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Method Devised for Inexpensive Graphene Production
Researchers from Poland, France, and India have developed a process for producing the high-performance material graphene using common laboratory equipment. The team led by the Institute of Physical Chemistry (translation provided by EurekAlert) of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, published a description of that process earlier this year in the journal Chemical Communications;…
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NC State, Strasbourg Institutes to Advance Biomanufacturing
North Carolina State University in Durham and University of Strasbourg in France, along with the Alsace BioValley cluster in Europe, are forming Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center (BTEC) International, to provide educational and regulatory advisory services in the U.S. and Europe. BTEC International will initially combine the resources of NC State’s Golden LEAF Biomanufacturing Training…
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GSK Licenses Nanotech Product Development Platform
The global pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will license a nanotechnology-based product development platform created by Liquidia Technologies in North Carolina. The precise financial scale of the deal was not disclosed, but the companies say total earnings by Liquidia could reach as high as several hundred million dollars. Liquidia has built a development technology for pharmaceuticals…
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Mobile Data Help Predict Displaced Populations in Haiti
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden used data from a mobile phone company in Haiti to devise a system to predict population displacements when disaster strikes. Their findings appear online in in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (paid subscription required), and formed the basis of a service to help relief…
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Method Devised for Stem Cell Cardiac Muscle Patches
Researchers from universities of Michigan and Wisconsin, with colleagues from Oxford and Imperial College in the U.K., have developed a process for creating from stem cells, heart muscle cells that mimic the heart’s pumping action. The findings, which include a technology to measure electrical activity in these created cells, are published as the cover story…
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Bacteria Linked to Indoor Building Water Damage Identified
Environmental health researchers at University of Cincinnati in Ohio have identified two specific bacteria associated with contamination in water-damaged buildings, a potential cause of health problems. The team that includes a colleague from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, presented its findings yesterday at an American Society for Microbiology meeting in San Francisco. Bacterial contamination in…
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Nanomaterials Registry Begun for Health, Environment Queries
RTI International in North Carolina has started the Nanomaterial Registry, a Web-based database and resource of biological and environmental information on materials developed through nanotechnology. The registry, available free to the public, is funded by three agencies of National Institutes of Health: National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences,…
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Roche, Seaside Therapeutics to Partner on Autism, Fragile X
Seaside Therapeutics in Cambridge, Massachusetts and the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche will collaborate to develop treatments for autism spectrum disorders and fragile X syndrome. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Autism spectrum disorders and fragile X syndrome are neurodevelopmental disorders for which there are no effective treatments yet that address core symptoms. Autism…
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Vaccine Developer Awarded Countermeasures Center Contract
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. in Rockville, Maryland was awarded a contract from Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to establish a development center for medical countermeasures against public health emergencies. BARDA is a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The eight-year contract is valued at $220 million. The agreement will…
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Report: Few Biotechs Working on Neglected Diseases
A report by BIO Ventures for Global Health, a not-for-profit organization related to the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), says only about five percent of the world’s biotechnology companies are developing new drugs, vaccines, or diagnostics against neglected diseases. The report, Biotechnology: Bringing Innovation to Neglected Disease Research and Development, is scheduled for release today at…