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Less Expensive Method Devised to Assemble DNA Sequence Data
Genome scientists at University of Washington in Seattle developed a technique of assembling DNA sequencing data along entire chromosomes that is less expensive and as accurate as current methods. The team from Washington’s medical school led by Jay Shendure published its findings earlier this week in the journal Nature Biotechnology (paid subscription required). Shendure and…
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Inkblots Add Extra Layer to Online Password Security
Computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh devised a technique using inkblots to provide an extra layer of security for passwords stored for authenticating online user accounts. The developers — doctoral student Jeremiah Blocki, and faculty members Manuel Blum and Anupam Datta — described their system called Generating panOptic Turing Tests to Tell Computers and…
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Research Consortium Applies X-ray Lasers to Drug Molecules
A group of eight universities and research institutes in the U.S. is advancing the use of X-ray laser technology in biology, with direct applications in finding molecular targets for new therapies. The Center for Biology with X-ray Laser, or BioXFEL, is funded by a $25 million grant from National Science Foundation, led by University at…
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Patent Awarded for Bone Graft Material Production Process
Bacterin International Holdings, a medical device company in Belgrade, Montana received a patent for its technology to produce a form of human bone material suitable for bone grafts that promote regeneration of bone tissue. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office yesterday issued patent 8,574,825 to seven inventors, including Gregory Juda, Bacterin’s chief scientist, and Steven…
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GlaxoSmithKline Names Academic Drug Discovery Partners
The pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline named 10 academic scientists to its Discovery Fast Track competition that aims to turn university research findings into new therapies. The researchers will get access to GlaxoSmithKline’s facilities and materials to accelerate the drug discovery process, potentially leading to a collaboration to further develop the compound. Discovery Fast Track began in…
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Computer Learning Process Developed for Robotic Arm Movement
Computer scientists at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York developed an algorithm to fine-tune movements of industrial robotic arms, through feedback and learning from interactions with humans. A team from the lab of computer science professor Ashutosh Saxena will present its findings next month at the Neural Information Processing Systems conference in Lake Tahoe, California.…
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Algorithm Improves Activity Tracking for Wellness Apps
Engineers and physiologists at Northwestern University in Chicago developed an algorithm to improve the way health and wellness apps on smartphones track a user’s physical movements. Professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation Konrad Kording, with colleagues Stephen Antos and Mark Albert, published an advance version of their findings online in the Journal of Neuroscience Methods…
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Software Design Found to Influence Lab Test Choices
A psychologist at University of Missouri in Columbia found the design of software used by physicians influences their choice of diagnostic tests when admitting new patients to hospitals, with implications for the quality of patient care and health care costs. Victoria Shaffer in Missouri’s Department of Health Sciences, with Adam Probst from Baylor Scott &…
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FDA Approves Leukemia Treatment, First Breakthrough Therapy
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved an antibody designed to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia, when taken with chemotherapy. Obinutuzumabm — developed and marketed as the brand name Gazyva by the biotechnology company Genentech, a division of Roche in South San Francisco, California — is the first drug designated as a breakthrough therapy approved…
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Strategy Sought to Encourage New Anticoagulant Prescriptions
A new challenge on InnoCentive is looking for new ways to encourage physicians to prescribe anticoagulant drugs other than the commonly used warfarin for decreasing the formation of blood clots in people with atrial fibrillation. The competition has a total purse of $7,500 and a deadline of 27 November 2013. InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts conducts…