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Surgical Masks Shown to Cut Flu Transmission
Public health researchers at University of Maryland, with colleagues at Harvard, Boston University, and University of Hong Kong identified the main ways flu virus spreads through populations and specifically recommend flu sufferers wear surgical masks to stop the virus. The team led by Maryland and Harvard professor Donald Milton published their findings yesterday in the…
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Air-Breathing Biobattery Developed for Medical Devices
Researchers at the Institute of Physical Chemistry in Warsaw, part of the Polish Academy of Sciences, developed a power source for implanted medical devices that works with the body’s chemistry, including oxygen taken from the from the air. The team working in the lab of the institute’s Marcin Opallo developed a prototype battery that powers…
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Early Trial Shows Deep Brain Stimulation Effects on Anorexia
Researchers at the University Health Network in Toronto found deep brain stimulation to help some patients with severe anorexia increase their body mass index and reduce related obsessions and compulsions. Results of the small-scale clinical trial were published online in today’s issue of the journal The Lancet (paid subscription required). Anorexia nervosa is an eating…
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New Grant Funds Academic Tech Transfer Services
The Wallace H. Coulter Foundation in Miami awarded a $750,000 grant to the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) to help the association upgrade its business development services for academic scientists. AUTM announced the award on Tuesday at its annual meeting in San Antonio. AUTM represents technology transfer specialists at some 300 universities in the…
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E-Car Charger Company Licenses National Lab Power Technology
AeroVironment Inc., a developer of electric transportation systems in Monrovia, California, licensed technology from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Washington that keeps electric car chargers from over-taxing the electrical power grid. Financial aspects of the licensing deal between AeroVironment and Battelle Memorial Institute, which operates PNNL for Department of Energy, were not disclosed.…
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Industry Technology Formulas Given Real-World Tests
Engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico found two formulas for predicting technological change, including Moore’s Law, produce reasonably accurate forecasts. The team led by MIT engineering systems professor Jessika Trancik (pictured right), formerly a postdoctoral fellow at Santa Fe Institute, published its findings last week in the online…
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Goggle Device Helps Distinguish Between Vertigo and Stroke
Medical researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, with colleagues at the universities of Illinois and Michigan, tested a device resembling a pair of swim goggles to tell if a patient experiencing severe, continuous dizziness is having a stroke or a more benign condition. The findings of the team led by professor of neurology and…
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Material Engineered to More Efficiently Capture CO2
Researchers at University of South Florida in Tampa and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia (KAUST) developed a new type of metal-organic material with the ability to effectively capture carbon dioxide in the presence of water vapor, which had not been previously possible. The team led by South Florida chemistry professor…
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Patent Awarded for Lipid Treatments on Lung Infections
A researcher at National Jewish Health, a medical center in Denver, received a patent for methods using naturally occuring lipids to treat infections and inflammation in the lungs. U.S. patent number 8,367,643 was awarded last month to professor of medicine Dennis Voelker and assigned to National Jewish Health. Lipids are oil or fat molecules that…
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University Provides Mobile Internet Quality Test Service
Engineers and computer scientists at Aalto University in Finland are offering a free, online service to test the quality of mobile Internet connections. Netradar, available for download at netradar.org shows the quality of mobile Internet connections for individual devices, but also compared to other devices and locations. Netradar is a project of Aalto’s communications and…