-
Device Company, MIT Test Drug-Delivery Implanted Microchip
Scientists at medical technology developer MicroCHIPS in Walthan, Massachusetts and MIT reported the results of a successful human clinical trial of a programmable and wirelessly controlled implanted microchip to deliver drugs. The results appear online in the journal Science Translational Medicine (paid subscription required). The trial, the first successful test of this type of device,…
-
Living Tissue Cell Model Developed to Study Brain Tumors
Researchers at Brown University in Providence and Harvard Medical School in Boston have created a three-dimensional living tissue model of the brain, including surrounding blood vessels, to study potential brain tumor treatments. The team of chemistry and biomedical engineering researchers published their findings in the journal Theranostics. The need for a living tissue model arose…
-
University Spinoff Designs Virtual Reality for Architects
A start-up company begun in 2010 by students at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany is developing virtual reality systems to enable visualizing proposed designs for building spaces before construction. The company, inreal Technologies GmbH, also in Karlsruhe, will demonstrate its system at the CeBIT technology show on 10 March in Hannover, Germany. The…
-
Mass Production Process Devised for Micro Robots, Devices
Engineers at Harvard University have developed a technology that makes possible the mass production of miniature electronic and robotic devices, using layering and folding processes similar to the Japanese paper-folding art of origami. Doctoral candidates Pratheev Sreetharan and Peter Whitney say their discovery is scheduled for publication in the March 2012 issue of the Journal…
-
ARPA-E Grant Funding Plant Hydrocarbon Feedstock Research
The Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E, part of the U.S. Department of Energy) has awarded a $1.8 million grant to Texas AgriLife Research in College Station to study the potential of tobacco as a direct source of fuel. The grant can also provide Texas AgriLife plant pathologist Joshua Yuan (pictured left) with another…
-
iPhone App Tells Best and Worst Times for Coffee
Computer scientists at Pennsylvania State University in University Park have devised an iPhone application that tells the best time for coffee to get a mental kick, and when caffeine can ruin your sleep. Frank Ritter, who is on the IT, psychology, and computer science faculties at Penn State and Kuo-Chuan (Martin) Yeh, computer science and…
-
U.S. Patent Issued for Stem Cell Wound Care Technology
Stemedica Cell Technologies Inc. in San Diego has been granted a patent for its scaffolding technology based on adult stem cells used in healing wounds. Patent number 8,105,380 was awarded to Ludmilla and Alex Kharazi, Stemedica’s senior scientist and chief technology officer respectively, by the United States Patent and Trademark Office on 31 January 2012.…
-
Cancer Diagnostics Company Gains $5M in Early Round Funds
On-Q-ity in Waltham, Massachusetts, a developer of cancer diagnostics technology, says it has added $5 million in series B financing, the second round of funding after initial start-up. Participants in the round are Mohr Davidow Ventures, Atlas Ventures, and Physic Ventures, all of which are current investors in the company. On-Q-Ty — short for Oncology…
-
Traumatic Brain Injury Cases Likely Under-Reported
A study by researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota suggests that the number of cases of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is greater than current estimates offered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The team’s findings appeared late last year in the journal Epidemiology (paid subscription required). The investigators used a new,…
-
Cleveland Clinic, 23andMe Partner on Parkinson’s Database
Cleveland Clinic has agreed to recruit Parkinson’s disease patients to contribute their DNA and complete online health surveys for a research database compiled by genetics testing company 23andMe in Mountain View, California. The project has the support of the Michael J. Fox Foundation, National Parkinson Foundation, and Parkinson’s Institute. The goal of project is to…