Tag: Africa
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Zero-Gravity, Tropical Institute Partner on Food Security
24 July 2014. Zero Gravity Solutions Inc. and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) are collaborating on implementing technologies originally developed for the U.S. space program to improve food security in Africa and other tropical regions. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. IITA, in Ibadan, Nigeria, conducts research on agricultural plant health and…
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Student Designs Simple Water Filter, Seeks Crowdfunding
24 July 2014. An engineering student at ETH Zurich, a science and technology university in Switzerland, designed a simple, inexpensive water filter to bring drinking water to developing countries that lack reliable clean water sources. Jeremy Nussbaumer developed the DrinkPure filter while an undergraduate at ETH Zurich, and now has a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo…
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Trial: Insulin Pumps Better Control Glucose Than Injections
3 July 2014. An international clinical trial shows insulin pumps worn by people with type 2 diabetes do a better job of controlling blood glucose levels than multiple daily injections of insulin, the usual control treatment. Results from the post-marketing study funded by Medtronic Inc., a medical device developer in Minneapolis that makes insulin pumps,…
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Buffalo, Zimbabwe Universities Partner on Nanotech Medicines
University at Buffalo in New York and two universities in the southern African nation of Zimbabwe will collaborate on a new nanotechnology research program in pharmacology. University of Zimbabwe in Harare and the Chinhoyi University of Technology in Mashonaland West, working with Buffalo’s Institute for Lasers, Photonics, and Biophotonics, along with New York State Center…
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MIT Start-Up Building Solar Thermal Systems for Clinics
A not-for-profit company established by students and alumni at Massachusetts Institute of Technology is testing a solar energy system that generates electric power and hot water for isolated health clinics in Africa. The team led by Matthew Orosz, a recent Ph.D. recipient in mechanical engineering, will describe its work in an upcoming issue of the…
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Engineering Students Build Inexpensive IV Drip Controller
A group of engineering undergraduate students at Rice University in Houston have built a simple device to control the flow of intravenous (IV) feeding tubes, like those used with children to treat dehydration. The students, who started the project earlier this year as freshmen, designed the IV device as part of the university’s Beyond Traditional…
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Biotech, NGO Partnership Advances Sleeping Sickness Drug
A consortium of two biotechnology companies and non-government organization have completed preclinical studies of a potential treatment for sleeping sickness. The partners — Anacor Pharmaceuticals in Palo Alto, California, SCYNEXIS Inc. in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) in Geneva, Switzerland — published their findings in the journal PLoS…
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North Africa, Middle East Entrepreneurial Programs Unveiled
Two new programs aimed at spurring innovation based on science and technology in North Africa, Middle East, and South Asia were unveiled at a kick-off meeting in Rabat, Morocco last week. The Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) in Arlington, Virginia manages the programs, with funding from the U.S. Department of State. One of new…
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HP, Non-Profit Partner on Malaria Surveillance
Computer maker HP and non-profit organization Positive Innovation for the Next Generation (PING) are collaborating to improve the quality and efficiency of disease surveillance in Botswana. The project involves mobile health monitoring technology that HP and PING believe can help better protect populations against major malaria outbreaks. The initiative uses HP’s webOS operating system for…
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Study Highlights Crop Regions At Risk from Climate Change
A study by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) identifies food production regions in the world most at risk from disruption due to climate change. Some of these populations, in Africa and South Asia for example, are already facing food shortages, while other food-producing regions including China and Latin America run the risk…