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L-3, Virginia Tech to Partner on Cyber Security R&D
L-3 Communications, a government national-security electronics contractor, says it has formed a partnership with Virginia Tech on research and development related to cyber security. The collaboration will include locating L-3’s new Cybersecurity Solutions Center at Virginia Tech’s research facility in Arlington, Virginia. The company says it will undertake joint research with Virginia Tech leading to…
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Venture Firm Raises $440 Million for Life Sciences
Sofinnova Ventures, a venture capital (VC) company in Menlo Park, California says it has completed raising funds for its next round of investments in life sciences companies. The fund, Sofinnova Venture Partners VIII, has collected or has commitments totaling $440 million. Sofinnova says it plans to invest the funds primarily in later stage health care…
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$50K Challenge Seeks Higher Nutritional Value in Crop Tissue
A challenge on InnoCentive seeks new strategies through chemical, mechanical, or other means to improve the nutritional value of crop plant tissues. The competition has a prize of $50,000 and a deadline of 13 December 2011 for submissions. InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts is a company the conducts open-innovation crowd-sourcing competitions for corporate and organization sponsors.…
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Students Start Company to Commercialize Biochar Process
Students at University of Washington in Seattle are taking to market a new process to turn forestry waste into biochar, a charcoal-like substance that boosts agricultural yields. Their company, C6 Systems, is also a recipient of one of the first Innovation Corps grants from National Science Foundation. Jenny Knoth, a UW doctoral student in forest…
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University, Industry Team Demonstrates Robotic Biologist
Researchers from two universities and a research company have demonstrated an automated system that can analyze raw experimental biological data and derive the mathematical equations that describe the way the system operates. The team from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and CFD Research Corp. in Huntsville, Alabama published their results…
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NIH Awards Infectious Disease Therapy Contracts
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, awarded contracts totaling $37.5 million to five companies to develop therapies for diseases caused by multiple types of bacteria or viruses. The five-year orders, with a potential total value of $150 million, cover research to extend promising drug candidates…
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Complete Genomes Sequenced of Embryonic Stem Cell Lines
Researchers from industry, research institutes, and universities in the U.S. and Korea have conducted a complete genomic sequence analysis of five human embryonic stem cell lines. Their findings appear online in the journal Stem Cell Research (paid subscription required). The authors describe a systematic application of current molecular technologies to provide a detailed understanding of…
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Contract Awarded for Magnets Made Without Rare Earth Metals
Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond has received a $2.9 million contract from Department of Energy to develop a new class of permanent magnets for energy-efficient electric car motors and generators. The project is funded through the department’s Rare Earth Alternatives in Critical Technologies program (REACT) under the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy. The REACT program aims…
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Many Inter-Hospital Helicopter Patient Transports Not Needed
Analysts at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston found many neurosurgical patients transported by helicopter to a critical care facility from hospitals could have made the trip at least as quickly by ambulance. Their findings appeared yesterday in the online journal PLoS One. Surgeon Brian Walcott and colleagues reviewed electronic health records…
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Atlanta Network to Boost Pediatric Medical Devices
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has awarded four Atlanta-area institutions a $1.8 million grant to encourage development of new medical devices to meet the special needs of children. Georgia Institute of Technology, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University and Saint Joseph’s Translational Research Institute will take part in the Atlanta Pediatric Device Consortium. Barbara…