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Material Developed to Prevent Li-Ion Battery Fires
28 January 2015. Materials scientists and engineers at University of Michigan designed a new material to better protect lithium-ion batteries from starting fires like the kind on Boeing 787 Dreamliners. The team from the lab of engineering professor Nicholas Kotov published its findings yesterday in the journal Nature Communications (paid subscription required). Kotov and first…
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Trial Shows Drug Reduces Depression in One Day
27 January 2015. A clinical trial testing a new drug to treat major depressive disorder shows the drug improved symptoms in patients after a single dose within one day. The intermediate-stage trial was conducted by Naurex Inc., a biopharmaceutical company in Evanston, Illinois and a spin-off from Northwestern University. Naurex develops drugs for diseases of…
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Cartilage 3-D Printed to Repair Windpipe
27 January 2015. Researchers at Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Manhasset, New York devised techniques using a commercial three-dimensional printer for creating cartilage to repair or replace a human trachea or windpipe. Doctoral candidate Todd Goldstein, working in the lab of orthopedic researcher Daniel Grande, presented his proof-of-concept findings at this week’s meeting of…
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Stem Cells Shown Effective with Autism in Lab
26 January 2015. The biotechnology company BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. reports that tests in laboratory mice show its stem cell technology derived from bone marrow is effective in reducing behaviors associated with autism. The study was conducted by Daniel Offen, a neuroscientist at Tel Aviv University in Israel, but no peer-reviewed publication was cited by…
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XPrize Awards $5.25M for Lunar Technologies
26 January 2015. A competition to develop new technologies for landing and robotic exploration of the moon awarded $5.25 million in 9 prizes to 5 private companies, as part of the Google Lunar XPrize challenge. The companies — from the U.S., Germany, Japan, and India — received the prizes for their design and development of…
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Challenge Seeks Exosome Drug Delivery Technologies
23 January 2015. A new challenge on InnoCentive is asking for systematic techniques for using exosomes, tiny components that cells secrete for specialized functions, as vehicles to deliver drugs. The challenge has a purse of $30,000 and a submission deadline of 17 February 2015. InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts conducts open-innovation, crowdsourcing competitions for corporate and…
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UC-Davis, National Labs to Train Science Entrepreneurs
23 January 2015. Lawrence Livermore and Sandia National Laboratories are partnering with the Graduate School of Management at University of California in Davis to train scientists in entrepreneurial skills to take their discoveries to market. The pilot program, called Lab-Corps, is funded by a $350,000 grant from U.S. Department of Energy, parent agency of the…
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Mobile Heart Monitor Algorithm Approved in Europe
22 January 2015. An algorithm analyzing signals to detect atrial fibrillation from a heart monitor built into mobile devices received regulatory approval in Europe. AliveCor, a developer of heart monitoring systems for mobile devices, says the company received the Conformité Européene or CE mark for the algorithm that analyzes heart monitoring signals in its AliveECG…
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Cancer Therapy Spin-Off Formed with $45M Funding
22 January 2015. Autolus Ltd., a new enterprise developing engineered immune-system cells for treating cancer, is being formed in London, with £30 million ($45.4 million) in early financing. The company is founded and commercializing research by Martin Pule, a hematologist at University College London. Pule, who serves as Autolus’s chief scientist, studies T-cells, white blood…
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FDA Approves Novartis Psoriasis Drug
21 January 2015. U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the biologic drug secukinumab for adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, a common skin disorder. Secukinumab, an antibody designed specifically to address the condition, is marketed by the pharmaceutical company Novartis under the brand name Cosentyx. Plaque psoriasis is the most common type of psoriasis, an…