begins Testing Sickle Cell Blood Therapy
23 June 2015. A clinical trial began enrolling participants testing a synthesized therapy for sickle cell disease to improve the flow of blood cells blocked by the condition and relieve the intense pain that results. The late-stage trial is being conducted by drug maker Pfizer Inc., with biotechnology company GlycoMimetics Inc. in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Sickle…
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Smart Insulin Patch Designed to Regulate Blood Glucose
23 June 2015. A skin patch made with tiny needles can dispense insulin and regulate blood glucose levels in lab mice for up to 9 hours. The device is being developed by a joint biomedical engineering department at University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University in Raleigh, and described in…
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Study Urges Better Heart Implant Device Tracking
22 June 2015. Current methods of monitoring implanted heart devices, conclude researchers at University of California in San Francisco, may not be adequate for spotting the number of problems with the devices leading to patients’ deaths. The findings of the team led by UCSF cardiologist Zian Tseng were reported today in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine…
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Allied-Bristol Licenses Chinese Root Extract Technology
22 June 2015. A joint venture of drug maker Bristol-Myers Squibb and science commercialization company Allied Minds is licensing research at Harvard University on the actions of a Chinese root extract with therapeutic potential against fibrosis, inflammation, and autoimmune disorders. Financial aspects of the agreement between Harvard and Allied-Bristol Life Sciences were not disclosed. The…
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$50,000 Challenge Seeks Liver Disease Biomarkers
19 June 2015. A new challenge on InnoCentive asks for biomarkers indicating damage to the liver, conditions that today often require invasive procedures such as biopsies to diagnose. The competition has a total purse of $50,000 and a deadline for proposals of 17 August 2015. InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts conducts open-innovation, crowdsourcing competitions for corporate…