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Bacteria Made Fluorescent in Unison for LED-Like Display
Researchers at University of California in San Diego have created a process for giving bacteria the ability to glow simultaneously in a colony, much like a neon sign. This discovery, which has commercial applications and for which a patent has been filed, is described this week in the advanced online issue of the journal Nature…
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Life Science Venture Fund Raises $313 Million
Burrill & Company in San Francisco announced today a new life sciences investment fund with commitments so far totaling $313 million. The company says its Burrill Capital Fund IV plans to make early to late stage investments in therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices, health care delivery, wellness, and digital health. CEO G. Steven Burrill says the…
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FDA Approves Cardiac Device for Children Awaiting Transplant
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday approved the Excor Pediatric System, a device to support children with heart failure until a donor for a heart transplant can be found. The device is made by Berlin Heart GmbH in Germany and The Woodlands, Texas. The Excor Pediatric System is an external heart pump…
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Vanderbilt Team Develops Simple Medical Test Prep Device
Researchers at Vanderbilt University in Nashville are developing a medical collection and preparation system that promises to bring diagnostic testing to the poorest areas of the world. The device, called the Extractionator, is the product of Vanderbilt biomedical engineer Rick Haselton, chemist David Wright, and biochemist Ray Mernaugh. Haselton, Wright, and Mernaugh received a $1…
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UCLA, Korean Institute Collaborate on Smart Grid R&D
The engineering school at University of California at Los Angeles and the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) have begun a 10-year partnership to collaborate on smart-grid research and the development of new related technologies. The project, funded on the U.S. side by the Department of Energy and the Los Angeles Department of Water and…
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Clinical Study IDs Potential Antidepressant Predictor
Researchers at Loyola University Medical Center near Chicago have found a method that can help predict if an antidepressant will work on a patient with depression. Loyola psychiatry professor Angelos Halaris and colleagues reported their work earlier this year at the annual meeting of the Society of Biological Psychiatry. The study involved 35 patients who…
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FDA, Ohio Consortium to Partner on Biomaterials Regulations
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron (ABIA) are collaborating on the development of regulations affecting biomaterials in medical devices. The consortium of Akron, Ohio area hospitals, universities, and foundations signed the partnership agreement with FDA yesterday. The FDA and ABIA established the partnership to develop the research protocols…
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European Grant Awarded for Research on Enhanced MRI
A chemistry professor at University of Southampton in the U.K. has received a grant for research on enhanced nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), a principle underlying magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), widely used in medical diagnostics. Malcolm Levitt and colleagues at Southampton were awarded a four-year, €2.8 million ($US 3.8 million) grant from the European Research Council…
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Google Granted Patent for Autonomous Vehicle Technology
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office awarded a patent to Google Inc. in Mountain View, California for its technology that enables cars to switch from driver to driver-less mode. Patent number 8,078,349 — entitled “Transitioning a mixed-mode vehicle to autonomous mode” — was awarded on 13 December. The patent covers the processes and devices for…
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Enzyme Developer In-Licenses Synthetic Biology Technology
Novozymes A/S in Bagsvaerd, Denmark has agreed to license genetic engineering technology from MorphoSys AG in Martinsried, Germany for the development of industrial biotechnology products. The multi-year agreement provides Novozymes, a manufacturer of industrial enzymes, with a non-exclusive license to use MorphoSys’s Slonomics technology. Financial and more precise timetable details of the deal were not…