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NIH Funding Portfolio Evaluated With Investment Metrics
An interdisciplinary team of business, computer science, and medical researchers tested funding decisions at National Institutes of Health over a 42-year period using measures of investment efficiency from the world of finance. The findings of the team from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the investment management firm AlphaSimplex LLC in Cambridge,…
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Psychologist Developing Robotic Perception Technology
A Purdue University psychologist in West Lafayette, Indiana is developing a form of machine vision that provides a field of view with more ability to perceive objects in the context of their environment. This more human-like form of robotic vision has patents filed and is available for licensing from Purdue’s technology transfer office. According to…
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4D Lung Imaging Technology Developed
Engineers and medical researchers at Monash University in Australia have devised methods for creating images of human lungs that combine visual imaging with monitoring of lung functions. Their research is described online in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface. The article’s lead author, engineering postdoctoral fellow Stephen Dubsky, developed the technology that provides measurements…
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Nanotech Composites Aid Tooth Cavity Repair
Researchers at the University of Maryland dental school have developed cavity-filling composites based on nanotechnology that kill bacteria and regenerate the tooth structure. The university has filed patents and is seeking licensees to commercialize the technology. The work of Maryland dental school professor Huakun (Hockin) Xu aims to improve on the standard dental fillings that…
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Starch-Based Fibers for Bandages and Paper Developed
A graduate student in food science at Pennsylvania State University in University Park has developed a fibrous material from ordinary food starch that can be woven into bandages and household paper products. A provisional patent has been filed for the discovery by Lingyan Kong, working under food science professor Greg Ziegler, with the research funded…
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Taking a Break
Science Business will be taking a break for a few days, with limited posting through Tuesday, 1 May. We will resume our regular schedule on Wednesday, 2 May. * * *
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Glare-Free Water-Resistant Nanotech Glass Developed
Engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a new type of glass that eliminates almost all reflection and causes water to bounce off. The team of MIT graduate students, faculty, and former postdoc — now at North Carolina State University — published their findings earlier this month in the journal ACS Nano (paid subscription…
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Clinical Trial to Test Varied Hypertension Drug Dosage
Researchers at University of Rochester Medical Center in New York are testing if a lower dose of an common blood pressure medicine can provide the same benefits as a standard dose in people with mild hypertension. The new clinical trial is funded with a $1.9 million grant from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute,…
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DNA Bar Code Identifiers Developed for Species Tracking
Botanists at University of Bonn, with researchers from 10 other German institutions, are devising a system of standard identifiers based on DNA sequencing to identify plant and animal species more efficiently. The German Barcode of Life (GBOL) project is coordinated by the Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig in Bonn. “In the DNA of living beings,…
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White House Issues Outline for Bioscience-Based Economy
The Office of Science and Technology Policy in the White House today released a national Bioeconomy Blueprint that it says will harness biological research to address national priorities. The plan outlines actions to be undertaken by federal agencies. No mention is made of new legislation, although the administration’s latest budget submission identified as a priority…