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Arthritis Drug Shown to Reduce Glucose in Type 2 Diabetes
Researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center, affiliated with Harvard Medical School in Boston, found the arthritis drug salsalate helps lower blood glucose levels and improves control of blood sugar among people with type 2 diabetes. Results of the clinical trial, which included researchers from several other universities and hospitals, appear in today’s issue of the journal…
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Research Funded for DNA Vaccine to Create Nicotine Immunity
Researchers at Arizona State University in Tempe are investigating the ability of human DNA, assembled into nanoscale particles, to help people develop an immunity to nicotine. The project is funded by a three-year $3.3 million grant from National Institute of Drug Abuse, part of National Institutes of Health, and led by Arizona State immunologist Yung…
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Blood Stem Cell Transplants Tested as Sickle Cell Therapy
Researchers at University of California in Los Angeles, University of Southern California, and hospitals in California tested a technique that harnesses a patient’s own blood-producing stem cells as a potential treatment for sickle cell disease. The team led by UCLA’s Donald Kohn published its findings today online in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, under a…
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Alternative Solar Cell Developer Adds $10M Venture Funding
Scifiniti, a developer of silicon-based solar materials in San Jose, California secured $10 million in series B venture financing, the second round of funding after initial start-up. Current investors Alloy Ventures, Firelake Capital, I2BF Global Ventures, and Peninsula Ventures took part in the round. The company’s first product is SmartWafer, an alternative photovoltaic solar cell…
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Challenge Seeks Point-of-Care Staph Bacteria Detector
A new challenge on InnoCentive asks for ways to quickly diagnose Staphylococcus aureus bacteria colonies in the nose and throat of patients with point-of-care devices. The competition, sponsored by the Cleveland Clinic, has a prize of $20,000 and a deadline for submissions of 27 August 2013. InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts conducts open-innovation, crowd-sourcing competitions for…
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Wi-Fi Signals Configured as Multi-Room Motion Detector
Computer scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed a technique for harnessing Wi-Fi signals to track people’s movements in different rooms. Dina Katabi, a computer science professor at MIT, and graduate student Fadel Adib will discuss their research in August at the ACM Sigcomm conference in Hong Kong. Katabi and Adib use low-power Wi-Fi signals…
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Hydrogen Fuel Cells Found Feasible for Ships Docked in Port
An analysis by Sandia National Lab in Livermore, California indicates hydrogen fuel cells offer an economical and environmentally feasible alternative for powering commercial ships docked in seaports. Sandia Lab, a division of the U.S. Department of Energy, published the study, conducted for the department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, earlier this year. Ships docked…
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FDA Approves Protein to Prevent Hemophilia B Bleeding
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved an engineered form of a human protein to prevent and control bleeding episodes in people with hemophilia B, age 16 or older. The protein known as Coagulation Factor IX (Recombinant) is marketed under the brand name Rixubis by Baxter Healthcare in Deerfield, Illinois. Hemophilia B, also known as factor…
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Celgene, MorphoSys Partner on Multiple Myeloma Antibody
Celgene Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company in Summit, New Jersey, agreed to license technology and invest in the biotechnology company MorphoSys AG in Munich, Germany for commercializing a monoclonal antibody developed by MorphoSys to treat multiple myeloma and some forms of leukemia. The total potential value of the deal, if all contingencies are met, is €628…
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More Feasible CO2 Emission Control Technology Devised
Chemical engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology devised a lab-scale process that can more efficiently remove carbon dioxide from fossil-fuel emissions and work more readily with today’s power plants than current technologies. The team led by MIT’s Alan Hatton published its findings online earlier this month in the journal Energy and Environmental Science. Current emission-control…