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Student Devises Lithium Battery for Solar Energy Storage
A joint research project between a graduate student at University of Southampton in the U.K. and the company REAPSystems, also in Southampton, has resulted in a battery that can help improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of solar power. REAPSystems was founded by Dennis Doerffel, himself a former Southampton researcher and now the company’s…
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Goal Setting Helps Change Diets of Adults with Diabetes
Researchers at Ohio State University in Columbus and Loyola University in Baltimore have found setting specific goals can help improve dietary habits of people with Type 2 diabetes. Their findings appear in the January 2012 issue of the journal Patient Education and Counseling (paid subscription required). The team led by Ohio State nutrition professor Carla…
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Gaps Found in Satellite Telephone Encryption Algorithms
Computer scientists at Ruhr-Universität in Bochum, Germany say they have cracked algorithms of European encryption standards used globally for satellite telephones in less than an hour and with simple equipment. The team from the university’s Horst Görtz Institute for IT Security (HGI) will present the findings of their proof-of-concept tests at the IEEE Symposium on…
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Instrument Company to License Scripps Screening Technology
Brooks Life Science Systems, a division of Brooks Automation in Poway, California, and Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, Florida have agreed for Brooks to commercialize technology developed at Scripps to manage compounds in high-throughput screening, a process for drug discovery. Brooks Automation is a provider of instrumentation technology for manufacturing, energy, and life sciences companies.…
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USPTO Competition to Boost Patents for Humanitarian Goals
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today unveiled a competition to encourage inventors to share their patented technologies to address humanitarian needs. Winning inventors will receive a faster review of their applications for patents on future inventions. The program, called Patents for Humanity, is officially a pilot program to help address an Obama administration…
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Online Simulator Optimizes Solar Cell Materials Efficiency
An online tool offered by MIT helps companies and researchers determine the tradeoffs in manufacturing strategies for solar cells based on planned materials and processing steps. The simulator, which takes about a minute to run, can provide a preview of the efficiency of resulting solar cells in converting sunlight to electricity, a process previously determined…
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FDA Grants Priority Review to Breast Cancer Therapy
Genentech in South San Francisco, California, says the Food and Drug Administration has granted priority review status to its drug pertuzumab to treat human epidermal growth factor receptor 2- (HER2-) positive breast cancer. Genentech is a division of the global pharmaceutical company Roche, headquartered in Switzerland. FDA applies the priority review status in this case…
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Energy Dept Seeks $20M Battery/Storage Research Hub
The Department of Energy (DoE) says it will open competition for a new research center to speed development of advanced battery and energy storage technologies. The new energy innovation hub, as these programs are called, will have up to $20 million in funding in the current (2012) fiscal year. Energy innovation hubs bring together researchers…
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Vibrating Microsensors Developed for Detection, Testing
Engineers at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana have applied tiny vibrating microcantilevers to sensors that could detect chemical and biological substances. Their research is described in this week’s online issue of the Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems (paid subscription required), and a patent is pending on their invention. The team led by mechanical engineering professor…
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New Technique Enables Nanoscale Images Inside Living Brain
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, Germany have developed a technique to record detailed live images inside the brain of a living mouse. The technology, called stimulated emission depletion (STED) fluorescence microscopy is described in the 3 February issue of the journal Science; paid subscription required. The team led by…