Tag: chemistry
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Virtual Fish in Development for Environmental Toxin Testing
13 March 2014. Researchers at Plymouth University in the U.K. and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca are developing a technique to gauge potential toxic effects of chemicals in rivers and oceans using cells from fish configured into a testing device. The three-year, £600,000 ($998,000) project of biologist Awadhesh Jha with colleagues from Plymouth and AstraZeneca is funded by U.K. science…
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Start-Up Company Licenses University Stroke Drug Research
10 March 2014. Zocere Inc. in Albuquerque, New Mexico is licensing a neurological protein from University of New Mexico for development into a drug to protect ischemic stroke victims from extensive brain damage. Financial terms of the deal with the university’s technology transfer office were not disclosed. Nearly 800,000 people in the U.S. have a stroke each…
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University, Spin-Off Partner on Enviro Flying Robotic Device
6 March 2014. University of Nevada in Reno and NevadaNano, a spin-off company from the university, are developing an aerial robotic device for environmental sensing and reporting over a large area. The project is funded by a $150,000 Small Business Technology Transfer grant from the U.S. Army. The project combines the university’s expertise in autonomous…
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Bio-Gel Designed to Transform into Precursor Tooth Material
5 March 2014. Life science and engineering researchers at Harvard University developed a sponge-like gel material that when seeded with embryonic cells in lab tests shrinks and hardens into a predecessor of human tooth tissue. The team led by Donald Ingber, director of Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, published its findings online last…
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Artificial Muscle Created from Fishing Line, Thread Material
20 February 2014. An international team of materials scientists and engineers developed high-strength artificial muscles from materials found into ordinary fishing line and sewing thread. The consortium from University of Texas in Dallas, University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, and colleagues from China, Turkey, Australia, and Korea published their findings today in the journal…
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Cancer Drugs Shown With Potential Against HIV-Related Fungus
11 February 2014. Medical researchers at University of Rochester in New York found two drugs treating breast cancer have properties that point to their potential as a treatment for Cryptococcus, a fungus causing meningitis in people with HIV/AIDS. The team led by Rochester’s Damian Krysan, with colleagues from Temple and Duke universities and University of…
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Challenge Seeks Better Metal Removal Method from Mine Water
7 February 2014. A new challenge on InnoCentive asks for new, less expensive techniques to remove metals from water that drains from mines, both current and inactive. The competition has a total purse of $12,000 and a deadline of 8 March 2014 (free registration required). InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts conducts open-innovation, crowd-sourcing competitions for corporate…
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Metal-Organic Framework Developed that Responds to UV Light
27 January 2014. Chemists at University at Buffalo in New York and Pennsylvania State University in Hazelton developed a sponge-like material that changes shape and color in response to ultraviolet (UV) rays. The team led by Buffalo’s Jason Benedict published its findings online last week in the journal Chemical Communications (paid subscription required). Metal-organic frameworks…
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Simple, Sensitive Biosensors Derived from Engineered Viruses
Bioengineers at University of California in Berkeley developed a process for making sensors from genetically-engineered viruses simple enough to package in a smartphone app, yet can discriminate among volatile chemical vapors. The team from the lab of bioengineering professor Seung-Wuk Lee, with colleagues from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab — where Lee is also on the…
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Challenge Seeks Ways to Make Trace Minerals More Available
A new challenge on InnoCentive is looking for different methods for making more available in people’s diets minerals the body needs in small quantities. The competition has a total guaranteed purse of $7,000, with a deadline for submissions of 15 February 2014. InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts conducts open-innovation, crowd-sourcing competitions for corporate and organization sponsors. In…