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Biotech Developing Anti-Cancer Drugs Gets $15M Investment
Tensha Therapeutics in Cambridge, Massachusetts says it has received $15 million in early stage financing to advance treatments for cancer by regulating the transcription of disease-associated genes. The series A investment — the first round of funding after a company’s initial seed capital — is provided by HealthCare Ventures, life science venture capital firm, also…
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Non-Native Insects Costing Local Governments, Homeowners
Scientists from U.S. and Canadian universities and the U.S. Forest Service built a statistical model to compute the cost of damage caused by invasive tree-feeding insects that are inadvertently imported to the U.S. The team from the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at University of California in Santa Barbara published their findings…
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Student Engineers/Entrepreneurs Develop Child Safety Device
Two engineering students at Michigan Technological University in Houghton are taking to market a device they built to keep children from unbuckling their seat belts. Collin Veele and Alex Cotton say they have secured a provisional patent and trademark, and now their Buckle Blocker is ready for the marketplace. The Buckle Blocker, which would typically…
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Superbug Screening Methods Under Development
Researchers at University of Houston and St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, also in Houston, are developing better screening methods to detect a potentially lethal, drug-resistant superbug found in that region. The team’s findings on the discovery of the multi-drug resistant bacterium appeared earlier this year in the journal Diagnostic Microbiology & Infectious Disease (paid subscription required).…
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Companies Need Better Mix of Business, Patent Strategies
Science and engineering companies often develop innovations based on multiple discoveries, which calls for better integration of their patent and business strategies, according to study by three intellectual property analysts. The paper by Deepak Somaya at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana college of business (pictured left), with David Teece of University of California at…
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Study: Inexpensive Controls Cut Hospital Infections
Researchers at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill find that an inexpensive set of infection control measures could save patient lives and cut health care costs by preventing hospital infections. The findings appear in the September 2011 issue of the journal Health Affairs (paid subscription required). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate…
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University, Company Partner on Contraband Nuclear Detector
Researchers at University of New Hampshire in Durham and Michigan Aerospace Corporation in Ann Arbor have received a contract from the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency to build an instrument to accurately detect illicit radioactive materials from a safe distance. The one-year contract of $303,000 calls for a realistic field test of the device in…
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U.S. Patent No. 8 Million Signed, Reform Bill Action Urged
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) held a ceremonial signing today of the eight millionth U.S. patent awarded in the agency’s history. The USPTO’s director and acting Secretary of Commerce used the occasion to urge the Senate to complete its work on patent reform legislation. USPTO issued patent no. 8 million on 16 August…
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Light Posting Today
We will have fewer items than usual today, in order to attend various events and meetings. The regular volume will resume tomorrow. * * *
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$100K Challenge Seeks Responsive Insulin Delivery
A new challenge at InnoCentive seeks new ideas for the development of “glucose-responsive insulin” that would respond to the needs of the individual rather than deliver fixed dosage amounts. The competition has a prize of $100,000 and requires a written proposal. The deadline for entries is 9 November 2011. InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts is a…