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Virtual Reality Helps Stroke Patients Improve Hand Function
A system developed by a University of Minnesota medical student helps rehabilitating stroke patients gain more use of their hands and arms by visualizing their thoughts through virtual reality. Alexander Doud, who developed the system while a masters degree student in the lab of Minnesota biomedical engineering professor Bin He, is scheduled to report his…
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Challenge Seeks Endothelial Progenitor Cell Culture Process
A new challenge on InnoCentive is seeking a technique for storing and growing endothelial progenitor cells captured from blood samples and vital for research on and testing for various disorders. The competition has a purse of $25,000 and a deadline of 5 January 2014 for submissions. InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts conducts open-innovation, crowd-sourcing competitions for…
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Inflammation Drug Biotech Lands $32.4M in Venture Funding
Catabasis Pharmaceuticals Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, completed its second venture funding round, securing $32.4 million. The round was led by new investor Lightstone Ventures, with participation by the company’s current investors: SV Life Sciences, Clarus Ventures, MedImmune Ventures, and Advanced Technology Ventures. Catabasis Pharmaceuticals develops medications to treat cardiovascular, metabolic and inflammatory…
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New Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging System Developed
Engineers at North Carolina State University in Raleigh developed a new, more dynamic, approach for wirelessly charging moving electric vehicles and built a small-scale prototype to prove the concept. The team led by electrical engineering professor Srdjan Lukic published its findings online in a recent issue of the journal IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics (paid…
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Roche, Biotech Ink Cancer Vaccine/Immunotherapy Deal
The company immatics biotechnologies GmbH in Tuebingen, Germany and the global pharmaceutical maker Roche will collaborate on discovery and development of cancer vaccines and therapies that harness the human immune system. The deal will provide immatics (spelled in all lower case) an immediate payment of $17 million, but future payments to the company could reach…
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Engineered Tomato Helps Cut Contributor to Clogged Arteries
Researchers at University of California in Los Angeles found feeding a bio-engineered tomato to lab animals cuts their production of a fatty acid believed to contribute to high cholesterol levels. The team led by Alan Fogelman, director of the atherosclerosis research unit at UCLA’s medical school published their findings in the December issue of the…
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Cancer Genomics Precision-Medicine Center Opens in Boston
A group of research institutes and hospitals in Boston is opening a new lab to study the science leading to individualized cancer therapies based on the genomic make-up of a patient’s tumors. The Joint Center for Cancer Precision Medicine is a collaboration of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, and the…
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Trial Shows No Benefit from GSK Chronic Heart Disease Drug
The global pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) reported today in a late-stage clinical trial its candidate drug darapladib to treat chronic coronary heart disease did not meet its goal of increasing the amount of time between severe heart problems compared to a placebo. The company says some of the trial’s secondary goals related to coronary events…
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Biosensor Detects Brain-Damaging Proteins in Heart Surgery
Engineers and medical researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore developed a tiny sensor for technology to detect potential brain damage among patients undergoing heart surgery, particularly children. The team led by Howard Katz, chair of Johns Hopkins’s engineering and materials science department, published its findings in today’s issue of the journal Chemical Science (paid…
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Simple Test Cuts Antibiotic Use Among Sore Throat Patients
Researchers at University of Southampton and other institutions in the U.K. and Australia found a simple nine-item test can help clinicians better determine if patients complaining of a sore throat need antibiotics. The team led by Southampton’s Paul Little, professor of primary care research, published its findings in a recent issue of the British Medical…